The Journeymen

Johnny Ace’s song, which became a #1 hit, Pledging My Love, his eighth #1 Billboard hit in R&B. Billboard Magazine was just starting an R&B section for the new year, right after the death of Johnny Ace. The section measured record sales and jukebox plays and included buying the single Pledging My Love as the best buy for the week. Unfortunately, since the news industry ran at a slower pace, not everyone knew about Ac...

In the days that followed, the press wrote about Ace’s death. Broadcast in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, the day after Christmas, Johnny’s death was heart-wrenching. Having been booked through the winter holidays and the months that followed, his band and Evelyn Johnson, his booking agent, had to move forward and cancel all future shows. To her surprise, many of the venues asked Evelyn to send the band, regardless of whether ...

Moving on in the next segment of our Johnny Ace story, we jump into a deep dive into his interesting life. It’s the mid-to-late 1950s at this point in our story, and Johnny is out on the road in Florida at a pawn shop, in a situation that would turn out to be a pivotal point in his life.

On the Road in Florida with a Gun

While on the road in Florida, Johnny decides to purchase a Herrinton & Richardson Model Six, double-action, ...

Moving into the mid-career life of Johnny Ace, there is more success for both him and Don Robey, who now orchestrated more collaboration with Big Mama Thornton. However, Don had not openly fused both artists on a song.

With the success of Johnny came neglect of his family members whom he cut off from. This largely seemed intentional, although it may have also been a fallout of his adaptation to his musical success.

In this conversa...

Taking another stride, our story moves on to Willie Mae Thornton a. k. a Big Mama Thornton, who would rise to fame after getting signed to Don Robey's record while working at his club.

Here, her interaction with Johnny Ace and the Johnny Otis band would set her up for success despite her rather crude musical personality which she intentionally held on to, making her more of an acquired taste.

In this part of the series, Michael T. ...

Outselling the likes of B. B King, Fats Domino, and Joe Turner, it is surprising how much Johnny remained in the blind spot of musical history.

This success, while bringing in a grossly sizable amount of profit for Don Robey, drew out much of his greed keeping all the profits and forcing out his silent partner, Mattis, with a pittance.

Moving forward with this series, Michael T. Davis, Casey Wood, and Seth West detail more of the s...

Despite playing with the greatest R&B stars, Johnny Ace's story had started much more quietly in Beale Street, the black center of culture, down in Memphis which shares a history with the likes of Elvis.

Johnny's career kicked off with the Beale Streeters, and James Mattis of Duke records who had his fair share of problems even with his success.

In this second part of the series, join Michael T. Davis, Casey Wood, and Seth West...

Inching further down the story reveals the history behind Don Robey before he met Mattis while trying to acquire Duke Records, all with the intention to work with Johnny Ace.

Despite a history of illegal dealings and lack of musical skill, Robey had started to build his music empire when he realized how profitable the business of music could be.

In this part of the series, Michael T. Davis, Casey Wood, and Seth West continue the di...

He is the first true rock-and-roller to live fast and die young. It’s been argued that he’s been in contention for the very first rock and roll record: one that smashed the color barrier and brought R&B to a young white audience ready to fill their postwar lust-filled teenage dreams.

He has played alongside the biggest R&B stars of his time, had a string of number one hits, and was seen as an icon even by giants such as Bob...