Ralph Randolph Johnson (born July 4, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter, musician and producer. Johnson is a member and percussionist of the

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mi ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...

band

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million reco ...

Early life

Johnson was born and raised in Los Angeles. His father was a lyricist and his mother was a vocalist, and they had music always playing in their home. At the age of eight years old Johnson received his first snare drum and drum lesson. Johnson developed a love of R&B music, listening mainly to

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

and Stax and

Sly and the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco. Active from 1966 to 1983, it was pivotal in the development of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music. Its core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi ...

. He played in elementary, junior high and high school bands. At age 13, he attended a James Brown concert, which was his first live concert and was amazed by the three drum sets on the stage. In 1965, Johnson's brother introduced him to the world of Jazz. He join local bands "The Teen Turbans" and "The Masters Children".

Earth, Wind and Fire

In 1971, musician

Maurice White Maurice White (December 19, 1941 – February 4, 2016) was an American singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was best known as the founder, leader, main songwriter, and producer of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, and served as the ...

the founder and bandleader of

, dismantled his band after recording two albums for Warner Brothers Records, leaving just him and his brother, bassist

Verdine White Verdine Adams White (born July 25, 1951) is an American musician, best known as a founding member and bassist for the band Earth, Wind & Fire. White was placed at No. 19 on Rolling Stone's list of The 50 Greatest Bassists of All Time. Early l ...

. In December 1971, after White saw Johnson playing at a club in Los Angeles, he called and asked Johnson to audition for a new line up of Earth, Wind & Fire. White added Johnson, vocalist Helena Davis, vocalist

Phillip Bailey Philip James Bailey (born May 8, 1951) is an American R&B, soul, gospel and funk singer, songwriter and percussionist, best known as an early member and one of the two lead singers (along with group founder Maurice White) of the band Earth, Wi ...

, flutist Ronnie Laws, keyboardist

Larry Dunn Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment *Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer *Larry Boone ...

, and rhythm guitarist

Roland Bautista Roland Bautista (May 30, 1951 – February 29, 2012) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Bautista was best known for his work with Earth, Wind & Fire. He also worked with such artists as Ronnie Laws, The Crusaders, George Duke and ...

to his new line up. Vocalist Jessica Cleave a former member of Friends of Distinction soon replaced Davis. The new members along with the White brothers, became the new version of Earth, Wind & Fire. In 1972, they left Warner Brothers and recorded their album, "The Last Days and Times" for CBS/

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

. As an Earth, Wind & Fire percussionist, Johnson was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, received 6

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

wins and 2 honorary Grammys, received a Star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Calif ...

, earned 50 platinum and gold RIAA awards, 4 American Music Awards, and have sold over 90 million in record sales making them one of the world's best-selling bands of all time.

Solo projects

In 2000, Johnson traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark with Morris Pleasure to start a new conceptual jazz project. The members of jazz ensemble known as, "Audio Caviar", were Johnson, Pleasure and Steen Kyed. The band release an album entitled, "Transoceanic", that featured guest artists including,

Howard Hewett Howard Hewett Jr. (born October 1, 1955) is an American singer–songwriter. Hewett rose to fame as the lead vocalist of the group Shalamar. In 1985, he left the group to pursue his solo career, but he later returned to the group in 2001. He sig ...

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

, Johnson's band-mate,

Jonathan Butler Jonathan Kenneth Butler (born 10 October 1961) is a South African singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music is often classified as R&B, jazz fusion or worship music. Biography Born and raised in Athlone, Cape Town, South Africa, during Apa ...

George Duke George M. Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a pr ...

and others. In 2014, Johnson teamed up with singer and writer,

Siedah Garrett Deborah Christine "Siedah" Garrett (born June 24, 1960) is an American singer and songwriter who has written songs and performed backing vocals for many recording artists in the music industry, such as Michael Jackson, the Pointer Sisters, Brand N ...

and released a Christmas song entitled, "Have a Very Merry Christmas" written by Johnson, Garrett, Erik Nuri and Raymond Crossley. The song was featured in the 2019 film, " Holiday Rush" starring singer

Darlene Love Darlene Wright (born July 26, 1941), known professionally as Darlene Love, is an American singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and she also recorded as a solo artist. She began singing as a child with her ...

. In 2019, Johnson released a solo project entitled, "Co-Swagit (Everything's Cool)". In March 2020, Johnson and jazz pianist Gerald Clayton released a single entitled, "Smooth and You" written by Johnson, Raymond Crossley, Gerald Clayton, and D. Stone. The song was produced by Johnson and Crossley. Johnson has worked with a wide range of artists in different capacities. As a percussionist on Blue Magic's 1978 album Message From The Magic and

Stanley Turrentine Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note label from 1960, touched on jazz fusion ...

