RED JOHNSON
The Local Entertainer
The Local Entertainer – Cloud Over Paradise –
I’d Rain All Over You – A Day With No Sunshine – What Kind Of World –
There’s A Grand Ole Opry Show Playing Somewhere – Big Brave Me – A
Woman’s Lips – Hidden Feelings – Anything But Me – Moving To Nevada – It
Burns All The Way Down – Mrs. Johnson – Grey Eyes – Railroaded – Too
Much Of You Went With Him – Everyday People – Touching Me Again – Give
Her Some Happiness – What Man Wouldn’t Try – Christmas In Heaven
I’d Rain All Over You – A Day With No Sunshine – What Kind Of World –
There’s A Grand Ole Opry Show Playing Somewhere – Big Brave Me – A
Woman’s Lips – Hidden Feelings – Anything But Me – Moving To Nevada – It
Burns All The Way Down – Mrs. Johnson – Grey Eyes – Railroaded – Too
Much Of You Went With Him – Everyday People – Touching Me Again – Give
Her Some Happiness – What Man Wouldn’t Try – Christmas In Heaven
Red Johnson’s local entertainer sounds an awful lot like
me. I’ve been a sort of entertainer that believes the old country songs
shouldn’t be just buried or hidden away. So it goes. This must be my
day to listen to good songwriters. I just reviewed the great Ginny
Peters from New Zealand, and here comes one of our best traditional and
classic country music songwriters from Minnesota, the great Red
Johnson. He had a huge hit with “There’s A Grand Ole Opry Show Playing
Somewhere” which is on this CD, and it’s a good one….BUT, in 2015 Red
had another of his songs played on the USA’s most popular television
show, NCIS. True, “Mrs. Johnson” was used in the background of one of
the shows early in the year Here it is on this remarkable CD of Red
Johnson originals. I must add quickly this song is not about ‘his’ Mrs.
Johnson, it’s about a stripper in a club looking for company, so please
don’t confuse that. It spread its wings on the NCIS show as a
background radio station playing in a gas station as the NCIS crew
questions a couple of the attendants. What a thrill. It’s also a
thrill to listen to some of these earlier songs that Red wrote and
recorded. Every darn one of them is a ‘true’ country song. I’d have a
hard time trying to write from all these experiences that Red writes
about. But somehow he wakes up in the middle of the night, grabs a
pencil and jots down the thoughts on his mind, and next day they are a
song. “I wish I were a raindrop, I’d fall and kiss your cheek.” How
can you get anymore romantic than that. Listen to it on “Anything But
Me,” and try to tell me this isn’t ‘real’ country. Red leans heavily on
the steel guitar on some of his best work. He’s also strong on having a
strong lead guitar, and both of these lead instruments are well mixed
into the final sessions. There’s a few exceptions, like “Grey Eyes”
which is almost folk-like in it’s presentation, but super it is, with
some beautiful harmony added. Terrific ‘love’ song, very touching,
since it’s about a dad’s little girl who is going blind. What a tear
jerker. I always have a good time listening to Red Johnson’s music,
mostly because he doesn’t hold anything back. He says and sings what he
means, and we sure don’t find that in contemporary country music these
days. Keep at it Red, we’ll be looking forward to hearing you in
person, in concert, April 15-16-17, 2016 at the Oak Tree Performance
Center, Anita, Iowa.
me. I’ve been a sort of entertainer that believes the old country songs
shouldn’t be just buried or hidden away. So it goes. This must be my
day to listen to good songwriters. I just reviewed the great Ginny
Peters from New Zealand, and here comes one of our best traditional and
classic country music songwriters from Minnesota, the great Red
Johnson. He had a huge hit with “There’s A Grand Ole Opry Show Playing
Somewhere” which is on this CD, and it’s a good one….BUT, in 2015 Red
had another of his songs played on the USA’s most popular television
show, NCIS. True, “Mrs. Johnson” was used in the background of one of
the shows early in the year Here it is on this remarkable CD of Red
Johnson originals. I must add quickly this song is not about ‘his’ Mrs.
Johnson, it’s about a stripper in a club looking for company, so please
don’t confuse that. It spread its wings on the NCIS show as a
background radio station playing in a gas station as the NCIS crew
questions a couple of the attendants. What a thrill. It’s also a
thrill to listen to some of these earlier songs that Red wrote and
recorded. Every darn one of them is a ‘true’ country song. I’d have a
hard time trying to write from all these experiences that Red writes
about. But somehow he wakes up in the middle of the night, grabs a
pencil and jots down the thoughts on his mind, and next day they are a
song. “I wish I were a raindrop, I’d fall and kiss your cheek.” How
can you get anymore romantic than that. Listen to it on “Anything But
Me,” and try to tell me this isn’t ‘real’ country. Red leans heavily on
the steel guitar on some of his best work. He’s also strong on having a
strong lead guitar, and both of these lead instruments are well mixed
into the final sessions. There’s a few exceptions, like “Grey Eyes”
which is almost folk-like in it’s presentation, but super it is, with
some beautiful harmony added. Terrific ‘love’ song, very touching,
since it’s about a dad’s little girl who is going blind. What a tear
jerker. I always have a good time listening to Red Johnson’s music,
mostly because he doesn’t hold anything back. He says and sings what he
means, and we sure don’t find that in contemporary country music these
days. Keep at it Red, we’ll be looking forward to hearing you in
person, in concert, April 15-16-17, 2016 at the Oak Tree Performance
Center, Anita, Iowa.
RECORD REVIEW BY BOB EVERHART – www.ntcma.net
for Country Music News International