B.J. Johnson

B.J. the D.J.
The Story of B.J. Johnson

Many country music fans will recognize the hit song "B.J. the D.J.", made famous in 1963 by Stonewall Jackson. But few know that this songs was inspired by a real person, namely B.J. Johnson from Mississippi, a singer, DJ, and songwriter for more than twenty years.

Byron J. Johnson was born on September 3, 1928, to Bruner and Lula Magdelen Johnson in a community in Hancock County, Mississippi, known to locals as "the Kiln" (the n being silent). Named after the kiln ovens that could be found in that area during the early 19th century. From the 1860s up to the late 1920s, the Kiln was home to many timber mills, which brought the community a fast growing. But then, the Great Depression hit hard, affecting also the Johnson family. The timber industry was practically non-existent in the Kiln in the 1930s and it harmed the community so hard that at one point, the Kiln was a ghost town. Many of the residents moved to nearby cities like Picayune or, to earn a living, worked as moonshiners. If the Johnson family remained there or if they moved is not known but Johnson later made his home in Picayune for sure.

He was drafted during World War II and served his country in the US Army. By the mid 1950s, Johnson had discovered he could make a living with country music and could be heard on a local radio station. He met up with another local performer, Vern Pullens, whom Johnson connected with Houston, Texas, label owner Bennie Hess. While Pullens recorded solo for Hess' Spade label, Johnson got the chance to record two duets with Pullens as well, "What Am I to Do" and "Country Boys Dream", which were released by Hess on Spade #135 in May 1957.

Billboard January 4, 1960, C&W review

While these first two songs were penned by Pullens, it soon became obvious that Johnson was a talented songwriter, too. He connected with another Houston based producer, Pappy Daily, who had founded Starday Records in 1953 but by 1957, had left the operation and formed his own label, D Records. Johnson had a total of three released on D, the first one being "You Were Only Fooling" (written by Johnson) and "True Affection" (co-written by fellow ex-Spade artist Ray Doggett), released on D #1031. It was the latter that secured Johnson a place in rockabilly fans' hearts, although it was upbeat country music at best.

Two more singles followed on D, "Our Love Is Not Worth Living For" b/w "It's Wrong for Me to Love You" (#1058, both co-written with Vern Pullens) in the spring of 1959 and a reissue of their Spade single. The following year, Johnson began his long-lasting association with Hack Kennedy's Big Howdy record label from Bogalusa, Louisiana - located half an hour from his home base of Picayune. Throughout the years, Johnson recorded three discs for the label but also worked with Kennedy as a record producer and songwriter. 

Besides his career as a recording artist, producer, and songwriter, Johnson continued to work as a DJ and a live performer. He could be heard regularly on Bogalusa's Pearl River Valley Jamboree during the 1950s and appeared at the 1966 Jimmie Rodgers Memorial Day in Lucedale, Mississippi. He had such a busy schedule during these years that Nashville songwriter Hugh X. Lewis, a friend of Johnson's, wrote the song "B.J. the D.J." inspired by Johnson's life (although, in contrast to the song's tragic ending, Johnson was not killed in a car accident). Though, the words of the song aptly described Johnson's hectic and dangerous lifestyle, rushing from job to job without sleep. Recorded by Stonewall Jackson in 1963 for Columbia and took it to #1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.

One could assume this brought Johnson into the spotlight as well but this was not the case. He sometimes went by the name of B.J. the D.J. Johnson and started to record his singles in Nashville but they were still released on local Mississippi and Louisiana labels. He cut a slew of discs during the 1960s and 1970s for such labels as Big Howdy (1960/1967/1969), Carma (1961-1965), Nugget (1963-1964), JB (ca. 1965), Circle G (ca. 1967), River City (1972), Myrna (1973), Mississippi Sound (1976), and Lynn. His 1964 Nugget single "Let the Party Be Over" was one of his more successful releases. It was listed by Billboard in its October 31, 1964, issue as a chart potential/"bubbling under" contender.

Billboard April 14, 1973

Johnson's activities apparently ceased in the late 1970s. B.J. Johnson passed away on December 15, 1997, at the age of 69 years in Picayune. He is buried at West Union Memorial Cemetery in Carriere, Mississippi.

See also
• The Pearl River Valley Jamboree
• Who is Vern Pullens?
• Penny Records
• The Spade Records Story

Sources
• Find a Grave entry
• 45cat entry
• Discogs
• B.J. the D.J. song history (Wikipedia)