Betty Johnson
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Betty Johnson (born March 16, 1931) is a singer of traditional pop music.
Johnson was born in Guilford County, North Carolina. Her professional debut was in a family group, The Johnson Family Singers, including her parents and three brothers, singing a repertoire primarily of religious material. The family won a singing contest in Charlotte, North Carolina, and was signed to a contract on a major radio station, WBT, in that city. The family sang on broadcasts from 1938 to 1951, and Betty did some solo work on the station as well.
As a teenager, she was signed by Columbia Records and made some recordings, none of which were important. She did a children's album with country singer Eddy Arnold produced by Simon and Schuster, who subsequently signed her to their own recording label, Bell Records. Later, she signed with RCA Victor Records, which sent her to Chicago, Illinois.
In Chicago, she worked with Arnold again in a television series, backed by a group who had worked with her family on the Grand Old Opry, The Jordanaires. That group later became well known as a backing group for Elvis Presley.
She then did some work on Don McNeill's Breakfast Club which led to a contract with a small record company, Bally Records. After one not-so-notable recording for Bally, she clicked with her biggest hit, "I Dreamed" in 1956.
She then was hired by Jack Parr for his television show, Tonight. This led to a record contract with Atlantic Records in 1958, for which she had her next big hit, "Little Blue Man."
[edit] Biggest hit records
- "1492" (1957)
- "I Dreamed" (1956)
- "Little Blue Man" (1958)
- "Little White Lies" (1957)
- "You Can't Get to Heaven" (1959)
