Country Music's No.1 Black Yodeler gives you Traditional Country sounds and Yodeling songs that keep the "Country" in the music.

12 MP3 Songs
COUNTRY: Traditional Country



Details:
Mike Johnson is Country Music's No. 1 Black Yodeler. There has never been an African American Yodeler of his caliber who has exhibited such a wide diversity in combining the Jimmie Rodgers and Swiss yodeling styles. He is also the most publicized, commercially recorded and consistently performing Black Yodeler.
Yes, there have been other Black Yodelers, like The Mississippi Sheiks, Stoney Edwards, Slim Gaillard, and Mike's personal friend, Korean War Veteran and Bronze Star recipient, McDonald Craig of Linden, Tennessee. And no, with all due respect, Charley Pride is not a Yodeler.
With continued respect to Charley and all others who have temporarily indulged in this unique art, Mike offers this viewpoint. "There are yodelers and there are people who can yodel. Yodelers routinely perform yodeling songs. They utilize many combinations of both the Jimmie Rodgers and the Swiss yodeling styles. They are constantly experimenting and a good number of them also write their own yodeling songs. People who can yodel generally tend to be those who do it for personal enjoyment and special occassions and gatherings. They basically know only one particular yodel that they've repeatedly practiced and anything beyond that is usually a yodel at the beginning or end of a song. A substantial number of them aren't aware of the vast number of yodeling songs and styles, or the difference between a single, double, and triple yodel. However, yodeling is fun and exciting, and anyone who indulges in this unique art is appreciated for they are keeping a unique tradition alive."
***NOTE: The yodeling songs on this CD are No.1,3,5,7,9,10 and 12. *
Mike Johnson Song Lyrics are available through the Roughshod Records Store site listed at the bottom of this page.*
Mike Johnson's Mother's Day CD "DID YOU HUG YOUR MOTHER TODAY?" arrived at CD Baby on 7 December 2006 and is currently being set-up.***
On 1 September 2002 Mike Johnson was inducted into America's Old-Time Country Music Hall Of Fame by The National Traditional Country Music Association at the 27th Annual Old-Time Country Music Festival, in Avoca, Iowa.

BRIEF BACKGROUND:
Born on 13 June 1946, this Altar Boy, Eagle Scout [1960] and Camp Counselor, graduated from Catholic grade [1961] and high [1965] schools and joined the U.S. Navy in the Fall of 1965. He served two Vietnam tours attached to the USS Constellation, CVA-64 from 1967 to 1969. Afterwards he also worked as a Motorcycle Courier, Park Police Officer, Freelance Photographer, Driving Instructor and a long-distance trucker, starting with Newlon's Transfer [1981-1995] in Arlington, Virginia. Trucking would play a major role in establishing him on the Independent Country Music circuit.
His early influences, the Singing Cowboys like Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Tex Ritter, Herb Jeffries [the only Black Movie Singing Cowboy] and the sound of the Steel Guitar paved his way to Country Music. He later honed himself on the music of Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, and Roger Miller. Mike says Roger Miller gave him the songwriting bug. "I just wanted to be a songwriter! But I've had to do everything else along the way to get there!"
And just how did Mike learn to yodel? "Johnny Weissmueller," he quickly acknowledges. "I grew up during the 1950s and 1960s, a period when adventure movies and cliff-hangers ruled the Silver Screen. Westerns, Gladiators, The Phantom, Flash Gordon, and my all-time favorite, Tarzan! I had also read all of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan novels and the summer camps and Boy Scout camping trips set the stage for many of us to imitate him. I wore out that Tarzan yodel, morning noon, and night! At one point my mother threatened to ship me off to Africa, much to my youthful delight! So, I was actually yodeling before I even realized it and when I got into Country Music, I already had a major head-start with the yodeling. Without a doubt, it was my yodeling that paved my early music road."
In fact, one of Mike's yodeling songs paints a humorous picture of that. From the main stage at the 2000 Avoca Old-Time Country Music Festival, Bob Everhart, President of the National Traditional Country Music Association was handing out awards. Suddenly he turned to Mike, who was video taping the event, and asked him "How did you get into yodeling, Mike..." To which he replied, "Johnny Weissmueller." Bob scratched his head a puzzled moment and then exclaimed, "Johnny Weissmueller. Oh, he played Tarzan! Yeah, I guess that is a yodel..." On 25 July 2001 Mike wrote the amusing yodel song, "Tarzan Did!" aka: "The Bob Everhart Song."
