About Mike Johnson, Country Music's No.1 Black Yodeler
Early Life and Family
It has often been said that to truly know and understand a person you have to know something about where the person came from. Since I’ve known Mike since day one, I can tell you first and foremost that he is not the product of a poverty-stricken, drug and violence infected ghetto. While this seems to be an all too favorite assumption by journalists, reporters and biographers when presenting many of our non-Anglo and ethnic Americans, Mike enjoyed a nurturing and structured working middle-class upbringing where respect, discipline and chores were the household rule, not the exception.
Mike Johnson was born on 13 June 1946 in Washington DC to Margaret and Joseph Johnson. He is the first born of his mother's generation and has two younger sisters, Renee and Gail. Mike's mother, Margaret Bell (maiden name) was born on 4 June 1929 in Seneca, South Carolina and died in September 2004. Around 1936, Margaret's half-Cherokee mother, Thomasina V. Bell, packed up her three young girls, Margaret Jeanette and twin Mary Jean, and youngest, Johnnie Lou, and moved north to Washington, DC. Her husband Charles Sr. would follow later, and the youngest Bell sibling, Charles, Jr. would be born in Washington, DC.
It has often been said that to truly know and understand a person you have to know something about where the person came from. Since I’ve known Mike since day one, I can tell you first and foremost that he is not the product of a poverty-stricken, drug and violence infected ghetto. While this seems to be an all too favorite assumption by journalists, reporters and biographers when presenting many of our non-Anglo and ethnic Americans, Mike enjoyed a nurturing and structured working middle-class upbringing where respect, discipline and chores were the household rule, not the exception.
Mike Johnson was born on 13 June 1946 in Washington DC to Margaret and Joseph Johnson. He is the first born of his mother's generation and has two younger sisters, Renee and Gail. Mike's mother, Margaret Bell (maiden name) was born on 4 June 1929 in Seneca, South Carolina and died in September 2004. Around 1936, Margaret's half-Cherokee mother, Thomasina V. Bell, packed up her three young girls, Margaret Jeanette and twin Mary Jean, and youngest, Johnnie Lou, and moved north to Washington, DC. Her husband Charles Sr. would follow later, and the youngest Bell sibling, Charles, Jr. would be born in Washington, DC.
After a little more than a year of apartment living and pinching pennies, Thomasina eventually found and purchased a three bedroom house on Vermont Avenue in a quiet, middle class colored neighborhood in the North West section of the city. It was a modest wood framed affair, complete with a bay window, front and back yard, outhouse, icebox [had to buy ice from the local Ice House], a potbellied stove for "central heating" and a ringer-washing machine that got young Mike's butt whipped. Like many during that era, Mike remembers his grandma literally ironing the bed sheets on cold winter nights before they turned in. Modern conveniences like a gas stove, radiator heat, and a indoor bathroom would be added as her financial condition improved.
Ms. Bell supported her young family by working as a beautician at Katie's Beauty Shop on 14th Street NW, during the day and attending night classes to obtain her own beautician's license. Her income was supplemented with some occasional help from her older sister, Gladys Hill, who breezed through DC to New Jersey for a brief spell before settling down in the Bronx, in New York City. When she obtained her operator's license Thomasina found a building a block north of Katie's and opened her own shop called Beauty Charm, which she ran until her death on 12 May 1973. Mike's high school was about a mile north of the shop and during his senior year he would stop by after school to sweep and mop up. Incidentally, up until Mike was born, his grandmother was affectionately called Mama Dear by her family. Mike couldn't quite get the words right and called her Doppa Dear, a name by which she was called from then on. Such is the power of the first-born...
