[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 116 (Thursday, September 9, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1837]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING PIANO LEGEND JOHNNIE JOHNSON

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 9, 1999

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of the Congressional Black 
Caucus to honor one of the most influential musicians in American 
history, Mr. Johnnie Clyde Johnson.
  Johnnie was born the son of a coal miner in Fairmont, West Virginia, 
on July 8, 1924. He began playing the piano at the age of 5, on a 
second-hand upright his mother had purchased as a decoration. Unable to 
afford lessons, Johnnie practices and absorbed the sounds of big band 
jazz and swing, barrelhouse boogie and country western that he heard on 
the radio. His heroes were the piano players: Count Basie, Art Tatum, 
Earl Hines, Pete Johnson and Meade Lux Lewis. Johnnie studied each 
man's repertoire, mixing and matching until he found his own unique 
style.
  In 1943, with the War in full tilt, Johnnie enlisted in the Marines 
and became one of the first 1,500 black soldiers in this branch of 
service. He later had an opportunity to join the company band--The 
Barracudas--an elite group made up of some of the finest jazz musicians 
in the world, including members of Count Basie's, Lionel Hampton's and 
Glenn Miller's bands. It was a dream come true to play alongside his 
radio idols at U.S.O. shows, and by the time he returned home in 1946, 
Johnnie had decided to make music his life.
  Over the next few years, Johnnie honed his craft studying under the 
masters. After hearing T-Bone Walker in a Detroit club, he decided to 
move to Chicago, where the post-War blues scene was at it's height. 
Befriending and sitting in with legends like Muddy Waters, Memphis Slim 
and Little Walter sharpened Johnnie's skills. When he finally settled 
down in St. Louis in March of 1952, he formed a band--The Johnnie 
Johnson Trio--and soon thereafter procured a regular gig at one of the 
biggest night spots in town--the Cosmopolitan Club.
  Then fate stepped in. On New Year's Eve of 1952, Johnnie's 
saxophonist fell ill and was unable to make the show. Desperate for a 
replacement, Johnnie hired a fledgling guitarist named Chuck Berry to 
fill in for the night. Although he had only been playing professionally 
for six months, Berry had a gift for performance and a way with words 
that caught the attention of audiences. Johnnie decided to keep him on 
as a singer/guitarist, and for the next two years, The Johnnie Johnson 
Trio rocked the Cosmopolitan every weekend.
  In 1955, while still performing as The Johnnie Johnson Trio, Johnnie, 
Chuck Berry and Ebby Hardy traveled to Chicago and, along with Chess 
studio stalwart Willie Dixon, recorded ``Maybellene'' for Chess 
Records. The record was a hit and quickly reached number five on the 
charts. It was then that Berry approached his partner about taking over 
the band. Confident of Berry's business acumen, and yearning simply to 
ply his craft--the piano--Johnnie entrusted Berry with his band. And so 
it was that Johnnie became the silent partner in the first writing/
performing team in the history of rock and roll. Together, with 
Johnnie's musical inspiration and Berry's gift of poetry, they 
collaborated over the course of the next 20 years to create the songs 
that defined the genre, including ``Roll Over Beethoven,'' ``School 
Days,'' ``Back in the U.S.A.,'' ``Rock and Roll Music'' and ``Sweet 
Little Sixteen'' among many, many others. In fact, the song that may 
consider the ``national anthem'' of rock and roll--``Johnny B. 
Goode''--was a tribute written by Berry to his musical partner and 
collaborator--Johnnie Johnson.
  Johnnie and Berry performed and recorded together through the 1970s. 
However, as Berry's popularity grew, and he began traveling 
internationally, Johnnie elected to stay home in St. Louis. During this 
time, Johnnie also recorded with the legendary Albert King, for whom he 
contributed a great number of musical arrangements. But through it 
all--the birth of rock and roll with Chuck Berry and the inspired 
recordings with Albert King, Johnnie toiled largely unrecognized by the 
public.
  That is, until 1986, when Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards 
sought out Johnnie for the documentary Hail! Hail! Rock `n' Roll. 
Richards observed that many of Chuck Berry's songs were written in 
piano keys and that without Johnnie's melodies, the most influential 
songs in rock and roll history would be ``just a lot of words on 
paper.'' Moreover, Johnnie's performance during the film left no doubts 
as to his unequaled prowess at the keyboard.
  Since the film, Johnnie has begun to receive the public acclaim he so 
justly deserves. Widely recognized by the industry as the world's 
greatest living blues pianist, he has released six solo albums and 
contributed his considerable talent to recordings by John Lee Hooker, 
Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Bo Diddley and the late Jimmy Rogers.
  Johnnie Johnson has suffered for his art. Yet, through it all, he has 
never lost the gentle, self-effacing demeanor that causes everyone he 
meets to love him. He has no bitterness, no regrets. Equally at home 
playing in front of thousands, or in a tiny club with a local band, 
Johnnie plays for the sake of playing. ``All I want to do is play my 
piano,'' he says. ``I'm just glad that I have the chance to make people 
happy.'' I am honored, Mr. Speaker, to present to the 106th Congress, a 
man who has never lost touch with what it means to be a musician--the 
Father of Rock and Roll, Mr. Johnnie Johnson.

                          ____________________