Although Mike wrote his first song in 1957, it was his love of drawing, reading, writing and camping that occupied most of his youthful time. A large number of his artwork was done specifically for his literary works. His art was very popular among his high school classmates.
The middle 1950s and 1960s were exciting times for young Mike. Frank Price taught him how to shoot rifles and how to ride bareback on his mare, Old Bay, at Ivakota Farm in Clifton, Virginia. Sam Buckmaster, a barn builder and waterman in Prince Frederick, Maryland taught him about the river and Sam's sons Keith, Kevin and Danny taught him crabbing and fishing, and how handle a canoe and scull a row boat. Primitive camping and back packing was a big deal in his Boy Scout Troop-380. Mike, a self-taught swimmer earned his One-Mile Swim Badge, had to learn to swim all over when he took the rigorous Red Cross Senior Lifesaving course to qualify as a Lifeguard Assistant at summer camp. Good love, bad love and lost lost also touched his life, particularly after his return from Vietnam. The death of his father, a best friend, a son, and his grandmother shortly after, and his breakup with a childhood sweetheart set the tone for many of the songs he wrote and would write.
Mike began performing in local bars and honky-tonks in the mid-1960s. The Songsmith, The Shamrock, Southwest Tavern, The Tune Inn, Tucson Café, The Hoffbraughm, Food For Thought, and Lee-Hi's Bar & Grill in Washington, DC. Dawson's Pool Hall, Clinton Md. Iler's Store, Ripley, Md. Boozie's, Club Stabil, and the Tee-Pee Restaurant in Baltimore, Md., and Hillbilly Heaven in Lorton, Va., just across the Woodbridge, Virginia County line.
This paved the way to appearances at other places from 1978 on. The Thirsty Camel and Silver Saddle, Norfolk, Va. The Covered Wagon, Tex-Mex, Key Hole Inn, Whitey's, and Royal Lee's Deli, Arlington, Va. JVs Bar, Annandale, Va. Tiffany Tavern and Cowboy Café South, Alexandria, Va. The Coffee House Of Occoquan, Occoquan, Va. Cap'n Darrell's, Daytona Beach, Fla. The Bowery and JW's Lil Café, Myrtle Beach, SC. The Flyin' Dutchmann, Charleston, SC. Johnny Hornes and Pappa Joe's, New Orleans, La. The Country Boy Eddie TV Show, Birmingham, Ala. The Merchant's, Dusty Roads, The Rhinestone, Millie & Al's, Tootsie's, Squire's, Music City Lounge, Nashboro, Mama Joe's, The Say When-II, The Wagonburner, The Bluegrass Inn, The Ranch House, Lawrence Record Store, and Ernest Tubb's Midnight Jamboree, Nashville, Tn. The Holiday Terrace, Killeen, Tx. Carmen's, El Paso, Tx. Alvin Opry, Alvin, Tx. Manvel Opry, Manvel, Tx. and the Pearland Orpy, Pearland, Tx. The 1860 Saloon, St. Louis, Mo. The Eastern Shore Opry, Crisfield, Md. The 1st. Annual 1994 Michigan Jamboree, Hillsdale, Mi. Suzie Rowles Country Music Showcase, Chambersburg, Pa. The Traditional Music Association Awards Show, Orrstown, Pa. The John Henry Festival, Morgantown, West Va. Avoca's Old-Time Country Music Festival, Avoca, Ia. and Missouri Valley's Old-Time Country Music Festival, Missouri Valley, Ia. to mention a select few, along with numerous truck stops and motel lobbies.
In 1981 Mike took his Easter vacation and went to Nashville for his first professional recording session at Jim Maxwell's Globe Recording Studio on Dickerson Road. He booked a two-hour session and recorded five songs. 1.King Of The Fish, 2.Please Don't Squeeze The Charmin, 3.Just A Nobody, 4.A Singing Star" and 5.Little Boys And Doggies. From that sprang his first 45rpm single, "King Of The Fish/Please Don't Squeeze The Charmin" on his MAJJ Productions literary banner.
"I still regard this session as the best one I ever did!" Mike maintains.
Lawrence Record Store at 409 Broadway in downtown Nashville was the first retailer to stock the new release, and they have been carrying Mike's releases ever since. The store is currently under the management of younger son Paul Lawrence. Drop by the store and see photos and posters of Mike and numerous other Country artists past and present on the Lawrence Records Photo Wall of Fame.