Ms. Bell supported her young family by working as a beautician at Katie's Beauty Shop on 14th Street NW, during the day and attending night classes to obtain her own beautician's license. Her income was supplemented with some occasional help from her older sister, Gladys Hill, who breezed through DC to New Jersey for a brief spell before settling down in the Bronx, in New York City. When she obtained her operator's license Thomasina found a building a block north of Katie's and opened her own shop called Beauty Charm, which she ran until her death on 12 May 1973. Mike's high school was about a mile north of the shop and during his senior year he would stop by after school to sweep and mop up. Incidentally, up until Mike was born, his grandmother was affectionately called Mama Dear by her family. Mike couldn't quite get the words right and called her Doppa Dear, a name by which she was called from then on. Such is the power of the first-born...
Mike's father, Joseph Armond Johnson was born in born on 19 April 1929 in Washington DC and died on 23 February 1972 in the Veteran's Hospital in Washington DC. Joseph's mother, Elizabeth L. Johnson, was born and raised in the small farming community of Olney, Maryland, and was the subject of much speculation because of her "sudden" appearance in Washington and her reluctance to talk about her family background. Joseph, like Margaret, attended and graduated from Garrison Elementary and Cardoza public High Schools. The ambitious high school sweethearts married after graduation. They saved and pooled their money and eventually bought a small house in Washington's South West section, and later on, a second house that they rented out. Joseph owned a small newspaper business and Margaret worked nights as a box clerk in a local department store. Home ownership was short-lived because greedy developers saw this waterfront area, once deemed "worthless" as profitable and through government contracts swooped in and forced out the homeowners who wouldn't sell. Joseph Johnson was honorably discharged from the US Army and worked a number of jobs afterwards, including as a truck driver and as a warehouse meat packer before his death.
Margaret Johnson, on the other hand, took the Civil Service examination and was hired as a stenographer by the Government Accounting Office. She moved steadily up the ladder from there to the Federal Trade Commission, The Bureau of Textiles & Furs, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, from which she would retire. In 1973 she received her Associates Degree in Applied Science Degree from Washington Technical Institute in Washington D.C. Mike would attend Washington Technical Institute for almost two years following his return from active duty aboard the USS Constellation CVA-64. To his surprise, his college counselor was none other than Bill Penn, his Camp Friendship supervisor from his summer camp days!
Margaret also took classes in Business Law and Consumer Regulations at Federal City College, The American University, and the Para-Legal Program at the University during the 1980s. She would eventually purchase another house in 1973 where she raised her youngest daughter Gail and Gail’s first born, Janell. She paid off the mortgage in 15 years! It should be noted that neither Mike nor Renee grew up in this house. He never lived with his mother again after graduating from high school and joining the US Navy in the Fall of 1965. Margaret was a fiercely independent person and she had raised her children to be independent as well. In that regard, Mike most definitely took after his mother.
Margaret also took classes in Business Law and Consumer Regulations at Federal City College, The American University, and the Para-Legal Program at the University during the 1980s. She would eventually purchase another house in 1973 where she raised her youngest daughter Gail and Gail’s first born, Janell. She paid off the mortgage in 15 years! It should be noted that neither Mike nor Renee grew up in this house. He never lived with his mother again after graduating from high school and joining the US Navy in the Fall of 1965. Margaret was a fiercely independent person and she had raised her children to be independent as well. In that regard, Mike most definitely took after his mother.
Young Mike was an inquisitive, energetic child with a vivid imagination who loved to read, write, and draw and paint pictures. He was intrigued by the outdoors and all things wild and longed for the day that he would be able to do some of those things. Mike attended Catholic schools, starting with St. Augustine's all-colored school from Kindergarten to the 5th grade. His parents had separated about this time and Margaret, secure in her new government job, moved her family to Capitol Hill in 1957 where he started the 6th grade at St. Peter's predominately white school, about three blocks from the US Capitol.