's 1981 album

Tender Togetherness ''Tender Togetherness'' is a studio album by tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, released in April 1981 on Elektra Records. The album reached No. 13 on the ''Billboard'' Jazz Albums chart. Critical reception With a 3.5 out of 5 star rating, S ...

. He worked as a producer on

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

1984 album Truly For You and

's 2008 album Howard Hewett Christmas. Johnson also worked with Drake, Nathan East, and

Meghan Trainor Meghan Elizabeth Trainor (born December 22, 1993) is an American singer-songwriter and television personality. She rose to prominence after signing with Epic Records in 2014 and releasing her debut single "All About That Bass", which reached ...

and others.

Personal

When Johnson is not on the road, he is an assistant karate instructor at his teacher, Mark Zacharatos', school. Johnson holds two Blackbelt Degrees. A 1st Degree Tang Soo Do and a 3rd Degree in Kung Fu Sansoo. He is a certified scuba diver with an advanced open water certification and a student pilot. Johnson is a tremendous lover of jazz and an art collector.

Discography

With Earth, Wind and Fire

Other projects

*1978 – Blue Magic, "Message From The Magic" album (Drums) *1981 –

, "

" (Percussion) *1984 –

, "Treat Her Like A Lady" single (Co-Producer) *2001 – Jay-Z sampled Johnson's song entitled, "Song Cry" which was on his first Blueprint CD. *2003 – Audio Caviar, (Album) "Transoceanic" (Performer, Percussion, Drums, co-arranger, Co-writer and Co-producer). *2008 –

, "Howard Hewett Christmas" (Audio Production, Drums, Main Personnel) *2014 – Johnson and Siedah Garette, "Have A Very Merry Christmas" (Co-writer and performer) *2016 –

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass player and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts deg ...

, "Serpentine Fire" (Featured Artist, Vocals) *2017 –

, "Reverence" (Featured Artist, Percussion) *2019 – Johnson, "Co-Swagit (Everything's Cool)" (Writer, Performer) *2020 –

, " "Holidays" off of her album, "A Very Trainor Christmas" (Composer, Percussion) *2020 – Drake, "When to Say When" (Composer) *2020 – Ralph Johnson and Eric Clayton, "Smooth and You" (Co-writer and Co-producer)

Awards

RIAA Awards

Multi-platinum albums *1975 – That's The Way of the World *1975 – Gratitude *1976 – Spirit Platinum albums *1973 – Head to the Sky *1974 – Open Our Eyes *1981 – Raise! Gold albums *1980 – Faces *1983 – Powerlight *1987 – Touch The World *1988 – The Best Of Earth, Wind & Fire Vol. II *2003 – The Essential Earth, Wind & Fire Gold singles *1975 – Shining Star *1975 – Singasong *1976 – Getaway *1978 – September *1978 – Got To Get You into My Life *1979 – Boogie Wonderland *1979 – After The Love Has Gone *1981 – Let's Groove

Inductions

*1995 – Star on Hollywood's Walk Of Fame *2000 – Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame *2003 – Inducted into Hollywood's RockWalk *2003 – Inducted into The Vocal Group Hall Of Fame *2012 – Beacon of Change award at the Beacon Awards Banquet *2019 – Kennedy Center Honors

Grammy Awards

*2016 – Lifetime Achievement Award *2008 – GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, "Shining Star" *2004 – NARAS Signature Governors Award *1982 – Best R&B Performance by a Duo Or Group With Vocals, "Wanna Be With You" *1979 – Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group Or Chorus, "After The Love Has Gone" *1979 – Best R&B Instrumental Performance, "Boogie Wonderland" *1978 – Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group Or Chorus, "All 'n All" *1978 – Best R&B Instrumental Performance, "Runnin'" *1975 – Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group Or Chorus, "Shining Star"

American Music Awards

*1976 – Favorite Band, Duo Or Group – Soul/Rhythm & Blues *1977 – Favorite Band, Duo Or Group- Soul/Rhythm & Blues *1978 – Favorite Band, Duo Or Group- Soul/Rhythm & Blues *1980 – Favorite Band, Duo Or Group- Soul/Rhythm & Blues

Other awards

*1994 – NAACP Hall Of Fame Image Award *2002 – BET Lifetime Achievement Award *2002 – ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Heritage Award *2002 – TV Land's Entertainer Award *2008 – Honorary Doctorates in the arts from Columbia College in Chicago

References

External links

Earth, Wind & Fire's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Ralph 1951 births Living people 20th-century American drummers American funk drummers American male drummers American soul musicians American tang soo do practitioners Musicians from Los Angeles Earth, Wind & Fire members Soul drummers Kennedy Center honorees