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Post subject: General Norman Johnson
Posted: Fri Oct 15, 2010 3:20 am
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Last night I learned that General Norman Johnson died. In the southeastern USA he is best known as the lead singer for THE CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARD. To me and legions of fans he was possibly the greatest entertainer we ever saw. I worked with General Johnson on more that one project.

I have to say that like ELVIS, like MICHAEL....we will never see his like again. You could not pry this guy offstage with a Jaws of Life rescue tool set on TURBO.

General Jonson was born to entertain....Born to sing...born to write great songs like:
PATCHES
CAROLINA GIRLS
GONE FISHING
GIVE ME JUST A LITTLE MORE TIME
EVERYTHING'S TUESDAY
and many many others.

Singer, songwriter, bassist, killer lyricist...gone.

I feel HONORED that I even knew General Norman Johnson. To see him perform was on par with Sammy Davis, Jr., or Frank Sinatra. No entertainer ever tried harder than Norman. No entertainer ever wanted to entertain more, and that is for sure. He was born to entertain the crowd!

Thanks to him for the music.

I know his family is devastated. And so am I. So am I.

I feel great empathy for his band. They have no leader now.

What a great entertainer. If you never saw him or you don't know him at all, I frankly feel sorry for you. General Norman Johnson was a genuine talent, not the kind of guy you run across everyday. He was golden. And he appreciated good bassists.

I have a few funny stories about him, but they are too involved and now is so not the time.

Here is a link for more information:


http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-music-scene/2010/10/14/beach-music-great-general-johnson-dies/comment-page-1/#comment-5229


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Posted: Fri Oct 15, 2010 7:36 pm
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God bless his family, friends, and fans.

Those guys performed some great music.


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Posted: Fri Oct 15, 2010 11:56 pm
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Chairmen of the Board, they were on the Invictus label, right? Was Billy "Bass" Nelson on any of those records? Billy "Bass" was first, original bassist for The Parliaments and Funkadelic and I know he was a session bassist on a lot of those earlier Invictus sessions. Reason I ask is, I've had the pleasure of knowing and jamming with Billy "Bass"!! He lives here in Nashville and he got up and sat in on my bass several times and I moved over to guitar!! Anyhow, too bad, another great soul icon, gone. They seem to be getting fewer and fewer...


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Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 4:14 am
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SammyG2000 wrote:
Chairmen of the Board, they were on the Invictus label, right? Was Billy "Bass" Nelson on any of those records? Billy "Bass" was first, original bassist for The Parliaments and Funkadelic and I know he was a session bassist on a lot of those earlier Invictus sessions. Reason I ask is, I've had the pleasure of knowing and jamming with Billy "Bass"!! He lives here in Nashville and he got up and sat in on my bass several times and I moved over to guitar!! Anyhow, too bad, another great soul icon, gone. They seem to be getting fewer and fewer...


The Chairmen's big chart singles were on Invictus, which was then one of the startup labels Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Edward Holland, Jr cranked up after their caustic 1967 split with Berry Gordy over allegedly being cheated by Mr. Gordy out of songwriting royalties. The Holland/Dozier/Holland trio also had some artists signed to a subsidiary called HOT WAX Records such as the HONEY CONE and 100 Proof Aged In Soul. The trio's lawsuit against Gordy's Motown dragged out for a very, very long time.

Since The Chairmen Of The Board was the flagship act for Invictus/Hot Wax, the session musicians had to be the very best. The ones who played on most if not all of the Chairmen Of The Board's Invictus hits which were .... surprise! The Funk Brothers:
* Bass: Bob Babbitt (FENDER endorsing artist)
* Guitarists: Dennis Coffey, Eddie Willis, and Ray Monette
* Keyboards: Johnny Griffith
* Drums: Richard 'Pistol' Allen
* Percussion: Jack Ashford
Those are very familiar names to anyone who knows their Funk Brothers. "GIVE ME JUST A LITTLE MORE TIME" would be yet another certified million copy selling single that featured the Funk Brothers.

