Buddy Johnson
With his sister Ella seductively serving for decades as his primary vocalist, pianist Buddy Johnson led a large jump blues band that enjoyed tremendous success during the 1940s and '50s. The suave bandleader spotlighted a series of talented singers, including balladeers Arthur Prysock, Nolan Lewis, and Floyd Ryland, but it was Ella's understated delivery (beautifully spotlighted on the sumptuous ballad "Since I Fell for You") and Buddy's crisply danceable "Walk-Em Rhythm" that made the aggregation so successful for so long.
Buddy began taking piano lessons at age four. Although he specialized professionally in tasty R&B, classical music remained one of his passions. In 1939, Buddy Johnson waxed his first 78 for Decca, "Stop Pretending (So Hep You See)." Shortly thereafter, Ella joined her older brother; her delicious vocal on "Please Mr. Johnson" translated into long-term employment.
Buddy had assembled a nine-piece orchestra by 1941 and visited the R&B charts often for Decca during wartime with "Let's Beat Out Some Love," "Baby Don't You Cry," the chart-topping "When My Man Comes Home," and "That's the Stuff You Gotta Watch." Ella cut her beloved rendering of "Since I Fell for You" in 1945, a year after Buddy waxed his jiving gem "Fine Brown Frame."
In addition to their frequent jaunts on the R&B hit parade, the Johnson organization barnstormed the country to sellout crowds throughout the '40s. Buddy moved over to Mercury Records in 1953 and scored more smashes with Ella's "Hittin' on Me" and "I'm Just Your Fool," the latter a 1954 standout that was later purloined by Chicago harpist Little Walter.
Rock & roll eventually halted Buddy 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' Old Town label in 1964.
Singer Lenny Welch ensured the immortality of "Since I Fell for You" when his velvety rendition of the Johnson-penned ballad reached the uppermost reaches of the pop charts in 1963. It was a perfect match of song and singer; Welch's smooth, assured delivery would have fit in snugly with the Johnson band during its heyday a couple of decades earlier.
© Bill Dahl /TiVo
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Presenting Buddy Johnson
Blues - Released by Universal Digital Enterprises on 11 Feb 1939
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Jukebox Hits 1940-1951
Soul - Released by Acrobat Music on 1 Jan 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rock On! - The 100th Anniversary Collection
Pop - Released by Jasmine Records on 9 Oct 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Rock on! The 1956-1962 Recordings
R&B - Released by Shake It Up! Records on 5 Oct 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Blues À La Mode (Stereo)
Jazz - Released by The Digital Gramophone on 18 Oct 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Complete Jazz Series 1939 - 1942
Jazz - Released by Complete Jazz Series on 30 Mar 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
No More Troubles With Music
Jazz - Released by No More Troubles With Music TM on 1 Jul 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Complete Jazz Series 1944 - 1952
Jazz - Released by Complete Jazz Series on 30 Mar 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The JPJ Quartet
Buddy Johnson, Dill Jones, Bill Pemberton, Oliver Jackson
Contemporary Jazz - Released by Storyville Records on 20 Aug 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Complete Jazz Series 1950 - 1951
Jazz - Released by Complete Jazz Series on 30 Mar 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Buddy Johnson Wails
Jazz - Released by Stardust Records on 1 Jan 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Complete Jazz Series 1947 - 1949
Jazz - Released by Complete Jazz Series on 30 Mar 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Buddy and Ella's Greatest Hits
Jazz - Released by Excess Music on 1 Jan 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz Archives Presents: Buddy Johnson at the Savoy Ballroom (1945-1946)
Jazz - Released by Jazz Archives on 24 Jan 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Since I Feel for You
Blues - Released by Redwood Records on 10 Apr 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
At The Savoy Ballroom
Jazz - Released by CoolNote on 31 Aug 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Complete Jazz Series 1942 - 1947
Jazz - Released by Complete Jazz Series on 30 Mar 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
King of the Savoy (Remastered)
Blues - Released by Master Tape Records on 22 May 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo