Music database

Musician

Pete Johnson

Pete Johnson - © Charlie Mihn (www.umkc.edu)

born on 24/3/1904 in Kansas City, KS, United States

died on 23/3/1967 in Buffalo, NY, United States

Pete Johnson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Pete Johnson

Pete Johnson (March 25, 1904 – March 23, 1967)[1] was an American boogie-woogie and jazz pianist.

Journalist Tony Russell stated in his book The Blues - From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray, that "Johnson shared with the other members of the 'Boogie Woogie Trio' the technical virtuosity and melodic fertility that can make this the most exciting of all piano music styles, but he was more comfortable than Meade Lux Lewis in a band setting; and as an accompanist, unlike Lewis or Albert Ammons, he could sparkle but not outshine his singing partner".[2] Fellow journalist, Scott Yanow (Allmusic) added "Johnson was one of the three great boogie-woogie pianists (along with Lewis and Ammons) whose sudden prominence in the late 1930s helped make the style very popular".[1]

Biography

Johnson was born in Kansas City, Missouri, United States.[1]

He began his musical career in 1922 as a drummer in Kansas City.[2] From 1926 to 1938 he worked as a pianist, often working with Big Joe Turner.[1] An encounter with Record producer John Hammond in 1936 led to an engagement at the Famous Door in New York City. In 1938 Johnson and Turner appeared in the From Spirituals to Swing concert at Carnegie Hall. After this show the popularity of the boogie-woogie style was on the upswing. Johnson worked locally and toured and recorded with Turner, Meade Lux Lewis, and Albert Ammons during this period.[1] Lewis, Ammons, and Johnson appeared in the film short Boogie-Woogie Dream in 1941.[2]

The song "Roll 'Em Pete" (composed by Johnson and Turner),[3] featuring Turner on vocals and Johnson on piano, was one of the first rock and roll records. Another self-referential title was their "Johnson and Turner Blues". In 1949, he also wrote and recorded "Rocket 88 Boogie", a two-sided instrumental, which influenced the 1951 Ike Turner hit, "Rocket 88".

In the late 1940s, Johnson recorded an early concept album, House Rent Party, in which he starts out playing alone, supposedly in a new empty house, and is joined there by J. C. Higgenbotham, J. C. Heard, and other Kansas City players. Each has a solo single backed by Johnson, and then the whole group plays a jam session together. On this album Johnson shows his considerable command of stride piano and his ability to work with a group.

At a nightclub in Niagara Falls, the piano was on a platform above the bar, and Johnson had to climb a ladder to get there.[2]

In 1950 he moved to Buffalo.[4] He encountered some health and financial problems in this period, including losing part of a finger in an accident and being partially paralyzed by a stroke. But he continued to record, and toured Europe in 1958 with the Jazz at the Philharmonic ensemble.[1][2] His final live appearance was the "Spirituals to Swing" in January 1967.[5] He died in Meyer Hospital, Buffalo, New York in March 1967, at the age of 62.[6]

Discography

Notable songs

  • "1280 Stomp"
  • "627 Stomp"
  • "Basement Boogie"
  • "Buss Robinson Blues"
  • "Cherry Red"
  • "Death Ray Boogie"
  • "Goin' Away Blues"
  • "Holler Stomp"
  • "Just for You"
  • "Lone Star Blues"
  • "Pete's Blues"
  • "Pete's Lonsome Blues"
  • "Rebecca"
  • "Roll 'Em Pete"

Selected albums

  • 1941 - 8 to the Bar, with Albert Ammons, RCA Victor
  • 1946 - Pete's Blues, Savoy
  • 1970 - Boogie Woogie Mood (1940-1944), MCA
  • 1974 - Master of Blues and Boogie Woogie, Oldie Blues
  • 1975 - Master of Blues and Boogie Woogie, Vol. 2, Oldie Blues
  • 1982 - Master of Blues and Boogie Woogie, Vol. 3, Oldie Blues
  • 1992 - King of Boogie, Milan
  • 1993 - Central Avenue Boogie, Delmark
  • 1996 - The Chronological Pete Johnson 1938-1939, Classics
  • 1996 - The Chronological Pete Johnson 1939-1941, Classics
  • 1997 - The Chronological Pete Johnson 1944-1946, Classics
  • 1998 - Blues & Boogie Woogie Master 1938/1946, EPM Musique
  • 1999 - Roll 'Em Pete, Pearl
  • 1999 - St. Louis Parties of July 20 & August 1, 1954, Document
  • 2000 - The Chronological Pete Johnson 1947-1949, Classics
  • 2001 - Atomic Boogie: The National Recordings 1945-1947, Savoy Jazz

Anthologies

  • 1994 - The Boogie Wooge Boys || Magpie Records
  • 1995 - Boogie Woogie Giants || Jazz Hour
  • 2003 - '50 Sublimes Chanteurs de Jazz, 1940-1953 || Body & Soul
  • 2005 - Boogie Woogie || Membran (10 discs)

|| indicates in print, as of February, 2009

See also

  • Big Joe Turner
  • List of boogie woogie musicians
  • List of jazz pianists
  • List of people from Kansas City
  • Kansas City Jazz
  • First rock and roll record

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 [Pete Johnson at All Music Guide Biography by Scott Yanow]. Allmusic.com. Retrieved on May 29, 2009.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues - From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray, p. 127, Dubai: Carlton Books Limited.
  3. [Pete Johnson at All Music Guide Allmusic.com - accessed May 2009]
  4. Du Noyer, Paul (2003). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music, 1st, Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing.
  5. History-of-Rock website details
  6. Thedeadrockstarsclub.com - accessed May 2009

External links

This page was last modified 03.02.2014 20:25:39

This article uses material from the article Pete Johnson from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.