Billy Johnson

1 of 2 music artists with this name who have used Santana, the Philadelphia-born drummer who have became predicated on the Western Coast could just be the best-known musician with this name around, in least among drummers. It really is a difficult row to hoe evidently, despite connections towards the effective Johnson clan that once ruled elements of the Crazy Western. The extreme amount of music artists with this name or variants thereof is most beneficial described through the living of a sub-cult of rings that at onetime or another got several Johnson whose first name was possibly Expenses, Billy, Will, Willie, or William. Santana, with whom drummer Billy Johnson performed during two different intervals, isn’t the just example. Other popular bandleaders bubbling up a Johnson double-up consist of Louis Armstrong and Howlin’ Wolf. The drumming Johnson, one of the music artists who are occasionally defined as Robert “Billy” Johnson, could quickly hold his personal with these famous bandleaders. The truth is, his credits consist of dealing with the popular SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA ensemble with horns, Tower of Power, aswell as singers such as for example Patti LaBelle and Jean Carn as well as the pop group Pablo Luxury cruise. He researched under Philadelphia drummers Gerry Dark brown and Cornell Rochester throughout a period when he was frequently acquiring the two-hour trip north to NEW YORK to jam. In a short time collaborations created with brothers Kevin Eubanks on acoustic guitar and Robin Eubanks on trombone. From the middle-’70s, Johnson got begun picking right up touring projects with performers such as for example LaBelle, Carn, and Dexter Wansel. The solid groove drummers admire in Johnson’s shows seems to match modern vocal stylists aswell as groupings into numerous kinds of fusion and funk jamming. Johnson became a member of Santana for the very first time in 1990, keeping 2 yrs. He was back 1994, this time around keeping until 1997. The drummer stayed as relevant in pop music as Carlos Santana himself ended up being. Johnson recorded frequently with Frankie Beverly and Maze in the mid-’90s, on the other hand chilling out in the combo of modern jazz guitarist Joyce Air conditioning.