Johnson Family Singers

Kenneth M. Johnson (1928- ) of Randolph County, N.C., along with his father Jesse ("Pa"), mother Lydia ("Ma"), sister Betty, and twin brothers Bob and Jim, formed the gospel and popular music singing group the Johnson Family Singers.

Kenneth Marshall ( Red ) Johnson was born in Randolph County, N.C., on 11 February 1928. Kenneth, along with his father Jesse Deverin ( Pa ) Johnson, mother Lydia Florence Craven ( Ma ), sister Betty, and twin brothers Bob and Jim, formed the Johnson Family Singers, a gospel and popular music singing group.

Jesse Johnson taught his family to read music through shape-note notation. The family attended music schools of the leading gospel song publishers of the day: the Vaughan School of Music in Lawrenceburg, Tenn., and the Stamps-Baxter School of Music in Dallas, Tex. Jesse Johnson worked in a variety of different jobs, and the family often moved. In 1940, the Johnson Family Singers appeared at a singing convention in the old Armory Auditorium in Charlotte, N.C. The appearance led to an invitation to sing on WBT radio, a 50,000-watt CBS affiliate in Charlotte. The Johnson Family Singers became staff singers on WBT. It was at WBT that they met pianist and singer Larry Walker, who introduced them to popular music and accompanied them on air. The family also traveled around the Carolinas making appearances at schools, churches, conventions, singings, and rallies.

Through a chance meeting with the station manager of WTOP, Jesse Johnson secured an audition with Columbia record producers Art Satherly and Don Law. From 1946 to 1952, the Johnsons recorded a total of 52 songs for Columbia Records. The family later recorded for RCA Victor in the 1950s.

Betty Johnson left the group in 1952 to pursue a singing career on her own. She made several solo appearances on Jack Paar's Tonight Show and the Ed Sullivan Show . It was her connection with Sullivan that led to the family's appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1958. In addition to television appearances, Betty Johnson recorded a number of singles and LP records.

Kenneth Johnson was graduated from Davidson College in 1952 and entered the Methodist ministry. On Thanksgiving Day 1951, he married Evelyn Guyton. Together they had five children: Martha Lynn, Kenneth, Jr., Robin, Wesley, and Christopher. In 1997, Kenneth published The Johnson Family Singers: We Sang For Our Supper. Kenneth M. Johnson retired from the United Methodist Church and lives in Lake Junaluska, N.C.