George Washington Johnson (c. October 1846 – January 23, 1914) was an American singer and pioneer sound recording artist. Johnson was the first African American recording star of the phonograph . His most popular songs were "The Whistling Coon" and " The Laughing Song ".
26-1452: George Johnson may refer to: Arts and entertainment [ edit ] George W. Johnson (singer) (1846–1914), American singer, early recording artist George Perry Johnson (1885–1977), American film producer, writer, and newsreel producer George Johnson (actor) (1898–1961), American actor George Johnson (musician) (1913–1987), jazz saxophonist and clarinetist George Johnson (artist) (1926–2021), Australian artist George M. Johnson (writer) (born 1985), American author and activist George Johnson (aka Lightnin' Licks, born 1953), American musician, member of The Brothers Johnson Military [ edit ] George Owen Johnson (1896–1980), Canadian aviator, RCAF Air Marshal and WWI ace George Johnson (British Army officer) (1903–1980) George Johnson (general) (1918–2021), United States Air Force general Johnny Johnson (RAF officer) (George Leonard Johnson, 1921–2022), Royal Air Force officer Politics [ edit ] Canada [ edit ] George Macness Johnson (1853–1935), judge and politician in Newfoundland George Balfour Johnson (1865–1940), politician in Saskatchewan, Canada George William Johnson (politician) (1892–1973), Canadian member of
52-555: A United States Navy destroyer escort in commission from 1944 to 1946 and from 1950 to 1957 USS George H. Johnson (SP-379) , the proposed name and designation of a commercial freight lighter the United States Navy considered for service during World War I but never acquired George P. Johnson , an American multinational corporation See also [ edit ] George Johnston (disambiguation) George Johnstone (disambiguation) Topics referred to by
78-681: A campaign to honor Johnson, and received a grant from the MusiCares Foundation to erect a plaque on his grave site. On April 12, 2014, a century after his death, the singer was finally recognized in a ceremony including displays, presentations and a performance by actor Larry Marshall who impersonated Johnson. Also in 2013, his c. 1896 recording of "The Laughing Song" was inducted into the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry . George Johnson (Independent Labour Party politician) George Francis Johnson (1872–1958)
104-734: A light-hearted tune and lyrics which would be unacceptable today, in which a black man is compared to a baboon. Johnson continued recording for the New York and New Jersey companies, and in 1891 also started recording for their parent company, the North American Phonograph Company. At least one of his 1891 recording sessions was held at Thomas Edison 's laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey . Johnson also made appearances in Vaudeville . His repertory on stage
130-519: A manifesto which proposed an independent trajectory for the party. They ultimately triumphed, and from 1934, Johnson served as the division's representative on the party's National Administrative Council (NAC). He was also elected to Norwich City Council , on which he worked closely with the Labour Party, and by the end of the decade, he advocated the ILP reaffiliating to the Labour Party. Johnson
156-704: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages George W. Johnson (singer) Johnson was born in Virginia , either in Fluvanna County or near Wheatland in Loudoun County . His father was a slave, and he was likely freed in 1853. From an early age, Johnson was raised near Wheatland as the companion and servant of a prosperous white farmer's son. During his time with this family, he developed his musical ability and even learned to read and write, which
182-694: The Victor Talking Machine Company , the Chicago Talking Machine Company, Bettini and numerous other small cylinder and disc companies through the 1890s and up to 1909 or 1910. In 1897, Johnson recorded two new songs, "The Laughing Coon" and "The Whistling Girl". They remained in the Edison and Columbia catalogs for years, although neither was as popular as his two original tunes. By 1905, Johnson's popularity had declined. New recording technology enabled
208-536: The recording studio fifty or more times a day. By 1895, Johnson's two tunes "The Whistling Coon" and " The Laughing Song " were the best-selling recordings in the United States. "The Laughing Song" was number one for ten weeks from April to June 1891, while "The Whistling Coon" was number one for five weeks in July and August 1891. Johnson was the first African American to appear on the pop chart, and his song on