Mike quickly became a regular on Nashville's lower Broadway during the 1980s. The Merchant's, a combination "greasy spoon" bar & grille - flophouse motel, with a stage in the rear was where he made his first Nashville appearances. He also appeared on Ernest Tubb's Midnight Jamboree on Broadway and eventually you could find him hanging out with music regulars John & Lois Shepherd, Ronnie Root, Tommy Boyles and Robert Moore, owner of "The Rhinestone Cowboy" bar. He frequented Norma's famous Dusty Roads Bar and hung out with Jack "Pop" Stoneman and Owen McCarthy when it was still on Woodland Street. It was while doing his Globe recording session that he also met Shelby Singleton and Paul Martin at Sun Records. Clifford Abernathy, a local Nashville singer-photographer became a good friend and he sometimes followed Mike around and photographed him when he was in town. Mike's own photographic skills began to expand during the 1980s as he began photo-documenting as much of his musical exploits as he could, which has resulted in a very sizable collection.
When Globe Studio relocated to White House, Tennessee in 1983, Mike wished to continuing recording in Nashville, so Maxwell sent him over to his friend Jim Stanton at Champ Recording Studio on Church Street. Here Mike met and mentored under the founder and owner of the legendary Rich-R-Tone Records and continued to record his songs at Champ Studio until Jim's untimely death in 1989. "Jim taught me how Nashville clique thought and worked..." Mike acknowledges. All of the songs on the "Black Yodel No.1" CD except "Just A Nobody" were recorded at Champ Studio. It was here that Mike met one of Stanton's Rich-R-Tone artists, Frank Hunter, The Lonesome Yodeler. They became friends and Frank encouraged Mike to keep yodeling and gave him additional pointers. Mike still has a couple of Frank's cassettes from their music swaps.
Mike joined ASCAP in 1982 and became a full writer member in December 1988. After song registration and royalty disputes he switched to BMI in July 1994. As Mike's songs gained airplay he inquired about royalties and ASCAP dropped his membership. In 1983 he produced "Mike Johnson's Guitar Songs Vol.1", a Cassette Album featuring solo performances on his Kingston guitar. This home-recorded release also came with a songbook. In June 1983 Mike formed Pata del Lobo Music Publishing and in 1985 released his 2nd 45rpm under that banner. "Hooked On Rodeo/I Hear Her Words Ringing," two of the four songs from his first session at Champ Studio. In 1987 he formed Roughshod Records as his official country label, and You And Me Publishing for his Gospel and non-country songs. Mike has always published and produced his own music and has never been signed to, or recorded for, any label but his own. "I got a lot of compliments and lip-service, but no one was willing to sign, record or produce my songs!"
It should also be noted Mike has never played guitar or any other instrument on any of his Nashville sessions. He'll very quickly tell you "I'm not a musician. I'm a half-ass guitar strummer, average singer, and a very good Yodeler!" A proclamation that led to the writing of "I Never Really Learned To Play Guitar," song no.2 on the "Black Yodel No.1" album.
Overwhelmed by busy trucking schedules, unfinished art, literary, and photographic projects, Mike dropped out of the performing circuit in the September of 1987 and went on a songwriting spree. He returned to the stage in April 1993 and released the Cassette Album, "Black Yodel No. 1, The Song The Songwriter" in September of that year.

COMMENTS ON MIKE'S YODELING:
COUNTRY BOY EDDIE introduced Mike in September of 1982 to his Birmingham, Alabama TV viewers as "...sounding like Roy Rogers, Gene Autry and Jimmie Rodgers, all rolled into one!"
ART RUSH, Roy Rogers personal manager, wrote in part in a 4 May 1982 letter to Mike, "I listened to your cassette, songs and heard your yodeling. Although you do not perform your yodels exactly like Roy, you do handle a fast yodel. I am returning your cassette and lyrics of your song- I CAN YODEL SONGS LIKE THEM ALL. We are not permitted legally to keep any song material unless it is published because both Roy and Dale are composers. I want to wish you the best success possible with your songwriting. My advice to you, Micheal, "keep writin', singin' and yodelin' and one day we'll all be reading about you."
P.J. PRICE wrote in the 1995 September/October Issue of Country Note Connection "Spoke to Mike Johnson of Roughshod Records here recently. He's a singer/songwriter/graphic artist/truck driver, etc. ... Mike is known as "Black Yodeler No.1" and I promise you, he CAN yodel! He has a unique voice and writing style. He's very "traditional" and if any of you publishers would be interested in reviewing his material, write to Mike Johnson..."
