From:   "Jean-Marc Pezet" 
Date:  Sun Sep 14, 2003  4:51 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Johnny Jano
 
JOHNNY JANO (By Dik de Heer)

Born Johnny Janot, 14 September 1933, Eunice, Louisiana
Died 16 January 1984, Beaumont, Texas

Johnny Jano was one of the little-known early rockabily artists whom Jay
Miller brought into his small Crowley, Louisiana studio in the 1950's. Born
Johnny Janot - he adopted the more convenient Jano for recording purposes -
in Eunice, Louisiana, he started in radio at an early age at his hometown's
KEUN featuring vocal and guitar. By the time he recorded for Jay Miller he
was also jockeying on KLOU in Lake Charles. He commenced recording 
with Eddie Shuler for Goldband in Lake Charles and stayed there into the 
70s. Johnny became a radio salesman, working on KLVI in Beaumont, 
Texas, one of the most powerful stations covering the entire Gulf Coast. 
Jano only made a handful of tapes for Jay Miller but two sides sent to
Excello Records in Nashville were released : "Havin' A Whole Lot Of Fun"/
"I'd Make A Good Man For You" (Excello 2099). Apparently the single
didn't sell too well because Jay never worked up another full session. 

Many tracks later released on various revival albums are "warm-up" 
items featuring a small, improvised studio backing, often Jay himself. 
A collection of 12 tracks has been issued on Flyright in 1977. Some of 
these tracks are different versions of the same song but in all cases 
Flyright claims that the titles are as they appeared on the original tape-
boxes. Some songs were incomplete and others featured Jay's novel
"slap-back" technique for a reverb effect. On "Rocking And Rolling" and
"I'd Make A Good Man For You" (both on the Flyright LP) the nucleus 
of the band is Guitar Gable's, although one of Jay's regular bass players, 
Rufus Thibodeaux was also present at the session. 

Prior to his death at the age of 50 in 1984, Jano worked as a DJ in
Beaumont, Texas, and sang in local clubs at weekends.

Adapted from http://www.rockabilly.nl/artists/jjano.htm (by Bruce Bastin).
LP : King Of Louisiana Rockabilly (Krazy Kajun LP 100) 
"Havin' A Whole Lot of Fun" and "I'd Make a Good Man For You" are
available on the CD "Hey Baby! The Rockin' South" (Ace 641).