234-577: The Legislative Assembly from Manitoba George Johnson (Manitoba politician) (1920–1995), Canadian lieutenant-governor of Manitoba U.S. [ edit ] George W. Johnson (governor) (1811–1862), Confederate governor of Kentucky George Y. Johnson (1820–1872), New York politician George Alonzo Johnson (1824–1903), 49er, Colorado River steamboat entrepreneur and California politician George A. Johnson & Company George A. Johnson (1829–1894), attorney general of
260-2218: The Negro leagues George Johnson (cricketer, born 1894) (1894–1965), English cricketer George Johnson (cricketer, born 1907) (1907–1986), English cricketer George Johnson (sport shooter) (1915–2006), Puerto Rican Olympic shooter George Johnson (athlete) (born 1938), Liberian athlete George Johnson (boxer) (1938–2016), American heavyweight boxer George Johnson (American football player) (born 1989), American football defensive end George Johnson (American football coach) , head football coach at Bucknell University from 1915 to 1917 Chappie Johnson (George Johnson, 1877–1949), American baseball player and team manager, Negro leagues career 1896–1919 Writers [ edit ] George William Johnson (writer) (1802–1886), British writer George Metcalf Johnson (1885–1965), American mystery and western writer, also wrote as George Metcalf George Clayton Johnson (1929–2015), American science fiction writer George B. Johnson (born 1942), American science writer George Johnson (writer) (born 1952), American science writer, including for The New York Times George Washington Johnson (poet) (1839–1917), Canadian schoolteacher and poet Others [ edit ] George Johnson (priest) (1808–1881), British clergyman and academic George Henry Martin Johnson (1816–1884), Iroquois chief George Johnson (physician) (1818–1896), English physician George Johnson (statistician) (1837-1911), Canadian statistician George Raymond Johnson (1840–1898), English architect in Australia George Lindsay Johnson (1853–1943), British ophthalmologist George F. Johnson (1857–1948), American businessman George Marion Johnson (1900–1987), American law professor and academic administrator George E. Johnson Sr. (born 1927), American entrepreneur George W. Johnson (academic) (1928–2017), American academic and academic administrator Other uses [ edit ] USS George A. Johnson ,
286-723: The New York Phonograph Company and Victor Emerson of the New Jersey Phonograph Company both heard Johnson performing in Manhattan , probably at the ferry terminals on the Hudson River . Both of them invited Johnson to record his loud raggy whistling on wax phonograph cylinders for a fee of twenty cents per two-minute performance. Although Johnson could whistle all the tunes of the day, one of his first recordings for both companies
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#1732798303719312-739: The Norwich Class Teachers' Association. Around 1905, he joined the ILP and, through it, the Labour Party ; by the mid-1920s, he was president of the Norwich ILP, and secretary of the Norwich Labour Party. Later in the decade, he became the chairman of the ILP's Eastern Division. At the 1922 United Kingdom general election , Johnson stood for the Labour Party in Norwich . He took 15.7% and fourth place in
338-1048: The South Carolina House of Representatives George F. Johnson IV (born c. 1953), American politician and sheriff Other politicians [ edit ] George Johnson (MP for Devizes) (1626–1683) George Johnson (Australian politician) (1811–1902), member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly George Randall Johnson (1833–1919), British cricketer and member of the New Zealand Legislative Council George Johnson (Independent Labour Party politician) (1872–1958), British socialist politician Sports [ edit ] Association football [ edit ] George Johnson (footballer, born 1871) (1871–1934), English football forward (Walsall, Aston Villa) George Johnson (footballer, born 1904) (1904–1985)
364-684: The age of 67. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Maple Grove Cemetery in Kew Gardens , Queens , New York . False rumors have circulated that Johnson died either in a racially motivated lynching , or alternatively that he was hanged after he committed murder . While neither story is true, Johnson did have an 'eventful' personal life. There is no evidence that he ever legally married or had any children, but Johnson did have at least two 'common-law wives', both of whom died while living with him. The first, an unnamed "German woman",
390-464: The chart was the first to have been written by an African American. The total sales of his wax cylinders between 1890 and 1895 have been estimated at 25,000 to 50,000, each one recorded individually by Johnson. Remarkably, the New Jersey record company marketed Johnson as a black man, during an era when much of American life was strongly segregated by race. "The Whistling Coon" was characterized by
