Molly Johnson

Margaret Leslie "Molly" Johnson, OC is a Canadian singer of pop and jazz.

Biography

Johnson began as a child performer, receiving formal training from the National Ballet School and the Banff School of Fine Arts. Johnson's brother Clark Johnson, an actor and director ('' Homicide: Life on the Street'', ''The Wire''), and sister Taborah Johnson, an actor and singer, are also noted Canadian performers.

Raised in Toronto, Ontario, as the child of a white mother and a black father, Johnson started her career in the mid-1960s when, as a young grade schooler, she and her brother were tapped by Toronto producer Ed Mirvish to appear in ''Porgy and Bess'' at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. In time ''Porgy and Bess'' was followed by '' South Pacific'', '' Finian's Rainbow'' and other musicals."Molly Johnson"
at The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 11, 2018. The budding child star was soon enrolled the National Ballet School as she desired to become a choreographer. By the age of 17, Johnson was fronting a disco band named A Chocolate Affair. The group lasted just over a year.

She was lead vocalist for two rock bands, Alta Moda in the 1980s at Jam!'s Pop Music Encyclopedia. and Infidels in the 1990s. at Jam!'s Pop Music Encyclopedia. Both of her bands had notable singles in Canada (Alta Moda's "Julian" and Infidels' "100 Watt Bulb" and "Celebrate"), but both bands broke up after just one album each.

Also in 1980s, she performed as a backing vocalist with Toronto group Breeding Ground, most notably on their singles "Happy Now I Know" and "Ceremony of Love", both of which received consistent college radio airplay, and had rotation on MuchMusic. She also performed with them live whenever her commitments with Alta Moda weren't in conflict. In 1989, she performed the song "The Best We Both Can Be" for the film '' Babar: The Movie'', and also provided voice work for ''Babar and the Adventures of Badou'' in 2010.

Beginning in 1993, Johnson established an annual concert series, the Kumbaya Festival as a benefit for Canadian charities working around HIV and AIDS. She helped to raise over $1 million for people living with AIDS/HIV.

Although she has performed as a jazz singer throughout her career, beginning with Aaron Davis and David Piltch in the band Blue Monday and then with a band of backing musicians who would later become prominent in their own right as Big Sugar, she did not release a jazz album until her self-titled solo debut in 2000."'Another Day' Dawns for Johnson". ''Billboard'', July 20, 2002. She followed up with ''Another Day'' (2003). Both albums were well received at home and went on to be successful in France, where she continues to tour. In 2006 she released her third solo album ''Messin' Around''.

Johnson became the first Canadian female vocalist in the Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival's 17-year history to sell out a show on the mainstage. She has performed aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia before the Prince Charles and Princess Diana, and has performed for Nelson Mandela and Quincy Jones. She has been the subject of various media feature stories, including '' Adrienne Clarkson Presents'', June Callwood's ''National Treasures'', and Bravo!'s ''Live at the Rehearsal Hall''.

In 2007, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. On March 8, 2023, the French government bestowed upon her the Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres on the occasion of International Women's Day during a ceremony presided by French Ambassador to Canada, Michel Miraillet and hosted by Tudor Alexis, Consul General of France in Toronto.

Johnson was the weekend host of CBC Radio 2's '' Radio 2 Morning'' from September 2008 until December 2013.

On November 11, 2008, Johnson released her fourth full-length album, a record of standards entitled ''Lucky'', via Universal Music Canada and Universal Music France. In March 2009 ''Lucky'' took home the Juno Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year.

She is currently working on The Black History Project: Canada - an initiative she has started to update Canadian history to include its impact and involvement with regards to Black Canadian history and the Underground Railroad.

Discography

*''Molly'' (Oasis Entertainment, 1999)
*''Another Day'' (Marquis, 2002)
*''Messin' Around'' (Anthem and Universal Canada, 2006), re-released as ''If You Know Love'' ( Verve, 2007)
*''Lucky'' (Verve and Universal Canada, 2008)
*''The Molly Johnson Songbook'' (Universal Canada and A440 Entertainment, 2011), compilation
*''Because of Billie'' (Universal Canada, 2014)
*''Meaning to Tell Ya'' (Belle Productions, 2018)
*''This Holiday Season'' (Universal Music Canada, 2020)- EP, Holiday album
*''It's a Snow Globe World'' (Universal Music Canada, 2021), Holiday album (including re-release of This Holiday Season EP

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Molly
1959 births
Living people
21st-century Black Canadian women singers
21st-century Canadian women singers
Canadian women rock singers
Officers of the Order of Canada
Canadian women jazz singers
Canadian jazz singers
Singers from Toronto
Narada Productions artists
Black Canadian broadcasters
CBC Radio hosts
Canadian women pop singers
20th-century Black Canadian women singers
20th-century Canadian women singers
Juno Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year winners
Canadian women radio hosts
Canadian people of Trinidad and Tobago descent
Governor General's Award winners