Ella Johnson (June 22, 1919 – February 16, 2004) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

singer.

Music career

Born Ella Mae Jackson in

Darlington, South Carolina Darlington is a city located in Darlington County, South Carolina, United States. In 2010, its population was 6,289. It is the county seat of Darlington County. It is part of the Florence, South Carolina metropolitan area. Darlington is known f ...

, United States, she joined her brother

Buddy Johnson Woodrow Wilson "Buddy" Johnson (January 10, 1915 – February 9, 1977) was an American jump blues pianist and bandleader active from the 1930s through the 1960s. His songs were often performed by his sister Ella Johnson, most notably "Since I ...

in New York as a teenager, where he was leading a popular band at the

Savoy Ballroom The Savoy Ballroom was a large ballroom for music and public dancing located at 596 Lenox Avenue, between 140th and 141st Streets in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Lenox Avenue was the main thoroughfare through upper Harlem ...

. Her singing drew comparisons to

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

and

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

. Johnson scored her first hit with "Please, Mr. Johnson" in 1940. Subsequent hits included "Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?", "When My Man Comes Home" and "Hittin' On Me". Her popular 1945 recording of "

Since I Fell for You "Since I Fell for You" is a blues ballad composed by Buddy Johnson in 1945 that was first popularized by his sister, Ella Johnson, with Buddy Johnson and His Orchestra. A version by Annie Laurie with Paul Gayten and His Trio in 1947 led to i ...

", composed by her

brother A brother (: brothers or brethren) is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used ende ...

, led to its eventual establishment as a

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive List ...

. She continued to perform with Buddy Johnson into the 1960s.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

noted that her "later solo sides for Mercury are pale imitations of her work with the band." In February 2004, she died of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

in New York at the age of 84.

Selected discography

* ''Rock and Roll'' (Mercury, 1956) * ''Walkin (1957) * ''Swing Me'' (Mercury, 1958) * ''Go Ahead and Rock'' (Roulette, 1959) * ''Say Ella'' (Juke Box, 1983)

Compilations

*''1953-1964'' 4CD (Bear Family Records, 1992) *''Rockin' and Rollin'' (1995) *''Jukebox Hits: 1940-1951'' (Acrobat, 2004) *''Gotta Go Upside Your Head: The Rock & Roll Years 1953-1955'' (Rev-Ola, 2006) *''Rock On! The 1956-62 Recordings'' (Hoodoo, 2015) *''The Decca Years'' (Jasmine, 2025) *''The Mercury Years'' (Jasmine, 2025)

References

1919 births 2004 deaths People from Darlington, South Carolina American jazz singers American rhythm and blues singers East Coast blues musicians Jump blues musicians Deaths from dementia in New York (state) Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in New York (state) 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women {{US-jazz-singer-stub