416-404: The pressing of thousands of duplicate records from a single master, and Johnson was no longer needed to record each copy individually. His friend Len Spencer, now a successful artist and booking agent, hired Johnson as an office doorman. Johnson worked for Spencer and lived in his office building for several years, then moved back to Harlem. Johnson died from pneumonia and myocarditis in 1914 at
442-464: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title George Johnson . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_Johnson&oldid=1234556123 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Human name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
468-498: The state of California George William Johnson (congressman) (1869–1944), American congressman from West Virginia George E. Q. Johnson (1874–1949), U.S. federal judge George W. Johnson (Minnesota politician) (1894–1974), speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives and 28th Mayor of Duluth, Minnesota George R. Johnson (1929–1973), Pennsylvania politician George Dean Johnson Jr. (born 1942), member of
494-691: The two-seat constituency. He next contested Great Yarmouth at the 1929 United Kingdom general election , taking third place with 17.8% of the vote. The ILP split from the Labour Party in 1932, and the East Anglian Division of the ILP became a stronghold of the Revolutionary Policy Committee , which advocated that the ILP should instead join the Communist Party of Great Britain . Johnson opposed this approach, instead working with John Middleton Murry on
520-649: Was a British socialist politician who devoted much of his life to the Independent Labour Party (ILP). Born in London, Johnson worked various jobs, including a period as an actor. He trained as a scientific instrument maker, then became a schoolteacher in Norwich in about 1900, focusing on teaching practical skills. He joined the National Union of Teachers , soon becoming president of its Norfolk association, and also served as president of
546-487: Was a popular vaudeville novelty song called "The Whistling Coon". Johnson sang as well as whistled, and also was able to give a boisterous laugh in musical pitch. From this he developed the second performance that made him famous, "The Laughing Song". Although he recorded other material, including whistling the song " Listen to the Mockingbird " and some short minstrel show performances done with other performers, it
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#1732798303719572-704: Was an English footballer (Ashington, Reading, Sheffield Wednesday, Watford) George Johnson (footballer, born 1907) (1907–1989), English football fullback (Wigan Borough, Darlington) George Johnson (football manager) , Leicester City manager Basketball [ edit ] George E. Johnson (basketball) (born 1947), American ABA/NBA player George T. Johnson (born 1948), American NBA player George L. Johnson (born 1956), American NBA player Other sports [ edit ] George S. Johnson (1879–1948), Australian rules footballer Chief Johnson (1886–1922), American baseball player George Johnson (baseball) (1890–1940), American baseball outfielder in
598-570: Was found dead in their apartment on West 39th Street in late 1894 or early 1895. No charges were filed. The second, Roskin Stuart, was found beaten and unconscious in their apartment on West 41st Street on October 12, 1899. Stuart was taken to the hospital and died a few hours later. Johnson was tried for first-degree murder and found not guilty. In 2013 the Maple Grove Historical Preservation Society began
624-606: Was illegal for a black child in Virginia before the American Civil War . Johnson later worked as a laborer , and in his late twenties he moved to New York City . By the late 1870s he was making his living as a street entertainer in New York, specializing in whistling. Some time between January and May 1890, Johnson was recruited by two different regional phonograph distributors who were looking for recording artists for their coin-operated machines. Charles Marshall of
650-428: Was pretty much limited to his two famous songs, but this was sufficient to get him bookings on bills. In 1894, Johnson began recording with Len Spencer , a Vaudeville star of the era, and the two would remain friends until the end of Johnson's life. In 1895, Johnson made his first recordings on the new disc technology for Berliner Gramophone . In addition to Berliner, Johnson recorded for Edison Records , Columbia ,
676-418: Was these two songs that Johnson would perform and record over and over for years. In the earliest days of the recording industry, every record was a " master ". A singer with a strong voice could make three or four usable recordings at once, with as many machines running simultaneously with their recording horns pointed towards the singer's mouth. Johnson would sometimes sing the same song over and over again in
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