Blues legend Johnnie Johnson died Wednesday at his home in St. Louis.
Story by John Rodgers, Posted 4/14/2005.

FAIRMONT - Legendary blues artist and Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famer Johnnie Johnson died Wednesday morning at his St. Louis home. He was 80. But to Fairmont, he was much more than the "Father of Rock & Roll" or the composer of songs like "Roll Over Beethoven" and "No Particular Place to Go." Johnson was her son. He was born in Fairmont on July 8, 1924, the son of a coal miner. Without the benefit of costly lessons, Johnson taught himself to play the piano as a 4-year-old by listening to jazz greats, big bands and country western on the radio. In 1943, he enlisted in the U.S. Marines and was one of the first 1,500 black men to do so. He later joined the company band, The Barracudas, and played the piano for U.S.O. shows next to some of the musical greats he heard on the radio as a child. In 1952, Johnson settled in St. Louis and formed the Johnnie Johnson Trio. That New Year's Eve, a band member fell ill and Johnson hired a young and inexperienced Chuck Berry to fill in at the last minute. The rest is musical history. .  *Read the Full Article.

It's hard to imagine a town having a "Hall of Fame" honoree establishing his talents elsewhere in the country and 95 percent of the people in his own hometown never hearing of him. That's pretty much the story of Fairmont native Johnnie Johnson, who left here early in life, first to join the U.S. Marines as one of the first 1,500 African Americans to do so and then settling in St. Louis where he became involved in the music world. Because of his talents, while in the Marines, he joined the company band and helped entertain troops at U.S.O. shows along with more famous musical stars that he had heard on the radio as a child. Johnson must have showed great musical skills at an extremely young age because he always claimed to have taught himself to play the piano at the age of 4.  *Read full article.

As I sat down at my computer on April 14 to start my shift at work, I pulled up the list of stories for the following day's paper. It's a task I do daily to see if everything is on track and what is needed. But that day the story list stopped me in my tracks and a soft "Oh, no" was all I could say. It was there that I learned the Johnnie Johnson had passed away. It was at that point that the memories started flooding back. Now for those of you who are not Johnson fans, you will never understand the greatness of this man. Not his talent, nor the fact that he was in the Rock ' N' Roll Hall of Fame or the fact that he has played with the best and was in fact himself the best. That is not what made Johnnie special to me. It was Johnnie the man.  *Read the Full Article.

April 22, 2005. Tonight's the night of the candlelight service to memorialize the life of the late Johnnie Johnson. It's being held by the Johnnie Johnson Blues and Jazz Society at 8 p.m. at Palatine Park with the Rev. Richard Bowyer presiding.