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Peter (Pete) Johnson (24 March 1904 - 23 March 1967) was an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 pianist
Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an musical ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers....
, best known as a leading boogie-woogie
Boogie-woogie

Boogie-woogie has the following meanings:* Boogie-woogie , a piano-based music style* Boogie-woogie , a swing dance or a dance that imitates the Rock-n-Roll dance of the 1950s...
 pianist.

son was born in Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson County, Missouri, Clay County, Missouri, Cass County, Missouri, and Platte County, Missouri counties....
, Missouri
Missouri

Missouri is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska....
. He died in Meyer Hospital, Buffalo
Buffalo, New York

Buffalo , is the second largest city in the state of New York. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River, Buffalo is the principal city of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area and the county seat of Erie County, New York....
, New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
.

He began his musical career in 1922 as a drummer
Drummer

A drummer is a musician who plays a drum or drums, particularly a drum kit , marching percussion or hand drums. The term percussionist applies to a musician performing on any percussion instrument, but usually refers to one who plays Classical music or Latin percussion....
 in Kansas City. From 1926 to 1938 he worked as a pianist, often accompanying Big Joe Turner
Big Joe Turner

Big Joe Turner was an United States blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri, Missouri....
. In 1938 he and Turner appeared in the "From Spirituals to Swing
From Spirituals to Swing

From Spirituals to Swing was the title of two influential concerts presented by John H. Hammond in Carnegie Hall on 23 December 1938 and 24 December 1939....
" concert
Concert

A concert is a live performance, usually of music, before an audience. The music may be performed by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band....
 at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City located at 881 Seventh Avenue , occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street , two blocks south of Central Park....
. This concert started a boogie-woogie craze, and Turner and two other performers at the concert, Meade Lux Lewis
Meade Lux Lewis

Meade Anderson "Lux" Lewis was a United States pianist and composer noted for his work in the Boogie Woogie style. His best known work, "Honky Tonk Train Blues", has been recorded in various contexts, often in a big band arrangement....
 and Albert Ammons
Albert Ammons

Albert Ammons was an United States pianist. Ammons was the king of boogie-woogie, a bluesy jazz style that swept the United States from the late 1930s into the mid 1940s....
, worked together afterwards at Café Society
Café Society

Caf? society was the collective description for the so-called "beautiful people" and "bright young things" who gathered in fashionable cafes and restaurants in Paris, London, Rome or New York City, beginning in the late 1800s....
 for a long time; they also toured and recorded
Sound recording and reproduction

Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical or mechanics inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects....
 together.






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Peter (Pete) Johnson (24 March 1904 - 23 March 1967) was an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 pianist
Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an musical ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers....
, best known as a leading boogie-woogie
Boogie-woogie

Boogie-woogie has the following meanings:* Boogie-woogie , a piano-based music style* Boogie-woogie , a swing dance or a dance that imitates the Rock-n-Roll dance of the 1950s...
 pianist.

Career

Johnson was born in Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson County, Missouri, Clay County, Missouri, Cass County, Missouri, and Platte County, Missouri counties....
, Missouri
Missouri

Missouri is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska....
. He died in Meyer Hospital, Buffalo
Buffalo, New York

Buffalo , is the second largest city in the state of New York. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River, Buffalo is the principal city of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area and the county seat of Erie County, New York....
, New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
.

He began his musical career in 1922 as a drummer
Drummer

A drummer is a musician who plays a drum or drums, particularly a drum kit , marching percussion or hand drums. The term percussionist applies to a musician performing on any percussion instrument, but usually refers to one who plays Classical music or Latin percussion....
 in Kansas City. From 1926 to 1938 he worked as a pianist, often accompanying Big Joe Turner
Big Joe Turner

Big Joe Turner was an United States blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri, Missouri....
. In 1938 he and Turner appeared in the "From Spirituals to Swing
From Spirituals to Swing

From Spirituals to Swing was the title of two influential concerts presented by John H. Hammond in Carnegie Hall on 23 December 1938 and 24 December 1939....
" concert
Concert

A concert is a live performance, usually of music, before an audience. The music may be performed by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band....
 at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City located at 881 Seventh Avenue , occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street , two blocks south of Central Park....
. This concert started a boogie-woogie craze, and Turner and two other performers at the concert, Meade Lux Lewis
Meade Lux Lewis

