blog
Monday, December 10, 2007
Happy Merry, everybody! Greetings from St. Louis.
Johnnie Johnson, already a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, recently became a member of the inaugural class of the West Virginia Hall of Fame, on November 16, 2007. Below is a newspaper article about the induction ceremony and click here for a link to an interview about the musicians who were inducted with Johnnie.
During the production of JOHNNIE BE GOOD, I've traveled twice to Johnnie's hometown, Fairmont, WV, videotaping the Johnnie Johnson Jazz and Blues Festival and interviewing friends and family of the late, great Johnnie Johnson. I was pleased to contribute some of my documentary material to the organizers of the West Virginia Hall of Fame ceremonies for a video biography of Johnnie.
To all of you who are supporters of JOHNNIE BE GOOD, thanks much! Speaking of supporters, check out this video of Dona Oxford with the Johnnie Johnson Band. They rocked the house last July at the Argosy Casino at a fundraiser for the documentary and then headed to B.B.'s for this performance. Dona is a friend and protege of Johnnie and has been a huge help with JOHNNIE BE GOOD. Dona, come back to St. Louis!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDiQm0InyXo
There'll be more news and developments for JOHNNIE BE GOOD in 2008. Have a great holiday!
The journey continues.....
Art Holliday
Director, JOHNNIE BE GOOD
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GREATNESS GLORIFIED: MUSIC HALL OF FAME GLORIFIES ITS FIRST INDUCTEES:
Publication: CHARLESTON GAZETTE
Byline: ERIC EYRE
Nobody played the piano quite like Johnnie Johnson. Johnson learned to play by ear as a young boy growing up in Fairmont. The neighbors would rustle him awake at night and sneak him out of his house to an after-hours joint where he'd perform. There was drinking and dancing and a whole lot of piano music. "His was a blues that touched you to the core of your soul," said Johnson's daughter, Connie Johnson Whiting. "He and his music were inseparable."
On Friday night, Johnson, who died two years ago, was one of 10 artists inducted into the first class of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame. More than 420 people attended the ceremony at the state Cultural Center in Charleston. Singer/actress Ann Magnuson, a Charleston native, hosted the event.
Living inductees were: composer George Crumb; country singer Little Jimmy Dickens; songwriter Billy Edd Wheeler; folk artist Hazel Dickens; and R&B singer Bill Withers. The other five inductees, all deceased, were: Johnson; saxophonist Leon "Chu" Berry; old-time fiddler Clark Kessinger; pioneering singer Molly O'Day and singer/songwriter Blind Alfred Reed. The evening featured musical performances by Kathy Mattea, George and Ann Crumb, Tim and Mollie O'Brien, and the Nichols family. All of the artists inducted into the music hall were either from West Virginia or have strong ties to the state.
Johnnie Johnson also was a proud West Virginian, said his daughter, Johnson Whiting. Johnson was one of the state's first African-Americans to join the Marines during World War II. After the war, Johnson moved to St. Louis and put together a jazz and blues group. Less than a year later, one of the band members had a stroke and couldn't play, so Johnson invited a young man named Chuck Berry to join. Berry eventually left and became a solo act, but would later perform the song "Johnny B. Goode," which was tribute to Johnson, his daughter said. Most of Johnson's recognition came after the release of the documentary "Hail Hail! Rock 'n' Roll" in 1987. After working as a bus driver, Johnson returned to music and performed with a star-studded list of musicians, including Eric Clapton, Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, and Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir and his band, Ratdog. In 2001, Johnson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. "He was so humble," she said. "He was undaunted by his celebrity. People loved him as much as his music."
If her father were still alive, Johnson Whiting has no doubt what he would have said after accepting his award. It's the phrase he always used when something or someone pleased him. "He would have said, 'That'll work,'" Johnson Whiting said. "That'll work."
