Bill Johnson alias Sky Johnson

Bill Johnson

Bill Johnson's "A Wound Time Can't Erase" was not only one of the most successful songs sung by Stonewall Jackson, it was also one of his most beautiful hit tunes. Johnson, as the composer of the song, remained in the shadow of Jackson's success. Before he made his way to  Nashville, Johnson was an active performer in the Miami music scene.

Born William Donald Johnson, he was a steel guitarist, singer, and songwriter. By 1954, he had begun performing locally around Miami. He was part of Tommy Spurlin & the Southern Boys until around 1956, leaving when the band decided to take their style more towards rock'n'roll. He was also part of Happy Harold Thaxton's local live stage show "Old South Jamboree" as the house band's steel guitarist.

December 12, 1959
Source: Volker Houghton

Johnson made a lot of connections during these years. Kent Westberry, Snuffy Smith, Wayne Gray, Charlie McCoy, Bill Phillips, and many more were working in the area and some of them eventually found enduring success in Nashville. He started writing songs with guitarist Wayne Gray, who in turn performed with Kent Westberry's Chaperones locally, including "Cute Chick" and "Initials in the Tree". Johnson made his way to Nashville already in 1957. There, he recorded as "Sky Johnson" for the small Cactus label his own composition "A Wound Time Can't Erase" and the George Dumas song "If My Love Had Wings". Dumas was a half-brother of the aforementioned Tommy Spurlin and played bass with the Southern Boys.

Released on Cactus #1501 around summer 1957, it was soon picked up by the bigger independent label Dot (#15620) and also saw release in New Zealand on London and in Canada on Quality. Though, the single did not make the charts. It was not until 1961 when Stonewall Jackson covered the tune that it got recognition. His version was released late that year on Columbia and it entered the charts the following January, peaking eventually at #3.

Jackson would record another song of Johnson's, "How Many Lies Can I Tell", in 1969. Marty Robbins had another hit with Johnson's "The Best Part of the Living" in 1971, which reached #6 on both the American and Canadian country charts. Johnson has a total of 26 songs registered with BMI, although only "A Wound Time Can't Erase" and "The Best Part of the Living" became hits.

Sources

• 45cat entry (Sky Johnson)

• BMI search

• Kent Westberry: "I've Got a Song to Write" (Dorrance Publishing Co.), 2020, page 5