The main event is Sing Hymns with the Johnson Family Singers. It's an elaborate package with LP and a 24-page booklet incorporating photos and a four-part family hymnal. I've scanned the booklet and included it in the download.
By the time the package appeared in 1959, the Johnsons had been together for nearly 20 years. They first gained recognition for their radio appearances, and then for their Columbia and RCA Victor recordings. Daughter Betty Johnson became a well-known singer in her own right, scoring a few pop hits in the 1950s.
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| Seated: Jim, Ma (Lydia); standing: Bob, Kenneth, Pa (Jesse), Betty |
Nearly a decade ago, I transferred the group's first RCA album, Old-Time Religion, in its double-EP form. I've now remastered that set, and added to it new dubs of four additional songs that only appeared on the 12-inch LP version. You can find that 1955 album via the original post.
Back then, I remarked about the recording's slick feel. The tendency became even more pronounced on the Sing Hymns LP. The unnamed producer (possibly Chet Atkins) augmented the sound of the five Johnsons with studio singers, presumably so the ensemble would swell like a church choir. Then too, legendary engineer Bill Porter gave his new plate reverb unit a workout in an attempt to impart a more church-like acoustic. The result is not unpleasing, but it also swamps the tight sound of the Johnson family. (Please note that there is a momentary audio burble on the second song that I could not fix.) Note (September 2024): this recording has now been remastered for better sound, including a new transfer for proper stereo on side B.
Although I enjoy both albums (and hope you will as well), I will admit that my favorite Johnson Family song is "You Take Your Road." It is much closer to the approach of the Statesmen or the Blackwood Brothers. I included that single in a collection of RCA gospel sides some eight years ago. The set is still available here.
After Betty became a successful solo artist, Columbia issued a collection of the group's early singles called The Johnson Family Singers Featuring Betty Johnson. I'll try to transfer that set soon.
Back then, I remarked about the recording's slick feel. The tendency became even more pronounced on the Sing Hymns LP. The unnamed producer (possibly Chet Atkins) augmented the sound of the five Johnsons with studio singers, presumably so the ensemble would swell like a church choir. Then too, legendary engineer Bill Porter gave his new plate reverb unit a workout in an attempt to impart a more church-like acoustic. The result is not unpleasing, but it also swamps the tight sound of the Johnson family. (Please note that there is a momentary audio burble on the second song that I could not fix.) Note (September 2024): this recording has now been remastered for better sound, including a new transfer for proper stereo on side B.
Although I enjoy both albums (and hope you will as well), I will admit that my favorite Johnson Family song is "You Take Your Road." It is much closer to the approach of the Statesmen or the Blackwood Brothers. I included that single in a collection of RCA gospel sides some eight years ago. The set is still available here.
After Betty became a successful solo artist, Columbia issued a collection of the group's early singles called The Johnson Family Singers Featuring Betty Johnson. I'll try to transfer that set soon.
14 comments:
The Johnsons always impressed me as a more polished Chuck Wagon Gang. Love 'em both.
Sorry to hear that this fine group was over-produced in this fashion. Somewhere, I have a various-artists LP with a couple Johnson Family tracks, as originally recorded except for the usual unnecessary fake echo for more "depth." I think it's the standard RCA Camden "enhanced" stereo, which means I couldn't find the mono issue. Gospel issues are so often atrociously reissued, even on the major labels, or simply awful when new (Modern Sound, for instance), that even LPs engineered for Zenith suitcase players are forgivable if the music redeems them.
But, back to topic, my ears deserve your upload. Thanks!
Hi Lee,
I love the Chuck Wagon Gang as well, and uploaded their first LP in 2009. I think it's still available.
I do have a few Camden reissues of the Johnsons' material. If I recall correctly, they in part recycle songs from the Old-Time Religion set.
Come to think of it, I have (or had) that set. Unfortunately, my gospel-LP storage space gave out (this room was built c. 1850 with a receding roof), so it's been downsize or live in the woods with the yard animals. Hence, I don't know what I have anymore. I'm too OCD to part with anything in a timely fashion, so it has to wait until I can't safely walk through this little room. Like right now, in fact.
I have VA benefits, but breaking my neck tripping on a stack of shellac is not a "preexisting condition," so....
I find the CWG's earliest stuff to be the most extraordinary. I first heard them through my (fellow far-left!) foster parents, and I was blown completely away. They're still the quartet I compare all others to. They somehow managed to keep the spirit of the earlier, rougher southern groups. Spooky, but I have some local, vanity-production LPs from the '70s that sound like the 1920s never ended. The way vernacular styles can live on well after we've written them off... it's a lesson.
And I forgot how to get MP4s to the proper player. I think I have to migrate them first, as I'm not seeing a "Play with..." option. PCs--who needs them?
Lee - These are m4a files that will play natively in iTunes. They are lossless, so you can transpose them to flac or to mp3.
I have many, many Chuck Wagon Gang LPs. They either recorded continuously or I have a few albums with lots of different covers.
I spent some time in the winter organizing things, so now I can actually find things - the LPs at least.
Not seen this one before in my travels, but I remember several others from this same time period that came with music. The Ames Brothers, Chet Atkins, A Stephen Foster Singalong whose artist escapes me at the moment. I wonder if there was a series of such things?
Ernie - I think I have that Ames Brothers set, and the Stephen Foster sounds familiar. It might have been a Robert Shaw record. Don't think I've seen the Chet Atkins.
Yes, Robert Shaw, that's it. And you'd know the Chet Atkins one if you'd seen it. Bees, bees everywhere!!
>After Betty became a successful solo artist, Columbia issued a collection of the group's early singles called The Johnson Family Singers Featuring Betty Johnson. I'll try to transfer that set soon.
So... were you ever able to make a transfer of The Johnson Family Singers Featuring Betty Johnson? I'd be interested in hearing that.
I'm also interested in more of this style of gospel, so do you have any more recommendations (hopefully things you've posted or may have plans for posting in the future)?
Anon - I don't think I did! Does a promise from 16 years ago still hold? Let me see what I can do. In the meantime, let me refurbish the sound of this record. Also I would suggest on this blog the Statesmen Quartet, the Blackwood Brothers and the Chuck Wagon Gang, all legends. There are a few others as well. The links are in the artist column at right.
Anon - Oh wait, it was only six years. Anyway, I listened to this set and was none too happy with the sound, particularly side 2, which came out mono instead of stereo. Let me re-record that side in the next several days and try to find the other LP.
Thank you so much for looking into making a transfer, the recommendations, and for remastering this album! :-)
A link to the new, revised version is in the main article. A new version of the 1955 LP will appear soon. Looking for the other album!
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