| Genres: |
R&B / Soul
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| Descriptive "tags": |
soul • northern soul • male vocalists • blues • oldies
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| Decades Active: |
1960s
•
1970s
•
2000s
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Biography
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’....
Read the Full Biography of Lou Johnson
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