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Marvin Earl Johnson (October 15, 1938 – May 16, 1993) was an American R&B singer,
songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...
and pianist. He was influential in the development of the
Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...
style of music, primarily for the song " Come to Me," which was the first record issued by Tamla Records, the precursor to the famous label. Despite his early success in the United States, Johnson ultimately enjoyed more popularity overseas than in his native country. His music was especially popular in the United Kingdom and Australia.


Biography

Johnson was born in
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
. His early musical influences included
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and
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
, but he began his singing career with a
doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...
group, the Junior Serenaders, in the mid-1950s. He was discovered by
Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), also known as Berry Gordy Jr., is an American retired record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label and i ...
while performing at a carnival; Gordy had already decided to form his first
record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...
,
Tamla Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''motor'' ...
, and Johnson's recording of the song " Come to Me" became the label's first single, released in May 1959. The fledgling label did not have national distribution, so the song was released by
United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1958 ...
. It reached number 30 on ''Billboard'' magazine's all-genre
Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...
chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...
and number 6 on the national R&B chart. Johnson went on to co-write another four songs with Gordy. After he issued the first release for the Tamla (Motown) label, Johnson was signed by United Artists. He released three albums and several singles for United Artists, but continued to record in Motown's homegrown studios at Hitsville USA in Detroit. Between 1959 and 1961, Johnson issued nine Billboard Hot 100 singles, including two Top 10s. All were written (or co-written) and produced by Gordy. The first of them was " You Got What It Takes", which reached number 10 in the US and number 7 in the UK Singles Chart. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a
gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
. In the United Kingdom, both " I Love the Way You Love" and "Ain't Gonna Be That Way" made the UK chart. "I Love the Way You Love" reached number 9 in the US. Johnson had his final US
Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...
single in 1960 with "(You've Got To) Move Two Mountains". It also sold a million copies, giving him his second gold disc. Johnson had many hits in Australia, with a total of eight top 40
hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...
, including three chart-toppers. "Come to Me" was released in Australia on
EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
's
London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...
(as were most of his Australian releases) and reached number 16 on the
2UE 2UE is an all-music radio station in Sydney owned by Nine Entertainment and run under a lease agreement by Ace Radio. It currently broadcasts from its studios in Pyrmont, New South Wales. History 1920s 2EU Electrical Utilities applied to the P ...
Top 40 in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
. "You Got What It Takes" was his biggest Australian hit, topping the national charts for over 16 weeks in 1960. After "I Love the Way You Love" became a national Top 10 hit in mid-1960, Johnson flew to Australia to meet the entrepreneur Lee Gordon, the creator of the radio program ''
Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under his real name of Paul Wight. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) f ...
'', and performed "Twist It Up" on the September ''Big Show''. At the top of the bill were
Bobby Rydell Robert Louis Ridarelli (April 26, 1942 – April 5, 2022), known by the stage name Bobby Rydell (), was an American singer and actor who mainly performed rock and roll and traditional pop music. In the early 1960s, he was considered a teen idol. ...
,
Chubby Checker Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including the Twist, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnighters' R&B song " The Twis ...
, and James Darren with
Jackie Wilson Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer who was a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", he was considered a master showman and one of th ...
, Johnson, and
Barry Mann Barry Mann (born Barry Imberman; February 9, 1939) is an American songwriter and musician, and was part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil. He has written or co-written 53 hits in the UK and 98 in the US. Early ...
. They were supported by
Johnny O'Keefe John Michael O'Keefe (19 January 1935 – 6 October 1978) was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the early 1950s. A pioneer of Rock music in Australia, his hits include " Wild One" (1958), " Shout!" and "She's My Baby". O ...
, the Delltones and Col Joye.
Lonnie Lee Lonnie Lee (born David Lawrence Rix; 18 September 1940) is an Australian singer, who has fronted Lonnie Lee and the Leeman and Lonnie Lee and the Leedons. He is a pioneer of Australian rockabilly music and has worked in the industry for 60 year ...
also appeared on a Lee Gordon Australian tour in 1960 with Marv, Bobby Tyrell, and
The Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close-harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, ...
. Johnson's songs "Happy Days" and "Merry-Go-Round" (both written by Berry Gordy) were his last chart successes for the United Artists label. Although they did not reach the US Top 40, they performed well on the R&B charts, peaking at number 7 and number 26, respectively, in 1961. However, after early 1961 (and after nine consecutive chart hits) Johnson's records stopped making the charts altogether. United Artists kept him on through a string of 10 consecutive non-charting singles from mid-1961 through early 1964; Gordy was at the production helm for the first three, and for the next three other Motown producers (including William "Mickey" Stevenson) were called in to produce. United Artists then took Johnson out of the Motown orbit, and for the next four singles, they paired Johnson with a series of
Brill Building The Brill Building is an office building at 1619 Broadway on 49th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, just north of Times Square and farther uptown from the historic musical Tin Pan Alley neighborhood. The Brill Building hous ...