BOB EVERHART wrote in his 1996 January/February Issue of Tradition magazine, "FINALLY, a new tape of good yodeling. This guy not only yodels, he double yodels and triple yodels! He's also a darn good songwriter and singer and guitarist."
ALLEN FOSTER wrote in his 1999 January Issue of Songwriters Monthly, "Johnson has a real talent for producing some incredible yodels. If you like the sound of good ol' country and yodeling, Mike Johnson is one of the best in the field. His album will be sure to please you."
BART PLANTENGA stated at his 7 May 2005 yodel-book lecture at the Bowery Poetry Club in New York City, "Mike Johnson, Virginia long-haul trucker and Country Music's No.1 Black Yodeler is a gifted Yodeler who easily switches from Hillbilly to Swiss-style yodeling... and became a bit of an Interstate legend when he began selling his recordings at truck stops along his long-distance routes..."
DAVE SICHAK, owner of the Hillbilly Music web-site stated in a 4 February 2006 Email to Mike, "I picked up your CD the other day on the way home... And after listening to the first tune I thought Elton Britt and Roy Rogers were in the car... I haven't heard a yodel song all the way through like that since I heard Elton Britt do it on a Skater's Yodel tune I have on 78 or on CD... Ain't no mistaking what's on that CD - 100 pure Country... thanks for sending it along." Contact: http://hillbilly-music.com
To be compared with Elton Britt is about as high a compliment that a Yodeler can receive, and Mike is also featured in the Artist Section on the Hillbilly web-site.
Mike has written over 1200 songs, including some 50-plus yodeling songs. While he started out doing some of the standard yodel songs like "T For Texas," "Cattle Call," "Sue City Sue" and "Back in the Saddle Again" he quickly realized that there were numerous combinations of these yodels that could become distinctly unique on their own. He began experimenting with non-yodel songs like "Jambalaya" which quickly became his signature song, "Oh Lonesome Me," "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Waltz Across Texas" and others to test the possibilities.
This led to writing his own yodeling songs like "Just A Nobody"[18 Mar.71] "I Can Yodel Songs Like Them All!"[23 Jul.81] and "Your Old Lady,"[22 Feb.82-crowd favorite at Royal Lee's Deli & Whitey's in Arlington, Va. during the 1980s] that demonstrated his uniqueness and ability to handle a fast yodel. It's a yodel lesson story on how the yodel was born. He hasn't performed it since and has often threatened to re-learn the 5-minute song. It is, however, on his "1983 Collectors Classic-Mike Johnson's Guitar Songs Vol.1" featuring a fledgling Mike Johnson, performing solo on his Kingston guitar. "When I listen to that album, my skin tingles and I realize just how far I've come! I'd sure like a word with the person that let that kid have a guitar and told'em he could sing?" Mike chuckles. "Yeah, we all had to start somewhere!"
Around February of 1983 Mike was with some friends at Michael's Country bar in Virginia Beach. One of them slipped his business card into the tip-jar and the Lead Singer, misinterpreting the "Black Yodel No.1" on the card as a song, invited a startled Mike to the stage to sing it! Mike pretended he had a sore throat and promised that on his next visit he would. Knowing he couldn't return to the popular night-spot without singing, on 1 April 1983, Mike wrote "Black Yodel No.1," his first wordless yodeling song! It would be followed by other wordless yodel songs like "Black Yodel No.2" "Coyote Yodel" "Wild Horse Yodel" and others that would vie for position with some of his other popular yodeling songs like, "The Yodel," "Yeah, I'm A Cowboy," "Everybody wants To Go To Heaven," "I Aim To Be The Best," "Hooked On Rodeo," and "T-Shirt Yodel."
In 1994, his ballad "Did You Hug Your Mother Today?" from a same-titled Cassette Album, was the most listener-requested song, playing for three weeks surrounding Mother's Day on Big John Baldry's Michigan Jamboree Radio Show, WBYW-FM 89.9. Big John phoned Mike and sent him a postcard telling him "I can't even have a show! Every time I play it I get calls and they wanna hear it again..."
