Claude Joseph ("Dr. C. J.") Johnson (May 16, 1913 – July 20, 1990)"I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say"
/ref> was an American

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...

singing preacher and

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

Biography

He was born on May 16, 1913, in

Douglasville, Georgia The city of Douglasville is the county seat of and largest city in Douglas County, Georgia, United States. , the city had a population of 34,650, up from 30,961 in 2010 and 20,065 in 2000. Douglasville is located approximately west of Atlant ...

, the son of Will and Cora Reid Johnson. The family moved to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

in 1916. His mother died when he was young, and he with his elder and younger sister were raised by his paternal grandmother, Sarah Farley Johnson. His father, Will, was a

shape note Shape notes are a musical notation designed to facilitate congregational and Sing-along, social singing. The notation became a popular teaching device in American singing schools during the 19th century. Shapes were added to the noteheads in ...

teacher in Georgia in the 1920s and 1930s. He first acted as

at the age of 12 at the Antioch Baptist Church in

Barnesville, Georgia Barnesville is a city in Lamar County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 6,755, up from 5,972 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Lamar County and is just outside of the Atlanta metropol ...

. He was a pastor in 14 churches, including his own foundation of the St Joseph's

Missionary Baptist The Missionary Baptist church is a Christian denomination that emerged in the American South during the late 19th century. Missionary Baptists separated from the Southern Baptist Convention due to theological differences. Missionary Baptists ...

Church. In his early twenties, he married Elizabeth Daniels; that union yielded four children: two boys and two girls. In 1939, he began a 20-year effort to complete his formal education, studying for the ministry at

Morehouse School of Religion The Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) is a consortium of five predominantly African-American denominational Christian seminaries in Atlanta, Georgia, operating together as a professional graduate school of theology. It is the largest ...

, the American Theological Seminary, and the Carver Bible Institute, culminating in a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

degree. Although he had been active in Georgia since his early years, he only gained wider prominence in 1964, when he came to the attention of

Fred Mendelsohn Fred Mendelsohn (May 16, 1917 – April 28, 2000) was an American music executive. The president of Savoy Records for 42 years, he was the first man to ever record, promote and market black gospel music as a national company. His dedicati ...

, then executive producer at

Savoy Records Savoy Records is an American record company and label established by Herman Lubinsky in 1942 in Newark, New Jersey. Savoy specialized in jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel music. In September 2017, Savoy was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music. ...

. He recorded at least 20 albums, all of which were recorded in his church rather than in a recording studio. Although most of his recorded songs are traditional, 26 are listed as his own compositions. His 1970 recording of "I Wanna Go Where Jesus Is" was a gold-selling record. Johnson was a recipient of a 1987

National Heritage Fellowship The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's h ...

awarded by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.

Partial discography

* 1965''You Better Run''. The title track is otherwise known as " I'm Gonna Run to the City of Refuge" * 1971''Save a Seat for Me'' * 1988''My Father's Work'' * 1990''Father I Stretch My Hand to Thee'' * 1990''It's a Sin to Gamble'' * 1990''I Love Jesus'' * 1995''The Old Time Song Service''

References

External links

* 1913 births 1990 deaths People from Douglasville, Georgia American gospel singers 20th-century American singers National Heritage Fellowship winners Savoy Records artists {{Gospel-music-stub