40th Anniversary Screening of Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll + Johnnie Be Good Documentary Fundraiser

Join us at the Hi-Pointe for an evening celebrating the music, the history, and the St. Louis pianist whose influence helped shape rock & roll.

Forty years ago, on October 16, 1986, an extraordinary night of music at St. Louis’ Fox Theatre helped reintroduce the world to one of rock & roll’s essential architects: pianist Johnnie Johnson.

On October 16, 2026, exactly 40 years later, Cinema St. Louis and filmmaker and longtime St. Louis broadcaster Art Holliday invite audiences to the Hi-Pointe Theatre for a special celebration of Johnson’s life, music and legacy.

The evening features a special anniversary screening of Taylor Hackford’s Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll, the acclaimed concert film built around Chuck Berry’s 60th-birthday celebration at the Fox Theatre. Johnson’s appearance in the historic concert helped bring renewed attention to the pianist whose playing was fundamental to some of rock & roll’s most enduring music. For the 1986 Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll concerts, Steve Litman served as the venue’s lead logistics and operations coordinator. Because the event was a major Hollywood film production mixed with a live concert, Litman’s job was to bridge the gap between the film crew and the Fox Theater.  While Hollywood producer Stephanie Bennett and musical director Keith Richards ran the creative side, Litman was the essential ground-level manager who ensured the Fox Theatre could physically handle the historic event.

The event also launches the next chapter of Holliday’s longtime passion project, Johnnie Be Good, a documentary dedicated to telling Johnson’s remarkable story and bringing his contributions to audiences worldwide. More than a dozen members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are in Johnnie Be Good, including Bonnie Raitt, Bob Weir, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and two of his Rolling Stones bandmates, Chuck Leavell and Steve Jordan. John Goodman and Michael McDonald narrate the current 95-minute rough cut. Proceeds from the evening will support the documentary’s fundraising campaign.

The celebration will include remarks from Art Holliday and a special appearance by Los Angeles pianist and Johnnie Johnson protégé Dona Oxford, who will perform an original song created for the documentary. 

Tickets

General Admission — $40

7 – 10pm, Hi-Pointe Theatre
Includes admission to the anniversary screening and special program.

Boogie Woogie VIP — $100

6 – 6:45pm, Par Lounge

Includes the pre-screening Boogie Woogie VIP Reception in the Par Lounge, hors d’oeuvres, reserved seating, and photo opportunities with Dona Oxford and Art Holliday.