An Encyclopedia of South Carolina Jazz and Blues Musicians by Benjamin Franklin V

Author:Benjamin Franklin V [Franklin V, Benjamin]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, pdf
Publisher: University of South Carolina Press
Published: 2016-05-29T16:00:00+00:00

Johnson, Buddy (Woodrow Wilson)

Leader, composer, arranger, piano, singer

1 January 1915 (Darlington County, S.C.)–9 February 1977 (New York, N.Y.)

S.C. residence: Darlington County, including Darlington town (1915–no later than 1935)

Johnson reportedly played the piano as early as age five. In high school he wrote and played in musical revues. To pursue a career in music he moved to N.Y.C. in the mid-1930s; by the end of the decade he had toured Europe as pianist with the Cotton Club Revue. Upon returning to the United States he signed with Decca Records and recorded for the initial time; he remained with Decca until affiliating with Mercury in 1953. He began an extended engagement at the Savoy Ballroom in 1945. Largely because his band played danceable music, it was popular, as evidenced by its extensive touring. Not only did Johnson hire good musicians, including trumpeter Dupree Bolton and trombonist Slide Hampton, but two singers in particular enhanced the music: his sister Ella Johnson and Arthur Prysock. Johnson discovered and hired vocalist Etta Jones, though she did not record with him. Among his hits were “Hittin’ on Me,” “Please, Mr. Johnson,” “Since I Fell for You,” and “They All Say I’m the Biggest Fool.” He composed all these songs, as well as many of the ones his band played. His recording of “When My Man Comes Home” is on the sound track of Life (1999). Johnson retired from the music business by the mid-1960s, presumably to become a minister. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, N.Y.

Johnson’s birth date comes from the Social Security Death Index; the death date, from the musician’s death notice. Conducted in N.Y.C. on 2 April, the 1940 census indicates that then and in 1935, Johnson lived in N.Y.C. with his siblings Ella Johnson and Hiram Johnson; the latter became a record company owner.

Compositions

“A-12,” “Baby, Don’t You Cry,” “B. J. Blues,” “Bring It Home to Me,” “Buddy’s Boogie,” “Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?,” “Dr. Jive Jives,” “Go Ahead and Rock,” “Going to New York,” “Hittin’ on Me,” “I Keep On Loving You,” “I’ll Dearly Love You,” “I’m Just Your Fool,” “I’m Stepping Out,” “In There,” “It’s Obdacious,” “I Wonder Where Our Love Has Gone,” “Jeanette,” “Keep Me Close to You,” “Kool Kitty,” “Let’s Start All Over Again,” “Like You Do,” “My Humble Plea,” “My Lonely Cabin,” “No More Love,” “Now You’re Gone,” “One of Them Good Ones,” “One Thing I Never Could Do,” “Please, Mr. Johnson,” “Rock On,” “Satisfy My Soul,” “Save Your Love for Me,” “Serves Me Right,” “Since I Fell for You,” “Small Taste,” “South Main,” “Stop Pretending,” “That’s How I Feel about You,” “That’s the Stuff You Gotta Watch,” “There’s No One Like You,” “They All Say I’m the Biggest Fool,” “This New Situation,” “Troyon Swing,” “Walk ’Em,” “When My Man Comes Home,” “Without the One You Love,” “You’d Better Believe Me,” “You Got It Made,” “You’ll Get Them Blues,” “You’re Everything My Heart Desires”

Recordings as Leader

“Reese’s Idea” (1939), “Stop Pretending” (1939), “Please, Mr. Johnson” (1940),

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