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The Johnson Brothers were an Old-time Country duo best known for recording at the
Bristol Sessions
The Bristol Sessions were a series of recording sessions held in 1927 in Bristol, Tennessee, considered by some as the "Big Bang" of modern country music. The recordings were made by Victor Talking Machine Company producer Ralph Peer. Bristol ...
in 1927.
Hailing from Happy Valley, Tennessee, the Johnsons were Paul Johnson, who sang and played
guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
while Charles backed him on
steel guitar
A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...
. They were veterans of the local
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
and
medicine show
Medicine shows were touring acts (traveling by truck, horse, or wagon teams) that peddled "miracle cure" patent medicines and other products between various entertainments. They developed from European Charlatan, mountebank shows and were common ...
who had already done a recording session in New York who were already known to
Ralph Peer
Ralph Sylvester Peer (May 22, 1892 – January 19, 1960) was an American talent scout, recording engineer, record producer and music publisher in the 1920s and 1930s. Peer pioneered field recording of music when in June 1923 he took remote re ...
when he set up an office in
Bristol, Tennessee
Bristol is a city in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 27,147 at the 2020 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. The boundary be ...
to record local artists.
Their songs are slow mournful ballads based on traditional sentimental Victorian themes like "A Passing Policeman" (based on an 1894 song "
The Little Lost Child
"The Little Lost Child" is a popular song of 1894 by Edward B. Marks and Joseph W. Stern, with between one and two million copies in sheet music sales. Also known after its first three words as "A Passing Policeman", it is usually considered ...
") and "The Jealous Sweetheart". On the latter song they are accompanied by an unknown musician playing the
bones
A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...
, a simple percussion instrument used since ancient times, particularly with black musicians. It is assumed that this was El Watson, a
harmonica
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...
player who Charles Johnson would in turn back on his own single recorded at the sessions, a harmonica showcase called "Potlicker Blues" which was recorded the same day.
Stylistically in their use of duo guitar and steel guitar the Johnson Brothers closely resemble their more successful contemporaries Darby and Tarlton and
Wilmer Watts
Wilmer Watts (c. 1897 – August 21, 1943) was an American old time singer, banjo player and bandleader who recorded a series of records for Paramount Records in the 1920s.
Biography
Watts was born in Mount Tabor (now Tabor City) a market town ...
.
The singles were not notably successful ("A Passing Policeman" was not even released at the time) and the Johnsons would drop out of sight with their ultimate fates unknown. El Watson is even more obscure. Although he is assumed to have been black, it is not even known for sure if he was. After Bristol, Watson disappeared from the historical records entirely.