Chas. L. Johnson

Resource id #75

Chas. L. Johnson

Charles Leslie Johnson (December 3, 1876 - December 28, 1950) was an American composer of ragtime and popular music. He was born in Kansas City, Kansas, died in Kansas City, Missouri, and lived his entire life in those two cities. He published over 300 songs in his life, nearly 40 of them ragtime compositions such as "Doc Brown’s Cakewalk", "Dill Pickles", "Apple Jack (Some Rag)", and "Snookums Rag". His best selling piece, a sentimental ballad called "Sweet and Low", sold over a million copies. Experts believe that had Johnson lived and worked in New York, he would be included alongside Scott Joplin, James Scott, and Joseph Lamb as one of the greatest ragtime composers. He wrote more than the other three combined and exemplified a greater range of talent, composing waltzes, tangos, cakewalks, marches, novelty pieces, and other types of music popular at that time.

Birth and Death Data: Born December 3, 1876 (Kansas City), Died December 28, 1950 (Kansas City)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1904 - 1934

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, lyricist, arranger

Notes: Pseudonyms: Raymond Birch, Ethel Earnist, Herbert Leslie, Fannie B. Woods

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company	Matrix No.	Size	First Recording Date	Title	Primary Performer	Description	Role
Victor	B-1765	10-in.	10/13/1904	A whispered thought	Arthur Pryor's Orchestra	Orchestra	composer
Victor	B-3761	10-in.	9/4/1906	Iola	Sousa's Band	Band	composer
Victor	E-3761	8-in.	9/4/1906	Iola : Intermezzo	Sousa's Band	Band	composer
Victor	B-3921	10-in.	10/25/1906	Iola	Harry Macdonough ; Frank C. Stanley	Male vocal duet, with orchestra	composer
Victor	B-4214	10-in.	1/23/1907	Iola	Byron G. Harlan ; Frank C. Stanley	Male vocal duet, with orchestra	composer
Victor	E-4214	8-in.	1/23/1907	Iola	Byron G. Harlan ; Frank C. Stanley	Male vocal duet, with orchestra	composer
Victor	B-6089	10-in.	4/9/1908	Dill pickles rag	Chris Chapman	Xylophone solo, with orchestra	composer
Victor	E-6089	8-in.	4/9/1908	Dill pickles	Chris Chapman	Xylophone solo	composer
Victor	B-6429	10-in.	9/21/1908	Southern beauties	Arthur Pryor's Band	Band	composer
Victor	B-6720	10-in.	1/13/1909	Southern beauties	Victor Orchestra	Orchestra	composer
Victor	B-6784	10-in.	2/8/1909	Dill pickles rag	Arthur Pryor's Band	Band	composer
Victor	C-8434	12-in.	12/8/1909	Tobasco	Arthur Pryor's Band	Band	composer
Victor	B-8605	10-in.	2/5/1910	Dixie twilight	Vess L. Ossman	Banjo solo	composer
Victor	B-9730	10-in.	12/20/1910	The porcupine rag	Sousa's Band	Band	composer
Victor	B-14064	10-in.	11/13/1913	Dream days	Will Oakland	Male vocal solo, with orchestra	composer, lyricist
Victor	C-14611	12-in.	3/22/1914	Crazy bone rag	United States Marine Band	Band, with xylophone	composer
Victor	B-15016	10-in.	6/26/1914	Ma pickaninny babe	Heidelberg Quintette	Male vocal quartet and soloist, with orchestra	composer
Victor	B-15043	10-in.	7/6/1914	Ma pickaninny babe	Billy Murray ; Will Oakland	Male vocal duet, with orchestra	composer
Victor	B-15332	10-in.	11/4/1914	In the hills of old Kentucky	Henry Burr ; Albert Campbell	Male vocal duet, with orchestra	composer
Victor	B-15363	10-in.	11/10/1914	Dill pickles rag	Six Brown Brothers	Saxophone sextet	composer
Victor	B-17455	10-in.	4/6/1916	Croon-time	Edna Brown ; James Reed	Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra	composer
Victor	B-18860	10-in.	12/20/1916	Teasing the cat	Van Eps Trio	Instrumental trio	composer
Victor	B-18964	10-in.	1/5/1917	Golden hours	Sterling Trio	Male vocal trio, with violin, cello, harp, and orchestra	composer