writers, producers and arrangers, including
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller Leiber and Stoller were an American songwriting and record production duo, consisting of lyricist Jerome Leiber (; April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933). As well as many R&B and pop hits, they wr ...
,
Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; May 12, 1928 – February 8, 2023) was an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music. Start ...
and
Hal David Harold Lane David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick. Early life David was born and raised in New ...
, and Bert Berns. But further significant chart action proved elusive, and Johnson was eventually released from his contract with United Artists. Johnson then re-signed with Motown in 1964, writing and producing as well as recording. "Why Do You Want to Let Me Go" was his first Motown single after he rejoined the company, released by Motown's Gordy subsidiary in May 1965. Johnson's final US chart appearance was "I Miss You Baby (How I Miss You)", which was a minor hit, reaching number 39 on the R&B chart in April 1966. His next release, "I'll Pick a Rose for My Rose", issued in 1968, failed to chart; it was his last American single. In the United Kingdom, however, "I'll Pick a Rose" became a hit after it reached number 10 in early 1969, thanks to its popularity from the
Northern soul Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British Mod (subculture), mod scene, based on a particular style of African American music, Black American ...
scene. Motown dug into its vaults for tracks to create an album for the British market, ''I'll Pick a Rose for My Rose'', released by Tamla Motown in 1969, which contained many of Johnson's songs recorded since he had signed there in the mid-1960s, including "Why Do You Want to Let Me Go", "I'm Not a Plaything" and "I Miss You Baby (How I Miss You)". The latter was also reissued as a single by Tamla Motown and was a hit in Britain, reaching number 25 on the UK chart in November 1969. He also toured the UK with Martha Reeves & the Vandellas. Johnson remained with Motown, working on sales and promotion, in the 1970s. He also wrote songs for
Tyrone Davis Tyrone Davis (born Tyrone D. Fettson or Tyrone D. Branch, October 3, 1937 – February 9, 2005) (although many sources have his date of birth as May 4, 1938), was an American blues and soul singer with a long list of hit records over more th ...
and
Johnnie Taylor Johnnie Harrison Taylor (May 5, 1934 – May 31, 2000) was an American recording artist and songwriter who performed a wide variety of genres, from blues, rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel to pop, doo-wop, and disco. He was initially suc ...
. He co-wrote the Dells’ R&B hit "Give Your Baby a Standing Ovation", which peaked at number 3 on the R&B chart and number 34 on the Hot 100 in 1973. Johnson continued to write songs at Motown way into the 1970s. He eventually separated from the label. Johnson continued singing into the 1990s, releasing a
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album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
on the
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
-based Motorcity Records label, owned by Northern soul DJ and Motown lover
Ian Levine Ian Geoffrey Levine (born 22 June 1953) is a British songwriter, producer, DJ, and prominent Doctor Who fan. A populariser of Northern soul music in the UK, and a developer of the style of hi-NRG, he has co-written and co-produced records with sa ...
. Johnson was one of the first and, according to Levine, one of "the most loyal and the most grateful" of all the former Motown artists he recorded. Two singles were released, "By Hook or by Crook" in 1988 and "Run Like a Rabbit" in 1989. On May 14, 1993, Johnson was performing in
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for a tribute concert to
Bill Pinkney Willie "Bill" Pinkney (August 15, 1925 – July 4, 2007) was an American performer and singer. Pinkney was the last surviving original member of The Drifters, who achieved international fame with numerous hit records. He was chiefly responsib ...
of
the Drifters The Drifters are an American pop and R&B/soul vocal group. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, formed in 1959 and ...
and collapsed, and he was rushed to the hospital. Johnson died from complications of a
stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
on May 16 that same year, in
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, at the age of 54. He was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
. His headstone reads "Motown Pioneer". In 2011, a compilation album featuring all songs recorded by Johnson during his second stay at Motown was released. ''I'll Pick a Rose for My Rose: The Complete Motown Recordings 1964–1971'' was an authorised reissue of his Motown recordings, released under the Kent Soul label, an Ace Records subsidiary that releases Northern soul music. The first eleven tracks are from his 1969 album, ''I'll Pick a Rose for My Rose'', which includes the title track, its original B-side ("You Got the Love I Love") and "I Miss You Baby (How I Miss You)". It also contains several previously unissued songs, such as " Farewell Is a Lonely Sound" (originally recorded by
Jimmy Ruffin Jimmy Lee RuffinRibowsky, Mark (2010), ''Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Troubled Lives and Enduring Soul of the Temptations'', Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, p. 89. . (May 7, 1936 – November 17, 2014) was an American soul singer, and ...
), and mono mixes of his three Gordy singles. In 2015, Marv Johnson was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.


Discography


Albums

*''Marvelous Marv Johnson'' (1960) –
United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...
*''More Marv Johnson'' (1961) – United Artists *''I Believe'' (1966) – United Artists *''I'll Pick a Rose for My Rose'' (1969) UK TMG 680 (Re-issued TMG1052) –
Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...
*''The Very Best – Motor City Recordings'' (1995) – Carlton Home Entertainment *''I'll Pick a Rose for My Rose – The Complete Motown Recordings 1964–1971'' (2011) – Kent Soul (Ace Records)


Singles


References


Further reading


Marv Johnson in-depth interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' November 1992 (reprinted March 2009)


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Marv 1938 births 1993 deaths African-American male singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters American rhythm and blues singers American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters American soul musicians Motown artists Singers from Detroit Northern soul musicians Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Detroit) 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers Singer-songwriters from Michigan