Herb Johnson born 26 December 1935

Herb Johnson (December 26th, 1935 - January 19th, 2004) was an American rhythm & blues, soul and funk vocalist. 

Philadelphia soul legend Herb Johnson was born Herbert Earshell Johnson Jr. in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, relocating to Philadelphia with his family when he was nine years old. As a teenager attending Overbrook High School, he auditioned at the Royal Theatre on South Street for a radio spot on WPEN, singing "You Belong To Me" by one of his favorite groups, The Orioles. 

At 18 he joined the U.S. Air Force, performing R&B covers on USO package tours as a member of a group called the Lyrics; following his discharge, Johnson returned home to Philadelphia, joining vocal group the Ambassadors, who participated in a talent show at the Leader Theatre at 41st and Lancaster Avenue. Around this time he also auditioned as lead vocalist with the Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra, losing out to the renowned Little Jimmy Scott. (It was not the only frustrating near-miss Johnson would endure during his career -- he lost his bid to replace the Flamingos' Nate Nelson to Billy Paul, and because he couldn't dance, he was later passed over to replace Franklin Peaker in Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes.) 

                                   

In the spring of 1960 Johnson signed as a solo act to Len "Buddy" Caldwell's Len label, collaborating with backing vocalists the Cruisers on his debut single, the two-sided hit "Guilty" and "Have You Heard" -- the record was a local smash, selling in excess of 50,000 copies in Philly alone, but never cracked the national consciousness. In 1961 he resurfaced on Caldwell's V-Tone label with a pair of singles, "Remember Me" and "Deep Down Love," followed the subsequent year by "Help," cut for Caldwell's Palm imprint; from there, Johnson and backing unit the Premiers skittered from label to label, among them Arctic ("Gloomy Day" and "Carfare Back") and Swan ("Two Steps Ahead of a Woman") and Tyler Records. 

With his instrumental group The Impacts, Herb performed all over the Philadelphia club circuit throughout the 60s and early 70s. The bass player for The Impacts, Wally Osborne, formed the Toxan label in 1968, releasing Herbs uptempo soul classic, "Im So Glad". This record did well enough to get released nationally on Brunswick and became a hit in England when it reached their shores five years later. Still, its initial failure so stung Johnson that he opened a Philadelphia ice cream shop, dramatically scaling back his performance schedule -- in 1972, he cut his farewell record "Damph F'Aint," a James Brown-inspired funk cult classic complete with extemporaneous lyrics. 

Over a decade later, Johnson agreed to an interview with Philadelphia radio station WXPN that resulted in an offer to sing with the local a cappella group the Zip Codes; a few years later, he signed on with doo wop combo A Moment's Pleasure, which regularly appeared at city-sponsored events on the recommendation of then-Mayor and avowed fan Ed Rendell. Following the group's demise, Johnson was contacted by Dave Brown, drummer for Philadelphia dream pop combo the Clock Strikes Thirteen and owner of the Philly Archives reissue label; not only did Brown hope to re-release Johnson's vintage sides on CD, but he also wished to form a latter-day incarnation of the Impacts, even recruiting original guitarist Bobby Eli. 

The new group became a major favorite on the Philadelphia nightclub circuit, and in 2002 Philly Archives issued Remember Me, a compilation of Johnson's finest singles. In 2003 he cut his final new song "Make You Wanna Holler," recorded with Finland's Soul Investigators and issued on the Timmion label.

On January 19, 2004, Johnson lost his long battle with cancer in Philadelphia, PA.  (Edited from AllMusic & Soul Source)

 Herb Johnson  performs his 1960 Len release, "Guilty", backed at the time by his present-day Cruisers group ("Boo", "Mutt" and Emerson Brown of the Red Top Students) at a United in Group Harmony Association Black History Month concert at Symphony Space in New York City, NY on February 13, 1999.