Biography
James Price Johnson (February 1, 1894 - November 17, 1955) was an American pianist and composer, one of the most important jazz pianists in New York during the 1930s. He was born in New Jersey, United States, his father was a shop clerk and mechanic, his mother was a self-taught pianist who taught her son. At the age of 18, Johnson got his first job as a pianist and decided to pursue a career as a musician. The popular African-American songs he heard at home and in his neighborhood became his first influences.Johnson composed many hits including "Charleston" "If I Could Be With You One Hour Tonight" "You've Got to Be Modernistic", "Don't Cry, Baby", "Keep off the Grass) and had a major contribution in American musical theatre. He also wrote symphonic works that were ignored in his time but recognized and appreciated some decades later.
In 1951 Johnson suffered a stroke that disabled him; he died in 1955..