Earl Johnson

Robert Earl Johnson (August 24, 1886 in Gwinnett County, Georgia – May 31, 1965) was an old time fiddler who was influenced by the music of Gid Tanner and his Skillet Lickers.

Biography Johnson learned to play the fiddle at an early age with some assistance from his father. When he was young, he used to practice with his two brothers, Albert on banjo and Ester on guitar. Between 1920 and 1934, he was a regular participant at the Atlanta Fiddlers' Convention. In 1923, Albert and Ester were victims of an epidemic.

The same year, Johnson joined Fiddlin' John Carson's Virginia Reelers and within two years made his first recordings on Paramount Records. Initially, he recorded with the Dixie String Band and Arthur Tanner.

Johnson formed the Dixie Entertainers with guitarist Byrd Moore and banjoist Emmett Bankston and they made their first recordings for Okeh Records on Feb. 21, 1927. When Byrd Moore left, Johnson added guitarist Lee "Red" Henderson and formed The Clodhoppers. The new band became successful, recording for Okeh Records in October 1927.

Although he made his last recordings in 1931,

Original discography

Earl Johnson's Dixie Entertainers Matrix Title Record # Recording date 80460 "Hand Me Down My Walking Cane" Unissued February 21, 1927 80461 "Ain't Nobody's Business" Okeh 45092 February 21, 1927 80462 "Dixie" Okeh 45129 February 21, 1927 80463 "Hen Cackle" Okeh 45123 February 21, 1927 80464 "Bully of the Town" Unissued February 21, 1927 80465 "I'm Satisfied" Okeh 45129 February 21, 1927 80466 "Three Night's Experience" Okeh 45092 February 21, 1927 80467 "Johnson's Old Grey Mule" Okeh 45123 February 21, 1927 80625 "Boil Dem Cabbage Down" Okeh 45112 March 23, 1927 80626 "John Henry Blues" Okeh 45101 March 23, 1927 80659 "I Don't Love Nobody" Okeh 45101 March 23, 1927 80660 "Shortenin' Bread" Okeh 45112 March 23, 1927 56560 "Rocky Palace" Victor 40304 November 22, 1929 56561 "Green Mountain" Victor 40304 November 22, 1929 56562 "Fiddling Rufus" Victor 40212 November 22, 1929 56563 "Mississippi Sawyer" Victor 40212 November 22, 1929 56564 "He's a Beauty" Victor 23638 November 22, 1929 56565 "I Lost My Gal" Victor 23638 November 22, 1929 404614 "When Roses Bloom Again For the Bootlegger" Okeh 45545 December 3, 1930 404615 "Buy a Half Pint and Stay In the Wagon Yard" Okeh 45528 December 3, 1930 404616 "Take Me Back To My Old Mountain Home" Okeh 45528 December 3, 1930 404617 "There's No Place Like Home" Okeh 45545 December 3, 1930 404618 "Bringing In the Sheaves" Okeh 45512 December 3, 1930 404619 "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth" Okeh 45512 December 3, 1930 405044 "Close Your Bright Eyes" Okeh 45559 October 29, 1931 405045 "Way Down In Georgia" Okeh 45559 October 29, 1931

Earl Johnson's Clodhoppers Matrix Title Record # Recording date 81705 "I Get My Whiskey From Rockingham" Okeh 45183 October 7, 1927 81706 "Red Hot Breakdown" Okeh 45209 October 7, 1927 81707 "I've Got a Woman On Sourwood Mountain" Okeh 45171 October 7, 1927 81708 "All Night Long" Okeh 45383 October 7, 1927 81709 "Old Grey Mare Kicking Out of the Wilderness" Okeh 45183 October 7, 1927 81710 "They Don't Roost Too High For Me" Okeh 45223 October 7, 1927 81711 "Mississippi Jubilee" Okeh 45223 October 7, 1927 81712 "Leather Breeches" Okeh 45209 October 7, 1927 81743 "Poor Little Joe" Okeh 45406 October 11, 1927 81744 "The Little Grave In Georgia" Okeh 45194 October 11, 1927 81745 "In the Shadow of the Pine" Okeh 45194 October 11, 1927 81746 "Johnnie, Get Your Gun" Okeh 45171 October 11, 1927 81747 "Arkansaw Traveler" Okeh 45156 October 11, 1927 81748 "Twinkle Little Star" Okeh 45156 October 11, 1927 402036 "Weeping Willow" Unissued August 2, 1928 402037 "Nigger On the Woodpile" Okeh 45269 August 2, 1928 402038 "Nigger In the Cotton Patch" Okeh 45383 August 2, 1928 402112 "Alabama Girl, Ain't You Comin' Out Tonight" Okeh 45300 August 9, 1928 402113 "Laughing Rufus" Okeh 45406 August 9, 1928 402114 "G Rag" Okeh 45300 August 9, 1928 402115 "Wire Grass Drag" Okeh 45269 August 9, 1928

Selected discography Complete Recorded Works, Vol 1 (1927) - Document Records (1997) Complete Recorded Works, Vol 2 (1927-1931) - Document Records (1997)

Footnotes