Victor	B-19313	10-in.	2/27/1917	Poppy time in old Japan	Victor Military Band	Band	composer
Victor	B-23328	10-in.	11/6/1919	Where the lanterns glow	Van Eps Trio	Instrumental trio	composer
Victor	B-23554	10-in.	12/26/1919	Sweet and low	Elsie Baker	Female vocal solo, with violin and orchestra	composer
Victor	B-25164	10-in.	4/15/1921	Sweet and low	Benson Orchestra of Chicago	Jazz/dance band	composer
Victor	B-25974	10-in.	1/25/1922	Dill pickles rag	William H. Reitz	Xylophone solo, with orchestra	composer
Victor	B-28456	10-in.	9/7/1923	When clouds have vanished and skies are blue	Elliott Shaw	Male vocal solo, with orchestra	composer
Victor	BVE-41903	10-in.	2/14/1928	Dill pickles rag	McLaughlin's Old Time Melody Makers	Instrumental ensemble	composer
Victor	BVE-43336	10-in.	3/8/1928	In the hills of old Kentucky	Vernon Dalhart ; Adelyne Hood ; Carson Robison	Mixed vocal trio, with 2 violins and guitar	composer
Victor	BVE-63174	10-in.	10/27/1930	Come back to-night in my dreams	Bud Billings ; Carson Robison	Male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble	composer
Victor	BS-77184	10-in.	12/4/1933	Drifting in a lover's dream	Four Novelty Aces	Mixed vocal quartet, with piano	lyricist, composer
Victor	BS-77185	10-in.	12/4/1933	Standin' in de need of prayer	Four Novelty Aces	Mixed vocal quartet, with piano	lyricist, composer
Victor	BS-82390	10-in.	5/7/1934	In the hills of old Kentucky	Bradley Kincaid	Male vocal solo, with guitar	composer
Columbia	3530	10-in.	approximately 1906	Iola intermezzo	Thomas Mills	Xylophone solo, with orchestra	composer
Columbia	3571	10-in.	between late 1906 and February 1907	Iola	Henry Burr ; Irving Gillette ; Frank C. Stanley	Male vocal duet, with orchestra	composer
Columbia	4586	10-in.	between January and September 1910	Porcupine rag	Prince's Orchestra	Orchestra	composer
Columbia	47400	10-in.	3/6/1917	Calico rag	Frank E. Banta ; Howard Kopp	Piano and drum duet	composer
Columbia	78467	10-in.	6/3/1919	Where the lanterns glow	Henry Burr ; Columbia Saxophone Sextette	Saxophone sextet, with male vocal solo	composer
Columbia	78664	10-in.	9/17/1919	Sweet and low	Art Hickman's Orchestra	Jazz/dance band	composer
Columbia	78794	10-in.	11/5/1919	Where the lanterns glow	Henry Burr ; Albert Campbell	Male vocal duet, with orchestra	composer
Columbia	78815	10-in.	11/18/1919	Sweet and low	Henry Burr ; Albert Campbell	Male vocal duet, with orchestra	composer
Columbia	80899	10-in.	3/13/1923	Spanish moon	Paul Specht Orchestra	Jazz/dance band	composer
Columbia	81207	10-in.	9/11/1923	When clouds have vanished and skies are blue	William A. Kennedy	Male vocal solo, with orchestra	composer
Columbia	81408	10-in.	12/11/1923	When clouds have vanished and skies are blue	Lewis James	Male vocal solo, with orchestra	composer
Columbia	140219	10-in.	12/31/1924	Can you bring back the heart I gave you?	Ferera's Hawaiian Instrumental Quartet	Instrumental quartet (Hawaiian)	composer
Columbia	49695	12-in.	11/24/1919	That naughty waltz	Henry Burr ; Albert Campbell ; Columbia Orchestra ; Charles Adams Prince	Orchestra, with male vocal duet	composer
Columbia	W145789	10-in.	3/21/1928	In the hills of old Kentucky	Vernon Dalhart ; Adelyne Hood ; Carson Robison	Mixed vocal trio, with fiddle (violin) and guitar	composer
Columbia	W147337	10-in.	10/30/1928	In the hills of old Kentucky	Melton and Waggoner	Male vocal duet	composer
Columbia	W149317	10-in.	10/31/1929	When clouds have vanished	McMichen's Melody Men	2 fiddles (violins) and steel guitar, with male vocal solo	composer
Columbia	55972	10-in.	1911	Dill pickles rag	Guido Deiro		composer
OKeh	S-7043	10-in.	ca. Oct. 1919	Where the lanterns glow	All Star Trio	Instrumental trio	composer
