General Norman Johnson (May 23, 1941 – October 13, 2010) was an American R&B singer,

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

of the

Chairmen of the Board Chairmen of the Board is an American-Canadian, Detroit, Michigan-based soul music musical ensemble, group, who saw their greatest commercial success in the 1970s. Recording career General Johnson (musician), General Johnson (1941–2010) had a ...

, songwriter, and record producer.

Biography

Johnson made an early start in music when he began singing in his church choir at the age of six. His recording debut came six years later on

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

, which recorded his group the Humdingers, although the tracks remain unreleased. In 1961, and following a change in name to the Showmen, Johnson and the group recorded “It Will Stand”, a single for

Minit Records Minit Records was an American independent record label, originally based in New Orleans and founded by Joe Banashak in 1959. Ernie K. Doe, Aaron Neville, Irma Thomas, and Benny Spellman were early artists on the label. Later artists included Bobb ...

. It was a chart hit in both 1961 and 1964. Although the Showmen recorded other offerings for Minit and

Swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

, including such hits as "39-21-46", they split up in 1968. Johnson attempted an abortive solo career before joining the then new

Invictus "Invictus" is a short poem by the Victorian era British poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903). It was written in 1875 and published in 1888 in his first volume of poems, ''Book of Verses'', in the section ''Life and Death (Echoes)''. Backgr ...

label in Detroit, Michigan. Steered by Holland-Dozier-Holland, Johnson recruited Danny Woods (ex-The Showmen), Harrison Kennedy, and Eddie Curtis and created

. Their debut single "

Give Me Just a Little More Time "Give Me Just a Little More Time" is the debut single by Chairmen of the Board, released in 1970 through Capitol Records on Holland–Dozier–Holland's Invictus Records label. "Give Me Just a Little More Time", backed with "Since the Days of P ...

" rose to #3 in the U.S. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' R&B chart in 1970. Additional hits included "(You've Got Me) Dangling on a String" and "Everything's Tuesday". Johnson commenced a career as songwriter with "Pay to the Piper", becoming a modest success for Chairmen of the Board. Other songs he wrote were successful when recorded by other musicians. These included the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

-winning "Patches" for

Clarence Carter Clarence George Carter (born January 14, 1936) is an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. His most successful songs include " Slip Away", " Back Door Santa" (both released 1968), " Patches" (1970) and "Strokin" (1986). Ea ...

(

Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008) was an American singer, guitarist, composer, and songwriter as well as an actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Guitar Man", " U.S. Male", "A Thi ...

also recorded a country music version). Invictus Records labelmates

Honey Cone Honey Cone was an American R&B and soul girl group formed by lead singer Edna Wright (sister of Darlene Love) with Carolyn Willis and Shelly Clark in 1968. They are best remembered for their number-one ''Billboard'' Hot 100 single, "Want Ads" ...

recorded the Johnson penned tracks "

Want Ads "Want Ads" is a song that was a million-selling #1 pop and R&B hit recorded by female group, Honey Cone for their second album '' Sweet Replies'' and also appears on their third album ''Soulful Tapestry''. The song on the Detroit-based Hot Wax l ...

", "Stick Up", and "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show". Johnson also wrote "Bring the Boys Home" for

Freda Payne Freda Charcilia Payne (born September 19, 1942Some sources give a birth year of 1945, but this appears to be an error as all sources agree that she is older than her sister Scherrie, born 1944.) is an American singer and actress. Payne is best ...

. Chairmen of the Board's popularity diminished in the middle of the 1970s, although Johnson and Woods remained together re-billed as the Chairmen. Johnson tried a solo career again in 1976, and his debut solo album on

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

was a modest success. He teamed again with Woods in the following decade, making a living on the

beach music Beach music, also known as Carolina beach music, and to a lesser extent, Beach pop, is a regional genre of music in the United States which developed from rock/ R&B and pop music of the 1950s and 1960s. Beach music is most closely associate ...

circuit. In 1993, Johnson released the album ''What Goes Around Comes Around'' (recorded with Woods). In recognition of the contribution that Johnson has made to American popular music, the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

designated June 9, 2001 as General Johnson Day in Virginia. Johnson died on October 13, 2010 in suburban Atlanta, Georgia. His obituary in ''The New York Times'' reported that his family attributed his death to complications of lung cancer. Other obituaries did not mention lung cancer but did note that he was recovering from recent knee surgery.

References

External links

The Showmen singles discography
*

Chairmen of the Board biography The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google Search, Google, Facebook, Amaz ...

* General Johnson biographyat Allmusic website * * as Norman Johnson * as N. Johnson
General Johnson interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' August 1987 (reprinted December 2010)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, General Norman 1941 births 2010 deaths American male singer-songwriters American rhythm and blues musicians American gospel singers American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Record producers from Virginia Grammy Award winners Singer-songwriters from Virginia Musicians from Norfolk, Virginia Deaths from lung cancer Deaths from cancer in Georgia (U.S. state)

Biography

See also

References

External links