Marv Johnson

Marvin Earl Johnson (October 15, 1938 – May 16, 1993) was an American R&B singer, songwriter and pianist. He was influential in the development of the Motown style of music, primarily for the song "Come to Me," which was the first record issued by Tamla Records, the precursor to the famous label.

Despite his early success in the United States, Johnson ultimately enjoyed more popularity overseas than in his native country. His music was especially popular in the United Kingdom and Australia.

Johnson was born in Detroit. His early musical influences included gospel and blues, but he began his singing career with a doo-wop group, the Junior Serenaders, in the mid-1950s. He was discovered by Berry Gordy while performing at a carnival; Gordy had already decided to form his first record label, Tamla, and Johnson's recording of the song "Come to Me" became the label's first single, released in May 1959. The fledgling label did not have national distribution, so the song was released by United Artists Records. It reached number 30 on Billboard magazine's all-genre Hot 100 chart and number 6 on the national R&B chart. Johnson went on to co-write another four songs with Gordy. After he issued the first release for the Tamla (Motown) label, Johnson was signed by United Artists. He released three albums and several singles for United Artists, but continued to record in Motown's homegrown studios at Hitsville USA in Detroit.

Between 1959 and 1961, Johnson issued nine Billboard Hot 100 singles, including two Top 10s. All were written (or co-written) and produced by Gordy. The first of them was "You Got What It Takes", which reached number 10 in the US and number 7 in the UK Singles Chart. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc. In the United Kingdom, both "I Love the Way You Love" and "Ain't Gonna Be That Way" made the UK chart. "I Love the Way You Love" reached number 9 in the US. Johnson had his final US Top 40 single in 1960 with "(You've Got To) Move Two Mountains". It also sold a million copies, giving him his second gold disc.

Johnson had many hits in Australia, with a total of eight top 40 hits, including three chart-toppers. "Come to Me" was released in Australia on EMI's London Records (as were most of his Australian releases) and reached number 16 on the 2UE Top 40 in Sydney. "You Got What It Takes" was his biggest Australian hit, topping the national charts for over 16 weeks in 1960. After "I Love the Way You Love" became a national Top 10 hit in mid-1960, Johnson flew to Australia to meet the entrepreneur Lee Gordon, the creator of the radio program Big Show, and performed "Twist It Up" on the September Big Show. At the top of the bill were Bobby Rydell, Chubby Checker, and James Darren with Jackie Wilson, Johnson, and Barry Mann. They were supported by Johnny O'Keefe, the Delltones and Col Joye. Lonnie Lee also appeared on a Lee Gordon Australian tour in 1960 with Marv, Bobby Tyrell, and The Everly Brothers.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.