Peerie Willie Johnson
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| Group or Soloist: | Accompanist |
|---|---|
| Based in: | Shetland |
| Years active: | 1934 - 2007 |
| Musical Style: | Folk, Jazz, Blues |
| Website: | |
William Henry Johnson, most commonly known through Shetland as 'Peerie' Willie Johnson, (born on 10th December 1920 at Bouster, The Herra, Yell, died 22nd May 2007 in Lerwick) was a musician from Shetland.
Contents |
History
1920 - 1953
When Willie was a young child he was confined to the house for many months due to illness. During this time his mother bought him a ukulele, which he taught himself to play. Willie was a big fan of jazz guitarist Eddie Lang and was fascinated by the complex structure of jazz chords. When he became limited by the ukulele, he progressed to the guitar and joined his first band aged 14. In 1936 Willie had fallen under the influence of jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, and by a chance encounter he was invited to join the Islesburgh Dance Band lead by now-legendary fiddler Dr. Tom Anderson whom he would accompany on and off throughout much of the latter's life. Willie and Anderson also formed another group, in 1938, called the New Players Dance Band with the piano/organ player Billy Kay, but they disbanded when Kay and Johnson were called up in 1940 during World War II. Following WW2, Johnson briefly moved down to London where he made a living playing music with wartime contacts.
1953 - 1988
Willie returned to Shetland and settled down and married Ethel Johnson in 1953. He had various oddjobs and occasionally toured with other musicians. In 1958 he travelled down to London with Tom Anderson and Shetland fiddler Willie Hunter and played in the Royal Festival Hall. During that same trip, he and Hunter stunned the staff at Abbey Road Studios by recording both sides of a joint LP (never released) for the BBC in a morning's work, polishing off a bottle of whisky between them in the process. "The second half of the album is much better than the first," Johnson observed.
Hunter and Johnson also performed regularly together at the Edinburgh Festival between 1973 and 1980. A modest man who underestimated his own abilities, Johnson never made a solo album, recording only as an accompanist to others, such as Anderson, the pianist Violet Tulloch and the fiddler Aly Bain, who he joined on tour with the Boys of the Lough in the US in 1978 & 1979. Willie's distinctive playing can be heard on Scottish Violin Music (1963), Shetland Folk Fiddling Vol 2 (1978), Cathal McConnell's 1978 solo début On Lough Erne's Shore, and Aly Bain's First Album (1984), which contains Johnson's best known piece, an interpretation of the tune "Margaret's Waltz". Johnson also appeared on Silver Bow - Fiddle Music of Shetland (1995).
1988 - 2007
In 1988, Aly Bain began hosting Down Home, a Channel 4 series on which Johnson regularly featured. Johnson and Hunter later made several appearances on Norwegian television and radio. Johnson's playing style is widely credited with influencing not just his contemporaries, but also a number of younger musicians including the Wrigley Sisters, from Orkney, and the jazz guitarist Martin Taylor. In 2005, Taylor travelled to Shetland to make a BBC radio documentary about Johnson. He recalls Willie thus:
"I don't think I've ever met another musician who was so full of music. It's almost as if he was more than a musician. Every atom in his body was music, and his enthusiasm was quite amazing. If he was in the Lounge [his local bar] and someone started to play, he just picked up whatever instrument was there, whatever just came to hand, he was just so natural."
Willie was the first musician to be inducted to the Scottish Traditional Music Hall Of Fame in 2005. 2005 continued to be a successful year for Willie as he saw the creation of the first Peerie Willie Johnson Guitar Festival, an annual festival to celebrate his achievements, and now his life.
William Johnson had battled with arthritis for a large part of his later life, making playing increasingly difficult. Willie died on the 22nd of May, 2007 aged 86. To many of the older generation Willie was one of their biggest influences to play music.
A CD of Willie's music, titled Willie's World, was released on the 10th November 2007.
External Links
- Shetland News article, following Willie's death
- Michael Marra performing his tribute to Peerie Willie 'Schenectady calling Peerie Willie Johnson'
- Peerie Willie Johnson in Scottish Traditional Music - Hall of Fame
