Betty Johnson is an American traditional pop and cabaret

Cabaret

Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...

 singer.

Biography

Johnson was born in Guilford County, North Carolina

Guilford County, North Carolina

Guilford County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In 2010, the Census Bureau estimated the county's population to be 491,230. Its seat is Greensboro. Since 1938, an additional county court has been located in High Point, North Carolina, making Guilford one of only a handful...

. Her professional debut was in a family group, The Johnson Family Singers

The Johnson Family Singers

The Johnson Family Singers, a popular singing family during the decade of the 1940s, was probably the best-known family singing group during the "golden days of radio." This original family of singers consisted of a father , a mother , and four children—Kenneth , Betty, and twins Bob and Jim, who...

, including her parents and three brothers, singing a repertoire primarily of religious material. The family won a singing contest in Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...

, and was signed to a contract on a WBT (AM)

WBT (AM)

WBT is a radio station in Charlotte, North Carolina, broadcasting on the AM dial at 1110 kHz. A 50,000-watt clear-channel station, it can be heard across most of the eastern half of North America at night. It simulcasts on WBT-FM, at 99.3 MHz in Chester, South Carolina. It is owned by Greater...

, a major radio

Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

 station in that city. The family sang on broadcasts from 1938 to 1951, and Betty did some solo work on the station as well beginning in 1943. By 1948, she had her own 15-minute radio program

As a teenager, she was signed by Columbia Records

Columbia Records

Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...

 and made some recordings, none of which were successful.

From 1949 to 1954 she was married to Dick Redding, having one son from that marriage, Harold Richard Redding (born 1952), known as "Dicky."

In 1951, Percy Faith

Percy Faith

Percy Faith was a Canadian-born American bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor, known for his lush arrangements of pop and Christmas standards. He is often credited with creating the "easy listening" or "mood music" format which became staples of American popular music in the 1950s and...

, who had known her from her Columbia recordings, tried to convince Mitch Miller

Mitch Miller

Mitchell William "Mitch" Miller was an American musician, singer, conductor, record producer, A&R man and record company executive...

 (A&R

A&R

Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...

 director at Columbia) to sign her, but Miller, who included Doris Day

Doris Day

Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...

 and Rosemary Clooney

Rosemary Clooney

Rosemary Clooney was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit "Come On-a My House" written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian , which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 –...

 among the artists he had signed, saw no need to sign her.

Johnson released a children's album with country

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 singer Eddy Arnold

Eddy Arnold

Richard Edward Arnold , known professionally as Eddy Arnold, was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a so-called Nashville sound innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the Billboard country music charts, second only to George Jones. He sold more...

 produced by Simon and Schuster, who subsequently signed her to their own recording label, Bell Records in 1954. In the same year she signed with Csida-Grean, a management company which had handled Arnold's career. Charles Grean of that company produced many of her subsequent recordings. In 1955, she signed with RCA Victor Records, which sent her to Chicago, Illinois.

In Chicago, Johnson worked with Arnold again on his syndicated television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 series, Eddy Arnold Time

Eddy Arnold Time

Eddy Arnold Time is an American musical television series syndicated to local stations from 1955 through 1957. The show consisted of 26 half-hour filmed episodes starring Eddy Arnold in different roles within a musical narrative...

, backed by a group who had worked with her family on the Grand Ole Opry

Grand Ole Opry

The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...

, The Jordanaires

The Jordanaires

The Jordanaires are an American vocal quartet, which formed as a gospel group in 1948. They are best known for providing vocal background for Elvis Presley, in live appearances and recordings from 1956 to 1972...

. That group later became well known as a backing group for Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

. While in Chicago, she also did some work on Don McNeill's

Don McNeill (performer)

Don McNeill was an American radio personality, best known as the creator and host of The Breakfast Club, which ran for more than 30 years.-Early career:...

 Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club (radio)

The Breakfast Club is a long-run morning variety show on NBC Blue Network/ABC radio originating in Chicago, Illinois. Hosted by Don McNeill, the radio program ran from June 23, 1933 through December 27, 1968. McNeil's 35½-year run as host remains the longest tenure for an M.C...

beginning in 1955, which led to a contract with a small record company, Bally Records

Bally Records

Bally Records was a small record label located at 203 N. Wabash Ave. in Chicago, Illinois. Proper name was Bally Recording Corporation and it was a subsidiary of the pinball and slot machine manufacturer of the same name. The parent Company saw and filled a need to supply records to the coin...

. After one not-so-notable recording for Bally, she clicked with her biggest hit, "I Dreamed

I Dreamed

"I Dreamed" is a popular song with music by Charles Grean and lyrics by Marvin Moore. It was published in 1956.The biggest hit version was done by Betty Johnson in 1956. This recording was released by Bally Records as catalog number 1020. It first reached the Billboard magazine charts on December...

", in 1956. She continued to appear on The Breakfast Club until 1957. Also in 1957 she married Grean; though the marriage would only last until 1961, the professional relationship continued.

She then was hired by Jack Paar

Jack Paar

Jack Harold Paar was an author, American radio and television comedian and talk show host, best known for his stint as host of The Tonight Show from 1957 to 1962...

 for his television show, Tonight

The Tonight Show

The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...

. This led to a record contract with Atlantic Records

Atlantic Records

Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...

 in 1957, for which she had her next big hit, "Little Blue Man". Johnson continued on Tonight until 1962 when Paar was replaced by Johnny Carson

Johnny Carson

John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...

, while also making appearances on a number of other television shows.

In 1964 she married Arthur Gray, an investment banker in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. She had two daughters, Elisabeth (born 1966) and Lydia (born 1968), from this marriage. From then until 1993 she mostly stayed out of show business, going to college

College

A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...

 (attending some classes at Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...

 beginning in 1977, but ultimately getting her Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree from the University of New Hampshire

University of New Hampshire

The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...

 in 1981).

In 1984 and 1985 Johnson appeared as Essie Miller in the Goodspeed Opera Houses revival of TAKE ME ALONG! In 1993, she returned to show business, appearing at the Algonquin Hotel

Algonquin Hotel

The Algonquin Hotel is a historic hotel located at 59 West 44th Street in Manhattan . The hotel has been designated as a New York City Historic Landmark....

 in New York and subsequently starting her own record label, Bliss Tavern Music, for which she continues to make recordings.

Biggest hit singles

• "I Want Eddie Fisher for Christmas" (1954)
• "I Dreamed
  I Dreamed
  "I Dreamed" is a popular song with music by Charles Grean and lyrics by Marvin Moore. It was published in 1956.The biggest hit version was done by Betty Johnson in 1956. This recording was released by Bally Records as catalog number 1020. It first reached the Billboard magazine charts on December...
  
  " (1956)
• "1492" (1957)
• "Little White Lies
  Little White Lies
  "Little White Lies" is a popular song.It was written by Walter Donaldson. The song was published in 1930. It was recorded on July 25, 1930 by Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians with vocal by Clare Hanlon and The Waring Girls...
  
  " (1957)
• "The Song You Heard When You Fell in Love" (1957) (Top 40, Canada)
• "Little Blue Man" (1958)
• "Dream" (1958)
• "You Can't Get to Heaven" (1959)
• "Slipping Around" (1960)