Billy Johnson

• Active: '70s, '80s, '90s, 2000s
• Genres: Rock
• Instrument: Drums

Biography

One of two musicians with this name who played with Santana, the Philadelphia-born drummer who became based on the West Coast might just be the best-known musician with this name in existence, at least among drummers. It is a hard row to hoe apparently, despite connections to the powerful Johnson clan that once ruled parts of the Wild West. The extreme number of musicians with this name or variants thereof is best explained through the existence of a sub-cult of bands that at one time or another had more than one Johnson whose first name was either Bill, Billy, Will, Willie, or William. Santana, with whom drummer Billy Johnson played during two different periods, is not the only example. Other famous bandleaders bubbling up a Johnson double-up include Louis Armstrong and Howlin' Wolf.

The drumming Johnson, one of several musicians who are sometimes identified as Robert "Billy" Johnson, could easily hold his own with any of these legendary bandleaders. In reality, his credits include working with the famous San Francisco ensemble with horns, Tower of Power, as well as singers such as Patti LaBelle and Jean Carn and the pop group Pablo Cruise. He studied under Philadelphia drummers Gerry Brown and Cornell Rochester during a period when he was regularly taking the two-hour trip north to New York City to jam. Before long collaborations developed with brothers Kevin Eubanks on guitar and Robin Eubanks on trombone.

By the mid-'70s, Johnson had begun picking up touring assignments with performers such as LaBelle, Carn, and Dexter Wansel. The strong groove drummers admire in Johnson's performances seems to suit contemporary vocal stylists as well as groups into various types of fusion and funk jamming. Johnson joined Santana for the first time in 1990, staying two years. He was back in 1994, this time staying until 1997. The drummer continued to be as relevant in pop music as Carlos Santana himself turned out to be. Johnson recorded regularly with Frankie Beverly and Maze in the mid-'90s, meanwhile chilling out in the combo of contemporary jazz guitarist Joyce Cooling. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide