CANJOES

 

Paste-up photo

The Canjoes (New York)

 

Personnel :

Joe Louis Johnson (Lou Johnson)

Theresa Cleveland

Ann Gissendanner

 

Discography :

1961 - Speaking Of Love / Dance The Boomerang (Featuring Joe Louis Johnson) (Dapt 208)

 

Biography :

Lou Johnson (born 1941 in Brooklyn, New York City) is an American soul singer and pianist who was active as a recording artist in the 1960s and early 1970s. Coming from a musical family, he started singing in gospel choirs in his teens, before studying music at Brooklyn College. He learned keyboards and percussion, forming a gospel group, the Zionettes, who recorded for Simpson Records and achieved some local success. Johnson then formed a secular vocal group, the Canjoes, with Tresia Cleveland and Ann Gissendammer. They signed to the New York, Amy/Bell/Mala affiliated DAPT label. The partnership saw the release of one single 'Dance the Boomerang' b/w 'Speaking of Love (Dapt 208) before Johnson struck out in pursuit of a solo career.  . The single was also released on Dapt D-208 with the spelling The Coanjos featuring Joe Louis Johnson b/w he Coanjos.

   

                                                                                     Lou Johnson

Cleveland and Giessendanner continued their partnership, reappearing as The Soul Sisters.  A one-shot single on Guyden was followed by a move to Sue Records. In 1962, Johnson signed as a solo singer with Bigtop Records, run by the Hill & Range music publishing company in the Brill Building. There, he met the songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, who wrote Johnson's first single, "If I Never Get to Love You". Neither that song nor his second record, "You Better Let Him Go", were hits, but his third single, "Reach Out for Me", also written by Bacharach and David and this time produced by Bacharach, reached # 74 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1963.

 

Songs :

    

  Dance The Boomerang                 Speaking Of Love