Not to be confused with stride piano master James P. Johnson, J.C. Johnson (or, occasionally, James C. Johnson) was a pianist and songwriter who achieved his greatest visibility working with Fats Waller. Johnson was born September 14, 1896, in Chicago, and made his first recordings in the early '20s after moving to New York. He backed Ethel Waters as a session pianist, penning "Sweet Man Blues" for her as well. In the mid-'20s, he moved into professional songwriting on a regular basis, working with lyricists like Henry Creamer (1926's "Alabama Stomp") and Andy Razaf. He and Razaf teamed up on 1926's "She Belongs to Me," 1928's "Lonesome Swallow," "Guess Who's in Town," and "Do What You Did" (all three recorded by Ethel Waters), and "Louisiana," a standard featuring additional lyricist Bob Schafer and a hit for Paul Whiteman. He also began writing with Razaf's usual partner, the legendary pianist Fats Waller, though he usually worked with them separately, writing music for Razaf and lyrics for Waller; in 1928, he and Waller co-wrote the Broadway show Keep Shufflin'. 1929 brought the solo composition "Traveling All Alone," another song for Ethel Waters that, this time, became a good-sized hit, and was later recorded by Billie Holiday as well. That same year, Johnson played with Clarence Williams, and took part in the most notable recording session of his career as a musician, playing as part of the studio group Blind Willie Dunn & His Gin Bottle Four. Disguised to hide the interracial nature of the group, it was actually a meeting between white jazz guitarist Eddie Lang and groundbreaking blues guitarist Lonnie Johnson, also featuring King Oliver and, at times, future songwriting legend Hoagy Carmichael on vocals and percussion. In 1930, Johnson penned a musical, Change Your Luck, which played on Broadway with Ham Tree Harrington and Alberta Hunter in the starring roles. Although it didn't run for very long, it marked the beginning of Johnson's most productive decade as a songwriter. His "Black Mountain Blues" was recorded that year by Bessie Smith, and she later cut his "Haunted House Blues," "Empty Bed Blues," and "Me and My Gin" as well (the latter two were covered by LaVern Baker and Dinah Washington, respectively). Also in the early '30s, Louis Armstrong waxed a successful recording of "Dusky Stevedore," written with Razaf. However, his association with Waller would prove the most profitable. Working with Nat Burton (aka Schwartz) and George Whiting over the '30s, Johnson penned a series of songs -- "Believe It, Beloved," "Rhythm and Romance," "Remember Who You're Promised," "You Stayed Away Too Long," and others -- that were recorded by Waller; two more of those collaborations, "That's How Rhythm Was Born" and "Don't Let Your Love Go Wrong," were hits for the Boswell Sisters. Johnson also continued to write with Waller and Razaf, usually on a separate basis; the major exception was "The Joint Is Jumpin'," a co-composition by all three that became one of the pianist's bigger hits. Other work in that vein included "Yacht Club Blues" and "How Ya Baby," both featured in Waller's 1938 Broadway show Ain't Misbehavin', and the pop hit "A Porter's Love Song to a Chambermaid." Toward the end of the '30s, Johnson also composed material for Chick Webb's band, which featured Ella Fitzgerald at the time; selections included "Spinnin' the Webb," "Crying My Heart Out for You," and "You Can't Be Mine (And Someone Else's Too)." Johnson was largely inactive after Waller's untimely death in 1943, retiring to Harlem. He passed away on February 27, 1981. ~ Steve Huey, Rovi