The mid-1950s through his high school years were exciting times for young Mike. It was here that his first doorway to the adventures he craved opened. He joined St. Peter's very active Boy Scout Troop 380 and achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in 1960, and about a year later, the Bronze, Gold, and Silver Eagle Palms. It should be noted that Mike had two Eagle Scout ceremonies. Him and his friend Chris Baum, an older scout were engaged in a heated yet friendly contest to see who would pass all their requirements first. They tied and since Chris had recently turned 18 and received his draft notice, Chris’ dad talked scoutmaster, Cy Emery into making the boys Eagle ceremony mostly as a send for Chris entering the US Army. Cy promised Mike that he would convene another ceremony just for him. By that time four others obtained their Eagle rank, and the five of them were sidelined because Mr. Silverman, the dad of a Jewish scout from a neighboring troop conned Cy into focusing the ceremony around his son Mark Silverman, because their own troop had voiced objections to their special request. So, Mike was included in his four slightly younger scout friends’ Eagle ceremony. And once again their achievements got rained on. Ms. Palm, part of a notable realtor family, had made arrangements for the five new Eagles to meet President Kennedy for a photo op and just as that was about to happen, the Bay of Pigs did!
The mid-1950s through his high school years were exciting times for young Mike. It was here that his first doorway to the adventures he craved opened. He joined St. Peter's very active Boy Scout Troop 380 and achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in 1960, and about a year later, the Bronze, Gold, and Silver Eagle Palms. It should be noted that Mike had two Eagle Scout ceremonies. Him and his friend Chris Baum, an older scout were engaged in a heated yet friendly contest to see who would pass all their requirements first. They tied and since Chris had recently turned 18 and received his draft notice, Chris’ dad talked scoutmaster, Cy Emery into making the boys Eagle ceremony mostly as a send for Chris entering the US Army. Cy promised Mike that he would convene another ceremony just for him. By that time four others obtained their Eagle rank, and the five of them were sidelined because Mr. Silverman, the dad of a Jewish scout from a neighboring troop conned Cy into focusing the ceremony around his son Mark Silverman, because their own troop had voiced objections to their special request. So, Mike was included in his four slightly younger scout friends’ Eagle ceremony. And once again their achievements got rained on. Ms. Palm, part of a notable realtor family, had made arrangements for the five new Eagles to meet President Kennedy for a photo op and just as that was about to happen, the Bay of Pigs did!
During this period, Mike also became involved with summer camp programs and an independent camping group called the Trail Blazers, sponsored by Family & Child Services a community advocate organization. They also owned and operated Ivakota, a working farm in Clifton, Virginia where the older boys spent some weekends and during the summer in varying job capacities. This is where Mike learned to ride horses, bareback at first, shoot firearms, hunt squirrels and rabbits, and set traps for other small critters, among other things from Ivakota’s Forman Frank Price and his son Rudy.
Sam Buckmaster, a renowned barn builder and waterman in Prince Frederick, Maryland who was also the caretaker of Camp Friendship, taught him about the river, while Sam's sons Keith, Kevin and Danny taught him crabbing and fishing and how to handle a canoe and scull a row boat. He learned to drive in the camp’s utility vehicle, a 1960s era Chevy Carry-all truck with a 3-speed column shift. He dug a lot of ruts and created numerous new roads in the camp’s large grassy fields.
Primitive camping and back packing was a big deal in his Boy Scout Troop under the leadership of Cy Emery, a World War II Navy combat veteran. “Rough & Ready” was the troop’s motto and each scout had to keep a packed knapsack next to his bed for one of Cy’s many impromptu trips. A big deal for Mike as a self taught swimmer was when he enrolled in and successfully completed the Red Cross Swimming and Water Safety courses, which also qualified him to work as a lifeguard and/or assistant at the summer camps he worked at. He also became an Altar Boy in the 6th grade and graduated from St. Peter's in June 1961.
Sam Buckmaster, a renowned barn builder and waterman in Prince Frederick, Maryland who was also the caretaker of Camp Friendship, taught him about the river, while Sam's sons Keith, Kevin and Danny taught him crabbing and fishing and how to handle a canoe and scull a row boat. He learned to drive in the camp’s utility vehicle, a 1960s era Chevy Carry-all truck with a 3-speed column shift. He dug a lot of ruts and created numerous new roads in the camp’s large grassy fields.