Meade Anderson "Lux" Lewis was a United States pianist and composer noted for his work in the Boogie Woogie style. His best known work, "Honky Tonk Train Blues", has been recorded in various contexts, often in a big band arrangement....
 and Albert Ammons
Albert Ammons

Albert Ammons was an United States pianist. Ammons was the king of boogie-woogie, a bluesy jazz style that swept the United States from the late 1930s into the mid 1940s....
, worked together afterwards at Café Society
Café Society

Caf? society was the collective description for the so-called "beautiful people" and "bright young things" who gathered in fashionable cafes and restaurants in Paris, London, Rome or New York City, beginning in the late 1800s....
 for a long time; they also toured and recorded
Sound recording and reproduction

Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical or mechanics inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects....
 together. In 1941 Lewis, Ammons and Johnson were featured in the movie
Film

Film encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the film industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects....
 short Boogie Woogie Dream.

The song, "Roll 'Em Pete
Roll 'Em Pete

"Roll 'Em Pete" is a rhythm and blues song originally recorded in 1938 by Big Joe Turner and pianist Pete Johnson. The recording is regarded as one of the most important precursors of what later became known as "rock and roll"....
", featuring Turner on vocals and Johnson on piano, was one of the first rock and roll record
First rock and roll record

There are many candidates for the title of the first rock and roll record, but it is arguable whether any such thing exists. As with all forms of music, the roots of "rock and roll" are deep and wide....
s, although there is strong reason to believe he stole that piece from Jelly Roll Morton
Jelly Roll Morton

Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton was an United States ragtime pianist, bandleader and composer.Widely recognized as a pivotal figure in early jazz, Morton claimed, in self-promotional hyperbole, to have invented jazz outright in 1902....
 who neglected to register his works, leaving him without claim to them. Another self-referential title was their "Johnson and Turner Blues". In 1949, he also wrote and recorded "Rocket 88 Boogie", a two-sided instrumental
Instrumental

An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or any other sort of vocal music; all of the music is produced by musical instruments....
, which influenced the later Ike Turner
Ike Turner

Ike Wister Turner was an United States musician, bandleader, talent scout, and record producer. His first recording, "Rocket 88" by "Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats," in 1951, is considered by some to be the "First rock and roll record" ever....
 1951 hit
Hit single

A hit single is a Sound recording track or Single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official Record chart through repeated airplay and/or significant commercial sales....
 "Rocket 88
Rocket 88

"Rocket 88" is a rhythm and blues song that was first recorded at Sam Phillips' recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee, on 3 March or 5 March 1951 ....
".

In the late 1940s, Johnson recorded an early concept album
Concept album

In popular music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical". Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being musical improvisation or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing to narrative....
 Pete's House Warmin' , in which he starts out playing alone, supposedly in a new empty house, and is joined there by J. C. Higgenbotham, J.C. Heard, and other Kansas City players. Each has a solo
Solo (music)

In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer. In practice this means a number of different things, depending on the type of music and the context....
 single
Single (music)

In the record industry, a single is a song usually used from a current or upcoming album to promote the album. Singles are distributed through a number of ways; originally, they were packaged as "single" records with one or two other songs and sold before the release of the album....
 backed by Johnson, and then the whole group plays a jam session
Jam session

A jam session is a musical act where musicians gather and play without extensive preparation or predefined arrangements; improvisation.Jam sessions are often used to develop new material, find suitable arrangements, or simply as a social gathering and communal practice session....
 together. On this album
Album

An album or record album is a collection of related Sound recording and reproduction or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites....
 Johnson shows his considerable command of stride piano
Stride piano

Stride, also known as New York ragtime, is a jazz piano style wherethe pianist's left hand may play a four-beat pulse with a bass note or tenth interval on the first and third beats, and a Chord on the second and fourth beats, or an interrupted bass with three single notes and then a chord while the right hand plays melodies, riffs an...
 and his ability to work with a group.

Johnson used to play at a nightclub
Nightclub

A nightclub is a Alcoholic beverage, Dance and entertainment Music venue which does its primary business after dark. People who frequent nightclubs are known as clubbers....
 in Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls

The Niagara Falls are massive waterfalls on the Niagara River, straddling the Canada?United States border between the Provinces and territories of Canada of Ontario and the U.S....
 where he had to climb a long ladder to the piano above the bar.

