George W. Johnson
George Washington Johnson (October 29, 1846 – January 23, 1914) was an American singer and pioneer sound recording artist. He is known for being the first African American recording star of the phonograph. His most popular songs were "The Whistling Coon" and "The Laughing Song". |
Birth and Death Data: Born Virginia (state of the United States of America), Died January 23, 1914 (Kew Gardens (neighborhood in Queens, New York City) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1894 - 1920
Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist, lyricist, composer, speaker, whistling
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 53 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berliner | 196 | 7-in. | 10/8/1894 | Whistling coon | Artists vary | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
| Berliner | 403 | 7-in. | 11/18/1896 | The mocking bird | Artists vary | Whistling solo | vocalist, whistling | |
| Berliner | 404 | 7-in. | 10/31/1895 | The laughing song | Artists vary | Male vocal solo | vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]581 | 7-in. | 12/31/1900 | The whistling girl | George W. Johnson | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist | |
| Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]581 | 10-in. | 9/11/1902 | The whistling girl | George W. Johnson | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist | |
| Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]582 | 7-in. | 12/31/1900 | The whistling coon | George W. Johnson | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist | |
| Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]582 | 10-in. | 9/11/1902 | The whistling coon | George W. Johnson | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist | |
| Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]583 | 7-in. | 12/31/1900 | Laughing song | George W. Johnson | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]583 | 10-in. | 9/11/1902 | The laughing song | George W. Johnson | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]584 | 7-in. | 12/31/1900 | The laughing coon | George W. Johnson | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist | |
| Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]584 | 10-in. | 5/5/1903 | The laughing coon | George W. Johnson | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist | |
| Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]2197 | 7-in. | between 1901 and 1903 | Carving the duck | George W. Johnson | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, lyricist, composer | |
| Victor | A-12 | 7-in. | 5/5/1903 | Carving the duck | George W. Johnson | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | B-12 | 10-in. | 5/5/1903 | Carving the duck | George W. Johnson | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
| Columbia | 210 | 7-in. | approximately 1901 | Negro laughing song | George W. Johnson | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
| Columbia | 210 | 10-in. | approximately 1901 | Negro laughing song | George W. Johnson | Male vocal solo, with piano; with orchestra (take 12) | vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
| Columbia | 211 | 7-in. | approximately 1901 | The whistling coon | George W. Johnson | Male vocal solo and whistling, with piano | vocalist | |
| Columbia | 211 | 10-in. | approximately 1901 | The whistling coon | Artists vary | Male vocal solo and whistling, with piano | vocalist | |
| Columbia | 644 | 7-in. | between 1902 and 1904 | The laughing song | Imperial Minstrels | Minstrels, with male vocal solo and orchestra | vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
| Columbia | 644 | 10-in. | between 1902 and 1904 | The laughing song | Imperial Minstrels | Minstrels, with male vocal solo and orchestra | vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
| Columbia | 3374 | 10-in. | between 1905 and April 1906 | The merry mail man | George W. Johnson ; Len Spencer | Comic dialogue, with orchestra | speaker | |
| OKeh | S-7557 | 10-in. | September 1920 | When you and I were young, Maggie | Henry Burr ; Peerless Quartet | Male vocal solo and male vocal quartet, with orchestra | lyricist | |
| Zonophone | 625 | 9-in. | Before December 1903 | Laughing song | George W. Johnson | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist | |
| Zonophone | 657 | 7-in. | ca. Sept. 1903 | The laughing coon | George W. Johnson | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist | |
| Zonophone | 690 | 7-in. | ca. Sept. 1903 | Laughing song | George W. Johnson | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Johnson, George W.," accessed December 27, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/107861.
Johnson, George W.. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 27, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/107861.
"Johnson, George W.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 27 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Johnson, George W., 1846-approximately 1910 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n99035953
Wikidata: George Washington Johnson - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1372290
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/41171545
MusicBrainz: George Washington Johnson - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/4ff572ad-0fe8-4eaa-929f-e8a6a1622d43
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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