Ella Johnson
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Ella Johnson (June 22, 1919 – February 16, 2004)[1][2] was an American jazz and rhythm and blues singer.
Born Ella Mae Jackson in Darlington, South Carolina, United States,[2] she joined her brother Buddy Johnson in New York as a teenager,[3] where he was leading a popular band at the Savoy Ballroom. Her singing drew comparisons to Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday.[1]
Johnson scored her first hit with "Please, Mr. Johnson" in 1940.[4] Subsequent hits included "Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?", "When My Man Comes Home" and "Hittin' On Me". Her popular 1945 recording of "Since I Fell for You", composed by her brother, led to its eventual establishment as a jazz standard. She continued to perform with Buddy Johnson into the 1960s. AllMusic noted that her "later solo sides for Mercury are pale imitations of her work with the band."[3]
In February 2004, she died of Alzheimer's disease in New York at the age of 84.[1][3]
Selected discography
- Rock and Roll (Mercury, 1956)
- Walkin' (1957)
- Swing Me (Mercury, 1958)[4]
- Go Ahead and Rock (Roulette, 1959)[5]
- Say Ella (Juke Box, 1983)[4]
Compilations
- 1953-1964 4CD (Bear Family Records, 1992)[6]
- Rockin' and Rollin (1995)[7]
- Jukebox Hits: 1940-1951 (Acrobat, 2004)
- Gotta Go Upside Your Head: The Rock & Roll Years 1953-1955 (Rev-Ola, 2006)
- Rock On! The 1956-62 Recordings (Hoodoo, 2015)
- The Decca Years (Jasmine, 2025)
- The Mercury Years (Jasmine, 2025)
References
- 1 2 3 "Ella Johnson, 86, Singer in Jazz Bands". The New York Times. 20 March 2004. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- 1 2 Doc Rock. "The Dead Rock Stars Club 2004 January To June". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
- 1 2 3 Hank Davis. "Ella Johnson". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
- 1 2 3 Colin Larkin, ed. (1995). The Guinness Who's Who of Blues (Second ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 202. ISBN 0-85112-673-1.
- ↑ "Go Ahead and Rock and Roll - Buddy Johnson, El..." AllMusic. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
- ↑ "Buddy and Ella Johnson 1953-1964 - Buddy Johns..." AllMusic. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
- ↑ "Rockin' n' Rollin' Featuring Ella Johnson - Bu..." AllMusic. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
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