In 1950 he moved to Buffalo but, despite problems with his health, he continued to tour and record, notably with Jimmy Rushing
Jimmy Rushing

James Andrew Rushing was an United States blues shouter and swing music jazz singer from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, best known as the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948....
, Big Joe Turner, and on a 1958 Jazz at the Philharmonic
Jazz at the Philharmonic

Jazz at the Philharmonic or JATP was the title of a series of concerts and recordings produced by Norman Granz . The very first concert was held on July 2, 1944 at Philharmonic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, and featured Illinois Jacquet, Jack McVea, J....
 tour of Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
, despite losing part of a finger some years earlier while changing a tire.

A stroke
Stroke

A stroke is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to a disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. According to the National Stroke Association, a "stroke" occurs when a blood clot blocks and artery or a blood vessel breaks, interrupting blood flow to an area of the brain....
 in 1958 left him partly paralyzed. Johnson made one final appearance at John Hammond
John H. Hammond

John Henry Hammond II was a record producer, musician and music critic from the 1930s to the early 1980s. In his service as a A&R, Hammond became one of the most influential figures in 20th Century popular music....
's January 1967 "Spirituals to Swing" concert, playing the right hand on a version of "Roll 'Em Pete" two months before his death.

Notable songs

  • "1280 Stomp"
  • "627 Stomp"
  • "Basement Boogie"
  • "Buss Robinson Blues"
  • "Cherry Red"
  • "Death Ray Boogie"
  • "Goin' Away Blues"
  • "Holler Stomp"
  • "Just for You"
  • "Lone Star Blues"
  • "Pete's Blues"
  • "Pete's Lonsome Blues"
  • "Rebecca"

Discography

  • 1938-1939 Classics, 1938
  • King of Boogie Milan, 1939
  • Master of Blues and Boogie Woogie, Vol. 3 Oldie Blues, 1939
  • Boogie Woogie Mood (1940-1944) MCA ca. 1970
  • Pete's Blues Savoy, 1946
  • Central Avenue Boogie|| Delmark 1993
  • Master of Blues and Boogie Woogie Oldie Blues 1975
  • 1939-1941 Classics 1996
  • 1944-1946 Classics 1997
  • Blues & Boogie Woogie Master 1938/1946 EPM Musique 1998
  • St. Louis Parties of July 20 & August 1, 1954 Document 1999
  • Roll 'Em Pete Pearl 1999
  • 1947-1949 Classics 2000
  • Atomic Boogie: The National Recordings 1945-1947 Savoy Jazz 2001


on anthologies

  • The Boogie Wooge Boys|| Magpie Records, 1994
  • Boogie Woogie Giants|| Jazz Hour, 1995
  • 50 Sublimes Chanteurs de Jazz, 1940-1953|| Body & Soul, 2003
  • Boogie Woogie|| Membran, 2005, 10 discs


|| indicates in print, as of February, 2009

See also

  • Big Joe Turner
    Big Joe Turner

    Big Joe Turner was an United States blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri, Missouri....
  • List of boogie woogie musicians
    List of boogie woogie musicians

    Among the many Boogie-woogie musicians are not only blues players, but rock and roll, and country musicians as well, and at least one european classical music....
  • List of jazz pianists
    List of jazz pianists

    This is an alphabetized list of notable musicians who play or played jazz piano. Only add names here if the person has their own article on Wikipedia, please....
  • List of people from Kansas City
    List of people from Kansas City

    This is a list of people who were born or lived a significant part of their lives in Kansas City, Missouri or the Kansas City Metropolitan Area.*Sergio D....
  • Kansas City Jazz
    Kansas City Jazz

    Kansas City Jazz is a style of jazz that developed in Kansas City, Missouri and the surrounding Kansas City Metropolitan Area during the 1930s and marked the transition from the structured big band style to the musical improvisation style of Bebop....
  • First rock and roll record
    First rock and roll record

    There are many candidates for the title of the first rock and roll record, but it is arguable whether any such thing exists. As with all forms of music, the roots of "rock and roll" are deep and wide....


External links

  • at Allmusic website
    Website

    A Web site is a collection of related Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that are hosted on one Web server, usually accessible via the Internet....