The concept behind the Chairmen of the Board was this: A vocal group with four lead singers. Yeah, okay. But the Chairmen’s defining voice came out of the mouth of General Johnson, one of the quirkiest soul singers evar. He also wrote a lot of the group’s material.
Here is Mr. Johnson working out on the Chairmen’s first hit single:
"quirky" is definitely the word to describe the great General Johnson.
ReplyDeletei've never been sure whether his vocal stylings were pain-wracked or just straight-up oddball!
My favorite thing about this blog is that you answer questions I have been too lazy to research...I'm fascinated with General Johnson because I can't roll my r's and he really does have a sweet and powerful voice.
ReplyDeletei've never been sure whether his vocal stylings were pain-wracked or just straight-up oddball!
ReplyDeleteHow about one from Column A and one from Column B? His biggest hit as a songwriter was "Patches," a smash for Clarence Carter. But General Johnson's original version is a quavering, overwrought, deep-country masterpiece... supremely oddball, but with genuine emotion behind it.
And Thembi, he's still out there doing it!
For some reason, this song has always reminded me of the Cowardly Lion:
ReplyDeleteIf I were king of the forrrrrrresssst....
I was gonna post this song on my blog eventually...always loved it-thanks for the listen :-)
ReplyDeleteThis is one of those songs that jumped right through the speaker of my transistor radio and smacked me upside my head to get my attention. Stopped what I was doing or saying just to listen to this song.
ReplyDelete