If Billy Bass played on any of the Invictus/Hot Wax Detroit recordings that General produced, I would not be surprised, but mostly it was Mr. Babbitt playing bass for the Chairmen sessions.

General Johnson by all appearances was doing well as a performer, songwriter and producer at Invictus/Hot Wax in Detroit and in fact wrote and produced all the hits for the HONEY CONE on the Hot Wax label and produced some other great soul songs for the upstart label too. He won a Grammy for penning the Clarence Carter hit, "PATCHES" during this time as well.

Creative differences developed between General and Invictus and in 1976 General bailed on both Invictus/Hot Wax and on the Chairmen act for a solo contract with Clive Davis at Arista which didn't work out either. The General walked out again on his Arista solo contract again citing creative differences and had to go to Europe to perform while the lawsuits were settled in the USA.

In late 1978 General reformed the Chairmen and in 1980 moved the Chairmen to Charlotte and founded his own label, SURFSIDE RECORDS, based on East Boulevard in Charlotte which has been the premier Beach Music label ever since.

While the Chairmen never had another national hit, they sold tons of vinyl albums, cassettes and CD's on the Surfside label and got lots of airplay in the region with many of their releases like "Beach Fever," "Gone Fishing" and the unofficial state song of both Carolinas, "Carolina Girls."

Additionally General's Surfside label became adept at compiling Beach Music compilation albums which were a Who's-Who of R & B/Dance in what was called the "OCEAN DRIVE" series and the "BEACH MUSIC ANTHOLOGY" series which combined sold HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of copies and of course featured lots of the Chairmen and General's first vocal group, THE SHOWMEN. The Ocean Drive and Beach Music Anthology series were probably their biggest selling albums and were quite pricey at the time going for nearly $30 per volume. Each volume was a 2 disc set containing about 30 songs each.

The Chairmen was consistently the biggest drawing club or festival act with baby-boomers from Ga to Va from the 80's through February of 2010 when General developed a knee problem and took time off for knee surgery. The band continued to perform without him and will continue to do so, however a replacement lead singer is a distinct possibility.

The actual cause of General's death is undetermined at this time. His memorial service is this coming Tuesday in East Point, Ga.


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Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 4:46 am
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Here's a link to some Chairman of the Board videos. Scroll down to the one that says "UNDER THE RADAR" to see some clips of them performing live. They did this show for 3 to 4 hours some nights. They were always but always amazing.
http://www.chairmenoftheboard.com/FYI.htm#bittersweet


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Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 1:14 pm
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Man, wish I could have been able to see one of thier shows. I saw Billy Bass play with George Clinton a few times before I ever met him, they also played 3-4 hour shows! On at least 1 or 2 occasions they played till the club pulled the plug on the P.A.!! I thought I remember reading that the Funk Bros. played on a lot of that Invictus stuff, but I wasn't sure because I knew Parliament released thier first album on that label in 1970 and were used as session musicians on several other albums, just not sure which ones. Guess that'll be something to research! Anyhow, great info, thanks Brother Dave!


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Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2010 5:03 am
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I've seen P-Funk at least five times. Great players all around and truly a carnival.

George Clinton is from Kannapolis, NC about 25 miles from where I live and he plays the Grady Cole Center in Charlotte every now and then.

BEYOND George and...like Michael, like Elvis....General was unique. I saw Elvis and I saw Micheal. General was OLD SCHOOL. No funny hair styles. No weird costumes beyond the 80's era jumpsuits.

If it came down to Michael Jackson and General Johnson playing across the street from each other, I'd watch Michael's first set because he always but the best stuff first....then I'd walk across the street because the General burned it down late.

I'm serious, as far as I am concerned General was in the same class with the best of the best of the best. RIGHT UP THERE with the best entertainers I've ever seen. As was said of Elvis, Sinatra, Michael...and now I'm saying of General Johnson....we will never see their like again.

There is nothing I've seen out there...nothing like them. Some artists try TOO hard...like Lady GaGa...or Katy Perry or Fall Out Boy...but there is no substitute for the hard work which the truly unique talents did for years behind the scenes that enabled them to make it look so dang easy.

