Peter Johnson was born March 25, 1904, in Kansas City, Missouri, and died in Buffalo, New York, March 23, 1967. Johnson spent part of his childhood in a Kansas City orphanage. He took up several trades before learning to play drums, playing in different orchestras around town from 1922 to 1926. During that time he began to take up the piano under the tutelage of his uncle, Charles "Smash" Johnson. His first job as pianist was in Clarence Love's orchestra, after which he played solo gigs around Kansas City. At one of them, at the famous Sunset Cafe, the bartender joined him as a singer-it turned out to be Big Joe Turner.

Hammond Discovers Him

They worked together as a duo, and then in 1938 promoter/producer John Hammond discovered them and invited them to New York to performer in his concert Spirituals to Swing, in 1938, produced by John Hammond. That concert also featured boogie-woogie pianists Meade "Lux" Lewis and Albert Ammons and effectively launched the boogie-woogie craze. Following that concert he appeared at the Cafe Society Downtown with the two other pianists as well as Turner.

Blossoming Career

During the following decade Johnson regularly appeared with Ammons and somewhat less frequently with Lewis, in addition to solo appearances. He also recorded prolifically in various settings, from solo piano to eight-piece group, demonstrating skill as an excellent all-around pianist. He moved to Buffalo in 1950, where he earned money doing the same kinds of side jobs he had done as a young person, occasionally playing in clubs. He went on a 1952 tour billed as the "Piano Parade" with Lewis along with Art Tatum and Erroll Garner.

Health Declines

In 1958 he appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival, and the Brussels World's Fair, and it looked like this would give his career a needed boost. Unfortunately he suffered a heart attack in December of that year, which, when added to his chronic diabetes caused a muscular paralysis, with doctor bills pushing him close to destitution. He was frequently hospitalized during his last decade. In 1965 a book, The Pete Johnson Story by Hans J. Maurer was published to raise money to help him. Various benefits were also organized for him.

Last Appearance

Johnson's last public appearance was in January of 1966, at a new Spirituals to Swing concert organized by John Hammond. There he was reunited with Big Joe Turner and they performed their most famous hit, "Roll 'Em Pete." Johnson was also the composer of "Wee Baby Blues," "Kansas City Farewell," and "Death Ray Boogie," among many others. He died of a stroke in Buffalo, New York, two days before his 63rd birthday.

By Joel Simpson

Bibliography

Carles, Philippe, Andre Clergeat and Jean-Louis Comolli. "Dictionnaire du jazz." Paris: Editions Robert Lafont, 1988.

"Final Bar." Down Beat, May 4, 1967.

Kernfeld, Barry. "The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz." New York: St. Martin's Press, 1988, rpt. 1996.

Ramsey, Frederick, Jr. and Charles Edward Smith. "Jazzmen." 1939; rpt. New York: Limelight Editions, 1985. "Boogie Woogie" by William Russell, 183-205.