Jai Johanny Johanson
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| Jai Johanny Johanson | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Birth name | John Lee Johnson | |
| Also known as | Jaimoe, Jaimo | |
| Born | July 8, 1944 | |
| Origin | Ocean Springs, Mississippi | |
| Genre(s) | Rock | |
| Occupation(s) | musician | |
| Instrument(s) | Drums | |
| Years active | 1966–present | |
| Associated acts |
The Allman Brothers Band, Sea Level | |
Jai Johanny Johanson (born John Lee Johnson on July 8, 1944, in Ocean Springs, Mississippi), frequently known by the stage names Jaimoe or Jaimo, is an American drummer and percussionist who is best known as one of the founding members of The Allman Brothers Band.
Johanson came up in the rhythm and blues world and began drumming at an early age, often accompanied by friend Lamar Williams on bass. Johanson was a member of Otis Redding's touring band in 1966, later touring with Sam and Dave. After joining up with Duane Allman in February 1969, he quickly became the first recruit into Allman's new group, soon joined by bassist Berry Oakley, fellow drummer Butch Trucks, guitarist Dickey Betts and, in late March 1969, Allman's younger brother, singer, organist and pianist Gregg Allman. The group, quickly named after the brothers Allman, began recording demos that April in Macon, Georgia, which became the group's spiritual home.
In 1976, after six albums and hundreds of concerts, the group disbanded, with Betts and the younger Allman focusing on their own careers (the elder Allman having died in 1971) and Johanson joining forces with Chuck Leavell (pianist for the group from 1972 on) and Lamar Williams (bassist for the group after Oakley's 1972 death) in the jazz-rock combo Sea Level. Johanson drummed for the group on their first three albums, before rejoining The Allman Brothers Band in 1979.
Being fired from the Allmans in late 1980 due to increasing back problems (stemming from a 1974 automobile accident) and the group's financial woes, Johanson lived near poverty in Macon for nearly a decade before being invited back into the group in 1989.
Nearly two decades later, Johanson continues to record and perform with the Allman Brothers Band.
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