From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Sat Jun 22, 2002  1:47 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Ella Johnson
 
ELLA JOHNSON (By Steve Walker)

Born 22 June 1923, Darlington, South Carolina

Ella is the younger sister of 1940's bandleader Buddy Johnson (see Dave Penny's
BTBWY feature for Buddy, born 10 January, 1915), and her sweet, sexy voice
features on many of the band's finest recordings.

Buddy established himself and his band at New York's Savoy Ballroom and it was
here that he introduced his famous 'Walk 'Em' rhythm - a simple and distinctive
beat that encouraged those who were not expert dancers to get out onto the
ballroom floor and shuffle. Male crooning vocal duties went mainly to
heart-throb Arthur Prysock and it was Buddy's little sister Ella who took on the
girl-singer mantle.

In her autobiography, Ruth Brown writes: 'She (Ella) was completely non-showbiz;
her brother was the Svengali, and without him she'd never have gone within a
mile of the stage. She was a nice girl, a real plain Jane, who sung her
songs..., rolling her goo-goo eyes and looking to her brother for approval...'.
Jazz critic Leonard Feather described Ella as, 'one of the great individualists
of modern blues singing'.

Her first recorded performance was on 'Please, Mr Johnson' (Decca 8507, 1941)
penned by her brother. She also provided the vocal on Buddy's only #1 listed
R&B hit 'When My Man Comes Home' (Decca 8655), a topical lyric aimed at the
homeward bound war heroes in 1944. The following year, Buddy and Ella recorded
the superb, 'That's The Stuff You Gotta Watch' (Decca 8671), which was covered
by both Wynonie Harris and Muddy Waters.

Arguably Ella's finest recorded moment came in 1946, when she oozed her way
through 'Since I Fell For You' (Decca 48016) - again, penned by brother Buddy.
Although Paul Gayten grabbed the hit sales (with Annie Laurie), it's Ella's
version that has stood the test of time. (Lenny Welch had a hit with the song
in 1963 on Cadence).



She also recorded as part of the Bee Jays (Ella Johnson, Julius Watson, Steve
Pulliam and Purvis Henson), producing a couple of superb bluesy sides in 1952 -
'I'm Gonna Jump In The River' (Decca 27947) and 'Baby, You're Always On My Mind'
(Decca 28293, 1952).



When Buddy died in 1977, Ella did not have the desire or the confidence to
continue with a musical career and she faded gracefully from the limelight. On
February 26, 1992, Ella was granted the R&B Foundation Award. She was last
heard of residing in an old peoples' home in New York

Recommended CD (in addition to those recommended in Dave Penny's earlier piece
on Buddy Johnson): 'Walk 'Em' - Buddy Johnson & His Orchestra; Ace CDCHD623
(1996) - it contains all of the above-mentioned tracks.

A pleasant tribute to Buddy and Ella can be found in a citation bill on the
South Carolina Legislature website at:

http://www.lpitr.state.sc.us/bills/4047.htm