This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Feb. 23, 2010 - For many St. Louisans, Art Holliday is a familiar face on Channel 5 KSDK's "Today in St. Louis" morning show and "Channel 5 at Noon." But Holliday has also become increasingly known in local film circles as a director of documentaries. His latest project is "Johnnie Be Good" about the late Johnnie Johnson, the piano player who hired a young guitarist named Chuck Berry to sit in with his trio at a New Year's Eve dance at the Cosmopolitan Club in East St. Louis in 1952.
In an interview over lunch a few days after a fundraiser for the film, Holliday discussed what attracted him to the project, which began in 2003.
"The film found me," said Holliday in between bites of gumbo. "It was a fluke. One of our photographers at Channel 5, Tony Chambers, told me that a musician in his band, Gene Ackmann, was producing a CD for Johnnie Johnson. Then as Tony was leaving, he turned around and said, 'I know you're into documentaries. Johnnie Johnson might be a great subject for one.' I decided to check into it."
What he found was a compelling story of a rock and roll pioneer.
Chuck Berry's name was on the label of classic hits like "Maybellene," "You Can't Catch Me," "Roll Over Beethoven" and many others. but Johnson's piano playing was an integral part of the distinctive Chuck Berry sound.
In fact, it was the combination of Berry's ringing, country-influenced guitar riffs and Johnson's dynamic, boogie-woogie piano that eventually coalesced into a new musical sound -- rock and roll. That style propelled Berry to the top, but Johnson never attained the same level of fame or fortune.
The 1986 documentary about Berry, "Hail, Hail Rock and Roll," directed by Taylor Hackford and filmed at the Fox Theatre, actually revived Johnson's career when Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards insisted Johnson be part of Berry's backup band.
Johnson, who had been driving a bus, went on to make several recordings with guest stars such as Richards and Eric Clapton, and he toured with Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir as well.
Over the years, Johnson and Berry wrangled over whether Johnson should receive songwriting credit for his contributions to Berry's music. A lawsuit filed by Johnson against Berry in 2001 -- the same year that Johnson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame -- was dismissed, and the two musicians never reconciled. Johnson passed away in April 2005.
In the early years of the decade, Holliday "was in the finishing stages of wrapping up my first documentary, and it was very emotionally draining. It was a film called 'Before They Fall Off the Cliff: The Ripple Effect of Schizophrenia.' But the more I found out about Johnnie Johnson, I realized only a handful of musicians were there at the birth of rock and roll -- and Johnnie was one of them. It's a uniquely St. Louis story."
Holliday met Johnson and his wife Frances and got their permission to begin work on the project. But the question was where to start -- and who to contact. For answers, Holliday turned to those who had helped get Johnson into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
"Early on," he said, "I saw an incredible document. It was the petition designed to get Johnnie into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by creating a sideman category for great backing musicians. There were signatures from Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Little Richard, Dick Clark, Bob Weir and many other musicians. Obviously, those people got what Johnnie was doing musically. So my job was to get to as many of them as I could."
{C}{C}
The task seemed daunting.
"I asked myself: Am I going to be able to get to these people?" says Holliday. "Are they going to be receptive? You just don't know. So you start sending out feelers -- e-mails, calls, letters. Thankfully, slowly but surely people started saying yes."
Holliday's first big break came when Bonnie Raitt provided filmed responses to his questions about Johnson. Then Chuck Leavell, who has played keyboard for the Rolling Stones since 1982, agreed to an interview. Then Joe Perry of Aerosmith responded -- as well as Taylor Hackford.
But all of the trips cost money. Holliday, who began funding the project out of his own pocket, applied for outside funding to keep the project going.
{C}{C}
"In the beginning," he says with a laugh, "it was me, my editor Jon King and my Visa card. Thankfully, we got funding for the film through two grants from University City CALOP grants for $40,000. That kept us going for several years. And fundraisers like the one we did at Pujols 5 are a great help as well."
Through that support, Holliday was eventually able to interview Eric Clapton and Keith Richards -- in addition to Bo Diddley, Michael McDonald, Buddy Guy, John Sebastian, Bruce Hornsby, Al Kooper and many others.
"Seven years later, I've got seven Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members in the film," said Holliday. "I've got film director Taylor Hackford and actors Malcolm McDowell and Lew Gossett, Jr. The common denominator? Johnnie Johnson and his songwriting relationship with Chuck Berry."
The one interview that's missing? Chuck Berry. For Holliday, the conflict between the two is something that must be addressed in the documentary. But he's surprised about criticism he's already receiving even before the release of "Johnnie Be Good."
"These people have no idea what's in the film because it's still being edited," said Holliday. "They have no idea what's in it, and they're already coming down on the film. But controversy is great for a film -- and for telling an interesting story."
At this point, Holliday says he has an hour of edited footage -- with at least a half hour more to go. Holliday is hesitant to put a final deadline on the project.
"As far as a target date, I really don't know," says Holliday. "It has a lot to do with legal issues and rights to live footage of Johnnie performing. And I obviously can't work on it full time because of my work commitments. It may be two years. It may be less. The bottom line: I'm on the verge of making what I hope is a fantastic documentary. My goal is to have people mention 'Johnnie Be Good' in the same breath as 'Standing In the Shadows of Motown' (a 2002 documentary about the studio musicians who created the Motown Sound). That's the model for what I want to produce."
For Holliday, it eventually comes down to making sure he does the best job possible in conveying the essence of Johnnie Johnson -- the person and the musician.
"It's a huge responsibility to be handed someone's life story to document," said Holliday. "I know I've got enough interviews with important musicians and other artists, so I know the film won't be ignored by film festivals and critics when it's released. They well may say that Art Holliday's a hack, but those names will make sure the film and Johnnie Johnson don't get ignored. And once we get them to watch the film, we can expose them to one of rock and roll's most interesting stories."
Terry Perkins, a freelance writer in St. Louis, writes about music.