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| | Jay Johnson (1934-1987) was a singer and guitar player who was initially based in the Cincinnati, OH area. He performed country, bluegrass, and gospel music. In the late 1950s and early 1960s Johnson performed with Don Boone & his Sandy Valley Boys, appearing on WKRC-TV’s "Rural Route 12" program. In the early 1960s he recorded for the Nashville based Briar International label (Johnson is the featured artist on 7 tracks on 2 gospel LPs credited to the Sandy Valley Boys & Kathy; 1 of his tracks is a duet with Kathy Wood). Johnson also made recordings for Carl Burckhardt's Big 6 label and Bobby Grove’s Oak label. Most significantly, he issued 2 great bluegrass singles backed by Earl Taylor & the Stoney Mountain Boys - one on his own Cincinnati based Rocket label and the other on the Nashville label (a Starday subsidiary). 2 of Johnson's Big 6 tracks were reissued on Coronet and Rite label gospel LPs. He left Ohio in the mid 1960s, living/performing in Marietta, GA and Lake Charles, LA before settling in the Tampa, FL area. During the 1970s Johnson fronted a band titled the Four Shades of Bluegrass. |
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