Buddy Johnson

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Not to be confused with Budd Johnson.

Buddy Johnson (born Woodrow Wilson Johnson) (January 10, 1915 – February 9, 1977[1]) was an influential jazz and New York blues pianist and bandleader, active from the 1930s through the 1960s. His songs were often performed by his sister Ella Johnson, most notably "Since I Fell for You" which later became a jazz standard.

Contents

[edit] Life and career

Born in Darlington, South Carolina[1], Johnson took piano lessons as a child, and classical music remained one of his passions[2]. In 1938 he moved to New York[3], and the following year toured Europe with the Cotton Club Revue, being expelled from Nazi Germany. Later in 1939 he first recorded for Decca Records with his band, soon afterwards being joined by his sister Ella as vocalist.

By 1941 he had assembled a nine-piece orchestra[2], and soon began a series of R&B and pop chart hits. These included "Let's Beat Out Some Love" (#2 R&B, 1943, with Johnson on vocals), "Baby Don't You Cry" (#3 R&B, 1943, with Warren Evans on vocals), his biggest hit "When My Man Comes Home" (#1 R&B, #18 pop, 1944, with Ella Johnson on vocals), and "They All Say I'm The Biggest Fool" (#5 R&B, 1946, with Arthur Prysock on vocals). Ella Johnson recorded her version of "Since I Fell for You" in 1945, but it did not become a major hit until recorded by Lenny Welch in the early 1960s.

In 1946 Johnson composed a Blues Concerto, which he performed at Carnegie Hall in 1948. His orchestra remained a major touring attraction through the late 1940s and early 1950s, and contined to record in the jump blues style with some success on record on the Mercury label like "Hittin' on Me" and "I'm Just Your Fool". Rock and roll eventually halted Johnson's momentum, but his band (tenor saxophonist Purvis Henson was a constant presence in the reed section) kept recording for Mercury through 1958, switched to Roulette the next year, and bowed out with a solitary session for Hy Weiss's Old Town label in 1964.[2]

Johnson died, at the age of 62, from a brain tumor and sickle cell anemia in 1977 in New York.

[edit] Discography

[1]

[edit] Singles

  • "Please, Mr. Johnson," Decca, 1941.
  • "In There," Decca, 1941.
  • "I'm My Baby's Boy," Decca, 1941.
  • "Trilon Swing/Southern Exposure," Decca, 1941.
  • "I Still Love You," Decca, 1944.
  • "That's the Stuff You Gotta Watch," Decca, 1944.
  • "Opus Two," Decca, 1945.
  • "Walk 'Em," Decca, 1945.
  • "Li'l Dog," Decca, 1947.
  • "Pullamo," Decca, 1947.
  • "Shake 'em Up," Decca, 1950.
  • "Stormy Weather," Decca, 1951.
  • "Am I Blue?," Decca, 1951.
  • "Till My Baby Comes Back," Decca, 1951.
  • "Shufflin' and Rollin'," Decca, 1951.

[edit] Albums

  • Rock 'n Roll Stage Show, Mercury/Wing, 1956.
  • Buddy Johnson Wails, Mercury, 1957.
  • Swing Me, Mercury, 1958.
  • Rock and Roll with Buddy Johnson, Mercury/Wing, 1958.
  • Go Ahead and Rock and Roll, Roulette, 1958.
  • Buddy and Ella Johnson 1953-64, Bear Family, 1995.
  • Rockin' n' Rollin' featuring Ella Johnson, Collectables, 1995.
  • Walk 'Em: Decca Sessions, Ace, 1996

[edit] Awards

[1]

  • Induction, South Carolina Music Hall of Fame, 2001.

[edit] Citation

"Personally, I like classics," Buddy Johnson told Down Beat magazine, "but our bread and butter is in the South. The music I play has a Southern tinge to it. They understand it down there." [3]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Contemporary Musicians - Buddy Johnson biography - accessed January 2008
  2. ^ a b c All Music Guide biography - accessed January 2008
  3. ^ a b Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books Limited, p. 124-25. ISBN 1-85868-255-X. 

[edit] External links