Johnnie Johnson
Johnnie Be Eighty and Still Bad!
Cousin Moe Music
Well the title says it all. If you are looking to hear some amazing key
tickling done old school till the piano smokes, this is the CD for you. All original
tunes. Six songs. Like the oompa loompas in Willy Wonka, this album is short and sweet.
Okay, maybe the oompa loompas weren't sweet. They were orange with green hair. And they
had funny shoes. While this album doesn't have green hair or funny shoes, it does feature
a very short running time: 32 minutes to be exact. Actually 32:25 to be absolutely exact.
The beauty of it is I don't mind the shorter running time, except I wanted to hear more of
Johnson tickling the hell out of the ivories. He really is amazing. And another nice thing
is he doesn't sing that annoying oompa loompa song every time a kid gets carted off the
property.
"Find Me a Woman" is a terrific song that really catches you
from minute one and takes you all the way to the finish. All the tunes are written by
Johnson, Jeff Alexander and Rich McDonough. Every song is really well written. Great
compositions handled perfectly by Mr. Johnson and the band. Speaking of the band: Gus
Thornton, Rich McDonough, Joe Pastor, Larry Thurston and Victor Johnson are all tremendous
musicians who really shine on this album.
Notice I haven't really told you much about WHO Johnnie Johnson IS.
Well, let's just say that the album could have been called "Johnnie be GOODER."
Anybody ever hear of Chuck Berry? Well, guess who co wrote most of those tunes baby?
That's right. Not to mention all the other songs he had a hand in. Johnson was not only an
amazing performer keyboard wise; he was also a terrific vocalist. Sadly we lost him this
year, and these are his final recordings.
- Bill Fountain -
Southwest Blues CD Review - August 2005
Current Reviews - 2005 Reviews - available at our store