Primitive camping and back packing was a big deal in his Boy Scout Troop under the leadership of Cy Emery, a World War II Navy combat veteran. “Rough & Ready” was the troop’s motto and each scout had to keep a packed knapsack next to his bed for one of Cy’s many impromptu trips. A big deal for Mike as a self taught swimmer was when he enrolled in and successfully completed the Red Cross Swimming and Water Safety courses, which also qualified him to work as a lifeguard and/or assistant at the summer camps he worked at. He also became an Altar Boy in the 6th grade and graduated from St. Peter's in June 1961.
He then attended Mackin all-boys Catholic High School, a small facility totaling about 350 persons in all, and hosting an academic curriculum with a substantial international student body of diplomat’s kids. Mike fondly admits that meeting and knowing people from so many different cultures and countries made Mackin his best school years. His favorite classes were Biology and English. The former because of his love for all things wild and his teacher and classmates enjoyed when he brought live and sometimes dead critters to class for them to observe. His English teacher, Brother David Warnke, enthusiastically encouraged his budding literary writing skills, whereas the nuns in St. Peter’s dismissed that as frivolous. Brother David, a thespian, and in charge of the Dramatic club, delighted in reading Mike’s wild stories and gave him tips and pointers to help him improve. He particularly tried in vain to steer Mike away from his reliance on the style of Edgar Rice Burroughs (Tarzan of the Apes) and would sometimes pretend to faint when Mike laid it on a little too thick with occasional Burroughs style mile-long sentences. This was particularly evident in a novel he was working on called "The Leopard's Cub" which was a spin-off of the Tarzan story. It underwent several re-writes because Mike was dissatisfied that it resembled nearly every Tarzan movie he'd ever seen before it finally became his own unique story. Published in 1979 as a custom hardback edition, it has since undergone several paper back reprints, a published sequel "What the Jungle Saw" and an unpublished third sequel "Deadly Vengeance" still edit. A lot of Mike's literary works would take a back seat to his music because it was running pretty strong and for once he said, he "...was smart enough to run with it!" (Mike Johnson books)
Too small for a football team, Mackin High was a basketball super-power to be reckoned with during the 1960s. A number of their star players, like Austin Carr, went on to national fame on major teams. Mike didn't play basketball but he was active on the Track & Field and Cross Country Teams. He was rather fleet of foot, good at the high jump, and excelled in the long jump, remarkable for someone who had recently outgrown bronchitis. The Weight Lifting Team, the Dramatics Club were fill-ins while the Rifle Team he chanced until his mom found out and made him quit. Had something to do with the misuse of an air rifle when he was a lot younger. In his senior year, he landed the lead part in the school's formal presentation of "The Twelve Angry Men." During a rehearsal he was actually, though accidentally stabbed in the jury room re-enactment scene. On the Senior Year Book Staff he was elected the Art Editor and did the cover drawing, as well as some of the front piece art for the title page of some of the different sections.
Too small for a football team, Mackin High was a basketball super-power to be reckoned with during the 1960s. A number of their star players, like Austin Carr, went on to national fame on major teams. Mike didn't play basketball but he was active on the Track & Field and Cross Country Teams. He was rather fleet of foot, good at the high jump, and excelled in the long jump, remarkable for someone who had recently outgrown bronchitis. The Weight Lifting Team, the Dramatics Club were fill-ins while the Rifle Team he chanced until his mom found out and made him quit. Had something to do with the misuse of an air rifle when he was a lot younger. In his senior year, he landed the lead part in the school's formal presentation of "The Twelve Angry Men." During a rehearsal he was actually, though accidentally stabbed in the jury room re-enactment scene. On the Senior Year Book Staff he was elected the Art Editor and did the cover drawing, as well as some of the front piece art for the title page of some of the different sections.