General Johnson not only made it look easy, he made it look natural and he gave you the illusion he was having the best time he had ever had in his life every...single...time....he put on the stage clothes. He was simply a born entertainer.

Beyond that, I must say that while E had the drug talk, Michael had all sorts of rumors going and went on national TV live to say he was not a bad person, Frank had worse things said about him were so bad that he never bothered to refute them....nobody I've ever known has said anything bad about General.

Frankly, as a crowd pleaser...General beats Sinatra and Elvis. So it comes down to General Johnson and Michael Jackson as the best live entertainers I've ever seen. That contest is a toss up.

So what we lost is...a great entertainer on a par with Michael Jackson. Yet, Larry King won't cover it. Nobody is going to issue any collector coins. BUT to those who saw him work, we still lost a great entertainer on the same level as people who got far more press. And truly, I mean for real, we will never see the like of him again.

"Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....Give me just a little more time
And our love will surely grow.."
Memories....

PATCHES (Best song Grammy for General Johnson as writer)

"I was born and raised...
on a farm way back up in the woods
I was so ragged that folks used to call me Patches
Papa used to tease me about it
'Cause deep down inside he was hurt
'Cause he'd done all he could

My papa was a great old man
I can see him with a shovel in his hands, see
Education he never had
He did wonders when the times got bad
The little money from the crops he raised
Barely paid the bills we made

For, life had kick him down to the ground
When he tried to get up
Life would kick him back down
One day Papa called me to his dyin' bed
Put his hands on my shoulders
And in his tears he said

He said, Patches
I'm dependin' on you, son
To pull the family through
My son, it's all left up to you

Two days later Papa passed away, and
I became a man that day
So I told Mama I was gonna quit school, but
She said that was Daddy's strictest rule

So ev'ry mornin' 'fore I went to school
I fed the chickens and I chopped wood too
Sometimes I felt that I couldn't go on
I wanted to leave, just run away from home
But I would remember what my daddy said
With tears in his eyes on his dyin' bed

He said, Patches
I'm dependin' on you, son
I tried to do my best
It's up to you to do the rest

Then one day a strong rain came
And washed all the crops away
And at the age of 13 I thought
I was carryin' the weight of the
Whole world on my shoulders
And you know, Mama knew
What I was goin' through, 'cause

Ev'ry day I had to work the fields
'Cause that's the only way we got our meals
You see, I was the oldest of the family
And ev'rybody else depended on me
Ev'ry night I heard my Mama pray
Lord, give him strength to make another day

So years have passed and all the kids are grown
The angels took Mama to a brand new home
Lord knows, people, I shedded tears
But my daddy's voice kept me through the years

Saying...
Patches, I'm dependin' on you, son
To pull the family through
My son, it's all left up to you

Oh, I can still hear Papa's voice sayin'
Patches, I'm dependin' on you, son
I've tried to do my best
It's up to you to do the rest

I can still hear Papa, what he said
Patches..."

General, you will be missed. You will.


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Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2010 10:41 am
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BrotherDave: I understand your position - I've backed many soul/blues artists who put on great floor shows (who does that anymore?) night after night, with little fanfare from the press. At the risk of sounding old at the age of 45, they don't make them like the used to.

BTW, one of my favorite versions of "Patches" was done by BB King and George Jones on a Blues/Country compilation called Rhythm, Country, and Blues. Nice hearing the story told by such distinctive voices.


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Posted: Thu Oct 21, 2010 5:49 am
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True, they do not make stars like they used to.

And there are other entertainers out there. General was truly something special though, and we won't have another quite like him.

"BRRRRRRRRR. Give me just a little more time.....and our love will surely grow"

Maybe it was his powder blue jumpsuit. Or the fact you knew, this guy is FOR REAL and not doing this to get women. He's doing it cause he wants to entertain everyone. He did. He really did entertain EVERYONE.

I do not know a single person who can say ANYTHING negative about him. Truly. Nothing.


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Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 7:23 am
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He was a great artist, Dave.

General Johnson had a voice that connected with a listener.
He had voice that would send chills down your spine.

The man was born to sing.

His death is a great loss.
May he RIP.

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