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Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon were an American vocal soul group, prominent in the late 1960s and early 1970s.


Career


Originally known simply as The Bandwagon, they were formed in 1967 and featured Artie Fullilove, Billy Bradley, Terry Lewis and lead singer Johnny Johnson (born Johnny Mathis, 20 July 1944, Florida, raised in Rochester, New York).[1][2][3]

They had their first major UK hit in October 1968 with "Breakin' Down the Walls of Heartache", written and produced by Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell, on the Direction label, part of CBS, which reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart.[4]

In 1969 the group disbanded, and all subsequent releases were billed as Johnny Johnson and His Bandwagon.[5] In effect, the act was basically Johnson plus additional vocalists, who were hired for recording, touring and TV performances.[5] Because they had been so much more successful in Britain and Europe, they based themselves in London,[5] with songwriter Tony Macaulay being primarily responsible for the next stage of their career.[3] They had top ten hits with "Sweet Inspiration" (1970), and "(Blame It) On the Pony Express" (1970).[4] The latter track was written by Macaulay, Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway.[3]

Their recording career continued through the 1970s, with a 1971 LP Soul Survivor, produced by Macaulay, as well as subsequent, less successful singles that year including "Sally Put Your Red Shoes On" and a cover version of the Bob Dylan song, "Mr Tambourine Man", on the Bell label.

They left Bell, for further singles including "Honey Bee" (1972), on Stateside Records, and "Music to My Heart" (1975), a cover of the Patti Austin 1960's ABC Records single, on Epic Records, produced by Biddu. This was also reissued as the B-side to the 1975 reissue of "Breakin' Down The Walls Of Heartache", also on Epic.

Their early hits are still revered as Northern soul classics, as they espoused a more commercial pop-soul style similar in sound to that of early Tamla Motown, as opposed to the more funky progressive style favoured by contemporaries like Sly & the Family Stone and The Isley Brothers.[citation needed]

"Breakin' Down the Walls of Heartache" enjoyed a new lease of life in 1980, when covered by Dexys Midnight Runners on the b-side of "Geno", and as an album track in 1981 on a solo album by Bram Tchaikovsky, formerly of The Motors. It was also popular in UK soul clubs, during the early 1980s.

Johnson had not been well for several years, and the pressures of constantly touring during the early 1970s took a heavy toll. He retired to Rochester and is reputed to have died from cancer in 1979.[2] Their frontman is not to be confused with Chuck Berry's sideman, Johnnie Johnson.


Discography



Albums



Singles


Title Year Peak chart positions
US
[7]		 US R&B
[8]		 AUS
[9]		 GER
[10]		 IRE
[11]		 NZ
[12]		 SWE
[13]		 UK
[14]
"Baby Make Your Own Sweet Music"
b/w "On the Day We Fall in Love"		 1967 — 48 — — — — — —
"Breakin' Down the Walls of Heartache"
b/w "Dancin' Master"		 1968 115 — — — 5 — — 4
"You"
b/w "You Blew Your Cool and Lost Your Fool"		 — — — — — — — 34
"Let's Hang On"
b/w "I Ain't Lyin'"		 1969 — — — — — — — 36
"Sweet Inspiration"
b/w "Pride Comes Before a Fall"		 1970 — — — — 19 — — 10
"(Blame It) On the Pony Express"
b/w "Never Let Her Go"		 — — 17 18 5 10 8 7
"Mr. Tambourine Man"
b/w "Soul Sahara"		 1971 — — — — — — — 51[upper-alpha 1]
"Sally Put Your Red Shoes On"
b/w "Gasoline Alley Bred"		 — — — — — — — —
"High and Dry"
b/w "Never Set Me Free"		 1972 — — — — — — — —
"Honey Bee"
b/w "I Don't Know Why"		 — — — — — — — —
"Give Me Your Love Again"
b/w "All the Way"		 1973 — — — — — — — —
"Strong Love Proud Love"
b/w "Fast Running out of World"		 1974 — — — — — — — —
"Breakin' Down the Walls of Heartache" (re-release)
b/w "Dancin' Master"		 — — — — — — — 56[upper-alpha 1]
"Music to My Heart"
b/w "Lookin' Lean Feelin' Mean"		 1975 — — — — — — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

See also



Notes


  1. Chart position is from the UK "Breakers List".

References


  1. Archived July 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Ace Records". Ace Records. Archived from the original on 2012-03-24. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  3. "Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  4. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 287. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  5. Colin Larkin, ed. (1993). The Guinness Who's Who of Soul Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 142. ISBN 0-85112-733-9.
  6. "Johnny Johnson And The Bandwagon Discography". Discogs.com. 2010-06-07. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  7. Whitburn, Joel (1982). Joel Whitburn's Bubbling Under the Hot 100 1959–1981. Record Research. p. 14. ISBN 9780898200478.
  8. Whitburn, Joel (1996). Joel Whitburn's Top R&B Singles 1942–1995. Record Research. p. 20. ISBN 0898201152.
  9. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 159. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. "Suche - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". www.offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  11. "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  12. "flavour of new zealand - search listener". www.flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  13. "Johnny Jonson And The Bandwagon - Se alla låtar och listplaceringar". NostalgiListan (in Swedish). Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  14. "BANDWAGON | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2022-02-23.


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