Mike graduated from Mackin High School in June 1965 with his sights set on becoming a Veterinarian. However, he got a draft notice from the Selective Service that summer because he had also turned 18 in June. So, and in September of that same year he joined the U.S. Navy Reserves and was assigned to a Navy Security Group. After Boot Camp in November 1965 at the Great Lakes Naval Training Facility in Illinois, he was eventually sent to the Navy's Communication A-School in Bainbridge, Maryland in August 1966. In January 1967 he was assigned to the Navy Air Station across the river from the Washington DC Navy Yard, to await orders for his active duty station.
Some of this down time was spent drinking in the Enlisted Men's Club and drag racing his 1958 Mercury Montclair nicknamed "Tarzan" against some of his Navy buddies’ cars on Bolling Air Force Base's abandoned airstrip, which was adjacent to their In-Transit Navy quarters. In February 1967 he was shipped out via Greyhound Bus to San Diego, California for Active Duty aboard the attack aircraft carrier USS Constellation CVA-64. He recalls how the 5-day trip via the Southern route, Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi was somewhat tense at times. The driver would let the colored people know which stations they could get off at to purchase food and relieve themselves. A couple of times the passengers were subjected to racial slurs and taunts and dares to step off the bus. There were ‘whit only’ signs on restaurant and bathroom doors, as well as ‘colored only’ ones, and some that reads ‘coloreds service in the rear.’ The trip was quite an eye-opener for young Mike, for sure. Things became better once they entered Texas. The hostilities sort of diminished though at some stops colored military personnel were scrutinized. Things continued to lighten up the further west he went and by the time the Greyhound bus pulled into San Diego, the events of the past mileage had faded away.
Wow! Mike remembers when stepping onto Broadway in downtown San Diego and taking in the unique openness before him. Uncluttered and comfortable he made his way to a hotel and checked in and called the number given him with his active duty orders. He was told when, where, and what time to report to the transport that would take him to his new home, the USS Constellation CVA-64. In the meantime he should enjoy the sights and sounds. On the way in the bus passed a Kawasaki dealership and Mike immediately went there and rented a Suzuki and toured the vast San Diego area.
Some of this down time was spent drinking in the Enlisted Men's Club and drag racing his 1958 Mercury Montclair nicknamed "Tarzan" against some of his Navy buddies’ cars on Bolling Air Force Base's abandoned airstrip, which was adjacent to their In-Transit Navy quarters. In February 1967 he was shipped out via Greyhound Bus to San Diego, California for Active Duty aboard the attack aircraft carrier USS Constellation CVA-64. He recalls how the 5-day trip via the Southern route, Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi was somewhat tense at times. The driver would let the colored people know which stations they could get off at to purchase food and relieve themselves. A couple of times the passengers were subjected to racial slurs and taunts and dares to step off the bus. There were ‘whit only’ signs on restaurant and bathroom doors, as well as ‘colored only’ ones, and some that reads ‘coloreds service in the rear.’ The trip was quite an eye-opener for young Mike, for sure. Things became better once they entered Texas. The hostilities sort of diminished though at some stops colored military personnel were scrutinized. Things continued to lighten up the further west he went and by the time the Greyhound bus pulled into San Diego, the events of the past mileage had faded away.
Wow! Mike remembers when stepping onto Broadway in downtown San Diego and taking in the unique openness before him. Uncluttered and comfortable he made his way to a hotel and checked in and called the number given him with his active duty orders. He was told when, where, and what time to report to the transport that would take him to his new home, the USS Constellation CVA-64. In the meantime he should enjoy the sights and sounds. On the way in the bus passed a Kawasaki dealership and Mike immediately went there and rented a Suzuki and toured the vast San Diego area.
After his active duty discharge from the USS Constellation in February 1969, Mike packed up his 1968 Kawasaki A7SS Avenger with his Winchester Model-94 and zipped out of San Diego, California for the East Coast. He recalls that the weather from California to East Texas was extremely cold, with continuous head-winds pounding him on those long stretches through Arizona and Texas.
