1941, USA. A singer in the mould of Ben E. King, Johnson was a former member of the Zionettes. Their single ‘Talking About The Man’ enjoyed sufficient local interest to prompt his solo ambitions. Signed to the Big Top/Big Hill group of labels, Johnson recorded a series of superb Burt Bacharach / Hal David compositions, including ‘Reach Out For Me’ (1963) and ‘(There’s) Always Something There To Remind Me’ (1964). Both reached the lower rungs of the R&B chart. Sandie Shaw’s recording of the latter became a UK number 1 while the former song provided Dionne Warwick with a US Top 20 hit. Johnson’s ‘Kentucky Bluebird (Send A Message To Martha)’ later became a hit for Adam Faith and was subsequently revamped by Dionne Warwick as ‘A Message To Michael’. Johnson’s last chart record was ‘A Time To Love, A Time To Cry’ (1965), a vocal version of Sidney Bechet’s ‘Petite Fleur’. Albums on the Cotillion and Volt labels emerged in the late 60s and early 70s, but following this Johnson retreated to the Los Angeles supper club circuit.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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1941, USA. A singer in the mould of Ben E. King, Johnson was a former member of the Zionettes. Their single ‘Talking About The Man’ enjoyed sufficient local interest to prompt his solo ambitions. Signed to the Big Top/Big Hill group of labels, Johnson recorded a series of superb Burt Bacharach / Hal David compositions, including ‘Reach Out For Me’ (1963) and ‘(There’s) Always Something There To Remind Me’ (1964). Both reached the lower rungs of the R&B chart. Sandie Shaw’s recording of the latter became a UK number 1 while the former song provided Dionne Warwick with a US Top 20 hit. Johnson’s ‘Kentucky Bluebird (Send A Message To Martha)’ later became a hit for Adam Faith and was subsequently revamped by Dionne Warwick as ‘A Message To Michael’. Johnson’s last chart record was ‘A Time To Love, A Time To Cry’ (1965), a vocal version of Sidney Bechet’s ‘Petite Fleur’. Albums on the Cotillion and Volt labels emerged in the late 60s and early 70s, but following this Johnson retreated to the Los Angeles supper club circuit.