Chas. L. Johnson
Charles Leslie Johnson (December 3, 1876 - December 28, 1950) was an American composer of ragtime and popular music. He was born in Kansas City, Kansas, died in Kansas City, Missouri, and lived his entire life in those two cities. He published over 300 songs in his life, nearly 40 of them ragtime compositions such as "Doc Brown’s Cakewalk", "Dill Pickles", "Apple Jack (Some Rag)", and "Snookums Rag". His best selling piece, a sentimental ballad called "Sweet and Low", sold over a million copies. Experts believe that had Johnson lived and worked in New York, he would be included alongside Scott Joplin, James Scott, and Joseph Lamb as one of the greatest ragtime composers. He wrote more than the other three combined and exemplified a greater range of talent, composing waltzes, tangos, cakewalks, marches, novelty pieces, and other types of music popular at that time. |
Birth and Death Data: Born December 3, 1876 (Kansas City), Died December 28, 1950 (Kansas City)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1904 - 1934
Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, lyricist, arranger
Notes: Pseudonyms: Raymond Birch, Ethel Earnist, Herbert Leslie, Fannie B. Woods
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 79 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | B-1765 | 10-in. | 10/13/1904 | A whispered thought | Arthur Pryor's Orchestra | Orchestra | composer | |
Victor | E-3761 | 8-in. | 9/4/1906 | Iola : Intermezzo | Sousa's Band | Band | composer | |
Victor | B-3761 | 10-in. | 9/4/1906 | Iola | Sousa's Band | Band | composer | |
Victor | B-3921 | 10-in. | 10/25/1906 | Iola | Harry Macdonough ; Frank C. Stanley | Male vocal duet, with orchestra | composer | |
Victor | E-4214 | 8-in. | 1/23/1907 | Iola | Byron G. Harlan ; Frank C. Stanley | Male vocal duet, with orchestra | composer | |
Victor | B-4214 | 10-in. | 1/23/1907 | Iola | Byron G. Harlan ; Frank C. Stanley | Male vocal duet, with orchestra | composer | |
Victor | E-6089 | 8-in. | 4/9/1908 | Dill pickles | Chris Chapman | Xylophone solo | composer | |
Victor | B-6089 | 10-in. | 4/9/1908 | Dill pickles rag | Chris Chapman | Xylophone solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Victor | B-6429 | 10-in. | 9/21/1908 | Southern beauties | Arthur Pryor's Band | Band | composer | |
Victor | B-6720 | 10-in. | 1/13/1909 | Southern beauties | Victor Orchestra | Orchestra | composer | |
Victor | B-6784 | 10-in. | 2/8/1909 | Dill pickles rag | Arthur Pryor's Band | Band | composer | |
Victor | C-8434 | 12-in. | 12/8/1909 | Tobasco | Arthur Pryor's Band | Band | composer | |
Victor | B-8605 | 10-in. | 2/5/1910 | Dixie twilight | Vess L. Ossman | Banjo solo | composer | |
Victor | B-9730 | 10-in. | 12/20/1910 | The porcupine rag | Sousa's Band | Band | composer | |
Victor | B-14064 | 10-in. | 11/13/1913 | Dream days | Will Oakland | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | lyricist, composer | |
Victor | C-14611 | 12-in. | 3/22/1914 | Crazy bone rag | United States Marine Band | Band, with xylophone | composer | |
Victor | B-15016 | 10-in. | 6/26/1914 | Ma pickaninny babe | Heidelberg Quintette | Male vocal quartet and soloist, with orchestra | composer | |
Victor | B-15043 | 10-in. | 7/6/1914 | Ma pickaninny babe | Billy Murray ; Will Oakland | Male vocal duet, with orchestra | composer | |
Victor | B-15332 | 10-in. | 11/4/1914 | In the hills of old Kentucky | Henry Burr ; Albert Campbell | Male vocal duet, with orchestra | composer | |
Victor | B-15363 | 10-in. | 11/10/1914 | Dill pickles rag | Six Brown Brothers | Saxophone sextet | composer | |
Victor | B-17455 | 10-in. | 4/6/1916 | Croon-time | Edna Brown ; James Reed | Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra | composer | |
Victor | B-18860 | 10-in. | 12/20/1916 | Teasing the cat | Van Eps Trio | Instrumental trio | composer | |
Victor | B-18964 | 10-in. | 1/5/1917 | Golden hours | Sterling Trio | Male vocal trio, with violin, cello, harp, and orchestra | composer | |
Victor | B-19313 | 10-in. | 2/27/1917 | Poppy time in old Japan | Victor Military Band | Band | composer | |
Victor | B-23328 | 10-in. | 11/6/1919 | Where the lanterns glow | Van Eps Trio | Instrumental trio | composer |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Johnson, Chas. L.," accessed October 4, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/110614.
Johnson, Chas. L.. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved October 4, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/110614.
"Johnson, Chas. L.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 4 October 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Johnson, Chas. L. (Charles Leslie), 1876-1950 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no97068100
Wikidata: Charles L. Johnson - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q2959470
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/53759258
MusicBrainz: Charles L. Johnson - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/66853767-ea12-492f-ae7a-32cadf020dc3
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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