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
Discography
13 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Jukebox Hits 1940-1951
Soul - Released by Acrobat Music on Jan 1, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Presenting Buddy Johnson
Blues - Released by Universal Digital Enterprises on Feb 11, 1939
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
No More Troubles With Music
Jazz - Released by No More Troubles With Music TM on Jul 1, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Blues À La Mode (Stereo)
Jazz - Released by The Digital Gramophone on Oct 18, 2013
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 Aug 20, 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Buddy Johnson Wails
Jazz - Released by Stardust Records on Jan 1, 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 Jan 24, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
New Music In There
Jazz - Released by New Muzik In There Rec. on Jul 2, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Best of Buddy Johnson
Jazz - Released by Platinum Collection on Jan 1, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Like You Do: The Old Town EP
R&B - Released by Old Town Records on Aug 8, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
St. Louis Blues
Jazz - Released by Dance Plant Records Inc on Jan 1, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo