Johnny B. Goode Single: 1979

A Victim Of Love Rock 'n' Roll Cover

Released as a 7-inch vinyl single in the UK on November 23, 1979, on The Rocket Record Company (catalogue: XPRES 24), Elton John’s “Johnny B. Goode” was a high-energy Chuck Berry cover from *Victim Of Love*. Backed with “Thunder In The Night,” this Pete Bellotte-produced disco-rocker featured lacquer cut at Utopia Studios. Issued in standard (A/B designated) and no A/B label variants, with a 12-inch companion. No UK chart entry. A bold ‘70s Elton detour.

Single Overview

Release Details

Label: The Rocket Record Company.

Formats: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single (designated A/B or no A/B labels), 12" 45 RPM.

Full Track Listing

7" Vinyl (XPRES 24) – all UK pressings

Side A

Johnny B. Goode (Chuck Berry)

Side B

Thunder In The Night (Hofmann/Bellotte)

12" Vinyl (XPRES 2412) – UK

Side A

Johnny B. Goode

Side B

Thunder In The Night

Global Variants

- 7", 45 RPM, Single – Rocket XPRES 24 – UK – 1979 (A/B labels)

- 7", 45 RPM, Single – Rocket XPRES 24 – UK – 1979 (no A/B labels)

- 12", 45 RPM – Rocket XPRES 2412 – UK – 1979

- 7", 45 RPM, Single – Rocket – Australia – 1979

- 7", 45 RPM, Single – Rocket – Germany – 1979

- 7", 45 RPM, Single – Rocket – Netherlands – 1979

- 7", 45 RPM, Single – Rocket – Norway – 1979

- 7", 45 RPM, Single – Rocket – Philippines – 1979

- 7", 45 RPM, Single – Rocket – Portugal – 1979

- 7", 45 RPM, Single – Rocket – Mexico – 1980

Production and Context

Produced by Pete Bellotte for Sackville Productions Ltd. From Victim Of Love (1979). Elton’s full disco album — no Reg Dwight piano, just Bellotte’s Munich machine.

Chart Performance

No UK chart entry.

Legacy and Collectibility

“Johnny B. Goode” is Elton’s rare disco-rock Berry cover. Original UK Rocket 7"s

Verify catalogue XPRES 24. Streams on Spotify via Victim Of Love* reissues preserve the ‘70s thunder. This single is a must-have for Elton disco-era collectors.

Do you have Johnny B. Goode in your vinyl stack? Does it make you go go? Share in the comments!

Sources

Information is drawn from my personal knowledge and supplemented by web sources, including Discogs, 45cat, AllMusic, Rate Your Music, Wikipedia, BBC Official Charts Company, Billboard Chart History and YouTube