The song "Johnny B. Goode" was written and first recorded by Chuck Berry. It
was a major hit among both black and white audiences, peaking at number 2
on Billboard magazine’s Hot R&B Sides chart and number 8 on its Hot 100
chart. It is credited as "the first rock & roll hit about rock & roll stardom” and
is also ranked seventh on Rolling Stone‘s list of the "500 Greatest Songs of
All Tim”.

Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry
(October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017)

The song "Brown Eyed Girl" by Northern Irish singer/songwriter Van
Morrison was released as a single in June 1967 on the Bang label,
peaking at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. It featured The Sweet
Inspirations singing back-up vocals and is considered to be Van
Morrison’s signature song. It has remained a staple on classic rock
radio, and has been covered by hundreds of bands over the
decades.

Van Morrison (Sir George Ivan Morrison) will be 72 on August 31.

The song "There Goes My Baby" was the first single by the second incarnation
of the Drifters (previously known as the 5 Crowns), who assumed the group
name in 1958 after manager George Treadwell fired the remaining members
of the original lineup. The single reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100
and number one on the Billboard R&B chart and on the Cash Box sales chart
for two weeks, in the summer of 1959. It was Ben E. King’s debut recording as
lead singer of the group and also introduced the idea of using violins.

THE DRIFTERS, 2017.

Billboard magazine wrote that the song “What’d I Say’’ was "the strongest pop
record that the artist has done to date". Within weeks it topped out at number
one on Billboard’s R&B singles chart, number six on the Billboard Hot 100, and
it became Charles’ first gold record. It also became Atlantic Records’ best-
selling song at the time.

The song “Honey” by Bobby Goldsboro hit No. 1 the week after Martin Luther
King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis. Further, the Billboard Hot 100 top 10
run of "Honey" began the week of the King assassination and ended the week
of the assassination of Robert Kennedy, and no other Hot 100 entry had a top
10 run that spanned that same time interval. It sold over one million copies in
the United States.

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Bobby Goldsboro turned 76 January 18.