Pete Johnson

Boogie-woogie pianist Pete Johnson was born in Kansas City, MO, in 1904. He was known as one of the greats of that genre, along with Albert Ammons and Meade 'Lux' Lewis. He regularly teamed with blues singer Big Joe Turner and their concert performances in the late 1930s helped to popularize "boogie-woogie" with the public. He had originally learned to play the drums, but got interested in the piano by listening to the records of Fats Waller. He eventually became a good enough piano player to secure gigs at various clubs around Kansas City in the early 1920s, which is where he first hooked up with Turner, and the two were eventually discovered by pioneering music producer John Hammond. In 1938 Hammond brought them to New York City and got them a spot on Benny Goodman's "Camel Caravan Radio Show", and then featured them in his "Spirituals to Swing" revue at Carnegie Hall. After that they made the rounds of the top New York nightclubs, mainly the Cafe Society Club, a mecca for the city's blues and jazz fans. They stayed at the club for several years, In 1950 Johnson moved to Buffalo, NY, but two years later he was involved in an auto accident in which he lost part of a finger, which severely curtailed his ability to perform. He did play some venues in the 1950s, but by the early 1960s "boogie-woogie" had run its course and Johnson's career ended with it. He died in 1967 in Buffalo after suffering a series of strokes.