OKeh	9391	10-in.	Oct. 1925	The hills of old Kentucky	Charles Nabell	Male vocal solo, with guitar	composer
OKeh	S-71658	10-in.	June 1923	Spanish moon	Hotel Pennsylvania Orchestra ; Vincent Lopez	Jazz/dance band	composer
OKeh	S-71694	10-in.	July 1923	When clouds have vanished and skies are blue	Lewis James	Male vocal solo, with orchestra	composer
OKeh	W402721	10-in.	6/25/1929	Crazy rag	Hugh Roden ; The Texas Night Hawks	String band	composer
OKeh	[OK cat 1264-A]	10-in.	between April and August 1919	Where the lanterns glow	OKeh Dance Orchestra	Jazz/dance band	composer
Brunswick	609	10-in.	approximately early 1917	Golden hours	Sterling Trio	Male vocal trio, with orchestra	composer
Brunswick	706	10-in.	approximately early 1917	Golden hours	Sterling Trio	Male vocal trio, with orchestra	composer
Brunswick	[Br cat 5169-b]	10-in.	approximately Oct. 1917	Teasing the cat	Brunswick Military Band	Band	composer
Brunswick	2855	10-in.	approximately Sept. 1919	Where the lanterns glow	Palace Trio	Instrumental trio	composer
Brunswick	7378-7379	10-in.	approximately Feb. 1922	By the silvery Nile	Isham Jones Orchestra	Jazz/dance band	composer
Brunswick	11523-11525	10-in.	10/3/1923	When clouds have vanished and skies are blue	Allen McQuhae	Male vocal solo and male vocal trio, with orchestra	composer
Brunswick	14512-14515	10-in.	12/17/1924	Can you bring back the heart I gave you?	Radio Franks	Male vocal duet, with string quartet and piano	composer
Brunswick	14569-14571	10-in.	1/6/1925	Can you bring back the heart I gave you?	Radio Franks	Male vocal duet, with orchestra	composer
Brunswick	E27778	10-in.	6/26/1928	In the hills of old Kentucky	Frank Luther ; Carson Robison	Male vocal duet, with whistling, violins, and guitar	composer
Brunswick	E29158	10-in.	2/5/1929	Dill pickles rag	Kessinger Brothers	Fiddle (violin) and guitar duet	composer
Brunswick	E21364-E21366	10-in.	1/29/1927	Moonbeams and you	Regent Club Orchestra	Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo	arranger
Brunswick	E21367-E21368½	10-in.	1/29/1927	Love’s melody	Regent Club Orchestra	Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo	arranger
Brunswick	AT372-AT373	10-in.	3/3/1928	Dill pickle rag	Dr. Humphrey Bate Possum Hunters	String band, with dance calls	composer
Edison	2474	10-in.	9/30/1913	Wedding of the fairies	Reed Orchestra [Edison Records]	Reed orchestra	composer
Edison	3588	10-in.	2/18/1915	In the hills of old Kentucky	Morton Harvey	Tenor vocal solo and vocal ensemble, with orchestra	composer
Edison	4032	10-in.	7/29/1915	Porcupine rag	New York Military Band	Band	composer
Edison	5069	10-in.	10/12/1916	Silver star	George Wilton Ballard ; Gladys Rice	Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra	lyricist, composer
Edison	6584	10-in.	1/23/1919	Starlight	Peerless Orchestra	Instrumental ensemble	composer
Edison	7040	10-in.	12/2/1919	Sweet and low (Waltz)	Tuxedo Dance Orchestra	Jazz/dance band	composer
Edison	8443	10-in.	5/5/1922	Everybody calls her sunshine	George Wilton Ballard	Male vocal solo and mixed vocal ensemble, with orchestra	composer
Vocalion	14069-14071	10-in.	12/22/1924	Can you bring back the heart I gave you?	Ferera and Franchini Quartet	Instrumental quartet (Hawaiian)	composer

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Johnson, Chas. L.," accessed April 19, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/110614.

Johnson, Chas. L.. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 19, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/110614.

"Johnson, Chas. L.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 19 April 2024.