Tribute Mondays: George W. Johnson

George Washington Johnson (c. October 1846 – January 23, 1914)

Singer and Pioneer Sound Recording Artist, George W. Johnson, was the first African American Star of the Phonograph. He could read and write music and his songs consisted of singing, whistling and a boisterous laughs done in musical pitch. In the early years of recording there was a lack of duplication technology, so Mr. Johnson had to record his song over 50 times a day to produce new copies for sale. Between 1890 and 1895, he recorded his two best selling songs 50,000 times and 25,000 times respectively. He died in 1914 at 67 years old poor and destitute from pneumonia and Myocarditis (inflammation of the three layers forming the wall of the heart). Thanks for your contribution Mr. Johnson, you are appreciated. Please take a listen here and have a sweet Monday:  The Whistling Girl and The Laughing Song (1898)

Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Johnson_(singer)

Background information
Birth name	George Washington Johnson
Born	c. October 1846(exact date unknown) Virginia, US
Origin	New York City, New York, US
Died	January 23, 1914 Queens, New York City, New York, US
Genres	Vaudeville
Occupation(s)	Singer, valet
Instruments	Singing, whistling
Years active	1891–1910
Labels	Berliner Gramophone,Edison, Columbia,Victor Talking Machine Company
Associated acts	Len Spencer