His first post-Navy job was as a busboy at Mike Palm's Restaurant on Capitol Hill, about two blocks from the US Capitol. Mr. Palm's sons, Mike Jr. and Herbert were friends of, and also in St. Peter's Boy Scout Troop 380 with Mike as kids. He also picked up his music where he left off and performed where ever he could on weekends and his off days. However, music was never, and would never be, his main source of income. He always had a regular job.
Searching for something less restrictive he left Mike Palm about six months later a landed a job as a motorcycle courier with Mar-Sid's Courier Service. The owner, Sidney Weitz, had recently opened the first Kawasaki Motorcycle dealership on the East Coast and used Mike's cross-country trip on his Kawasaki A7SS to promote the reliability of the Kawasaki brand to his customers. For Sid’s courier service Mike also carried the 2nd news reel footage of the first airplane hijacking at Dulles Airport for one their NCBS News client. Mike quit when Sid’s bike dealership tried to steal his bike with a fraudulent repair bill.
His first post-Navy job was as a busboy at Mike Palm's Restaurant on Capitol Hill, about two blocks from the US Capitol. Mr. Palm's sons, Mike Jr. and Herbert were friends of, and also in St. Peter's Boy Scout Troop 380 with Mike as kids. He also picked up his music where he left off and performed where ever he could on weekends and his off days. However, music was never, and would never be, his main source of income. He always had a regular job.
Searching for something less restrictive he left Mike Palm about six months later a landed a job as a motorcycle courier with Mar-Sid's Courier Service. The owner, Sidney Weitz, had recently opened the first Kawasaki Motorcycle dealership on the East Coast and used Mike's cross-country trip on his Kawasaki A7SS to promote the reliability of the Kawasaki brand to his customers. For Sid’s courier service Mike also carried the 2nd news reel footage of the first airplane hijacking at Dulles Airport for one their NCBS News client. Mike quit when Sid’s bike dealership tried to steal his bike with a fraudulent repair bill.
For the next 10 years he moved from job to job, working as a Park Police Officer, conveyer line worker for the Wonder Bread bakery, another police department, store detective for Sears & Roebuck, and driving instructor for Easy Method Driving School, his ‘most dangerous job’ since the military he often chuckled. During this time he had also used his GI Bill to enroll at Washington Technical Institute in Washington DC to gain the required credits to meet Civil Service requirements to apply for a Forest Ranger position. However, he found it difficult to get back into the study routine and dropped out almost two years later, much to the dismay of his college counselor, Bill Penn who had also been Mike’s Friendship House summer camp supervisor during his youth.
Mike supplemented his income by becoming a freelance photographer. That kept him too busy and on one rare leisurely evening he chanced upon a classified ad searching for truck drivers. He showed up in person and after an interview regarding his educational and employment background he was immediately hired as a long distance trucker for Newlon’s Transfer, a family owned and operated company, in Arlington, Virginia in September 1981. They were particularly intrigued about Mike's musical endeavors since they were also country music fans. Mike drove for them until December 1995 when Mr. Newlon decided it was time to retire his 40 plus year old operation. This first of three trucking companies played a major role in establishing Mike Johnson on the Independent Country Music circuit. He drove for them until December 1995 when Mr. Newlon decided it was time to retire his 40 plus year old operation.
Mike supplemented his income by becoming a freelance photographer. That kept him too busy and on one rare leisurely evening he chanced upon a classified ad searching for truck drivers. He showed up in person and after an interview regarding his educational and employment background he was immediately hired as a long distance trucker for Newlon’s Transfer, a family owned and operated company, in Arlington, Virginia in September 1981. They were particularly intrigued about Mike's musical endeavors since they were also country music fans. Mike drove for them until December 1995 when Mr. Newlon decided it was time to retire his 40 plus year old operation. This first of three trucking companies played a major role in establishing Mike Johnson on the Independent Country Music circuit. He drove for them until December 1995 when Mr. Newlon decided it was time to retire his 40 plus year old operation.