Big John's 1994 1st. Annual Michigan Jamboree for Independent Country performers was held at the Sugarbush Campground in Hillsdale, Michigan. Among others, like Ed & Ellie, Singin' Bill Winter, and Johnny "J" [a Nevada town was named after his song "Puckerbrush], Mike met and became good friends with Nashville's Terry Smith, author of the famous song "Far Side Banks of Jordan." Terry had also used Jim Stanton's Champ Studio and at least one of the musician's that Mike had, Billy D. Johnson, who has been co-producing some of Terry's material during the 2000s. Terry and Mike have swapped music tips on many occassions and Mike has bunked at Terry's home on many occassions during his trucking trips through the area.
At the Michigan Jamboree Mike also met Mike Preston of Limington, Maine, a 16 year old fantastic yodeler who had won virtually every Country Award there was for his age group in the New England states. Preston's mentor and personal friend was none other than Yodelin' Slim Clark. Hearing Preston perform made Mike realize that he himself was getting yodel-lazy. He had been relegating himself to the less strenuous, laid-back double yodels and young Preston's skills made him realsize he was slouching on the job. Mike Johnson and Mike Preston received a standing ovation-encore for their yodeling duet of Hank Williams "Jambalaya" which is not a yodeling song. "Jambalaya" has been Johnson's signature song and ice-breaker since he started singing. During the 90s Mike's trucking runs again took him through Nashville on a regular basis. Though the face of downtown had changed some, his buddy John Shepherd was still there and often had Mike sit-in with him. Mike met and sometimes sat in with super-picker Zack Taylor, a big crowd pleaser at Tootsie's. He frequented the Wagonburner [now the Bluegrass Inn], Mama Joe's and Legends. He did impromptu performances at Lawrence Record Shop, the Gibson Guitar Cafe, and has also sat-in with musicians Steve & Idela Ruby, Jason Capps, Laurie Cannan, and Jimmy Synder. A number of these and others were featured in his Top-Rail Chatter magazine.
In January 1995 his Top-Rail Chatter Country Music magazine was born and garnered him another following because it catered strictly to the Independent singers, songwriters and their music, and provided useful information on copyrighting, publishing, recording rights, music scams, and the music business in general. It ran until December 2002, when Mike's busy trucking schedule and his mother's stroke reduced it to a mere newsletter format before publication ceased. Much to the dismay of his long-time subscribers, many of whom had become personal friends. One highlight of Mike's trucking was that he actually got to meet a lot of his subscribers and other Country Music folk during his trucking runs. Something that he most definitely misses.
In 1998 the "Mike Johnson Country Songbook" was published, containing music scores to five of his popular songs; "Let's Take It Easy, Sammy, Heaven's Gold Shore, Pigtails And Bubblegum, and Did You Hug Your Mother Today?" In 1999 he re-mastered his "Black Yodel No.1" Cassette and released it as his first CD. The last week in August 1999 Mike went to the week-long Avoca Old Time Country Music Festival in Avoca, Iowa, where he met Sonny Rodgers, a first cousin of Jimmie Rodgers, "The Blue Yodeler." Mike participated in Sonny's 1999 and 2000 Yodelers' Paradise Shows, and would drop in on his new friend whenever his trucking runs took him through Columbia, South Carolina. He was also among the last people to see Sonny alive before he passed away in the summer of 2001.
Mike has been a member of The Country Entertainers & Musicians Benevolent Association, The Eastern Shore Opry, The Songwriters Guild, Louisiana Songwriter's Association, The Tennessee Songwriters Association, The Traditional Music Association, The Black Country Music Association, and is still a member of The National Traditional Country Music Association. In April 1996 he was commissioned by the Governor of the State of Kentucky as a Honorary Kentucky Colonel.
Mike's songs have aired on numerous Independent Country Radio Stations like Cousin Ray's WPWC-1480-AM, Dumfries, Virginia; Big John Baldry's WBYW-89.9FM, Grand Rapids, Michigan; Ed & Jolene Bullard's KHKC 103.1-FM, Tupelo, Oklahoma; Trudy Burke's WYN-88.9-FM, Australia; Alex Pijen's 107.9FM, Holland; J.E. Pratos' 106.8FM, France; Bente Kyed's 105-FM, Denmark; Ron Miller's 88.1FM, New Zealand; Rein Wortelboer's 102.6FM, The Netherlands; Dan Hansen's 90.6FM, Denmark; Buddy Max's WKIQ-FM, Lecanto, Florida, and Bart Plantenga's "Wreck This Mess" 88.3 Radio Patapoe, Amsterdam, and Meredith Beal's KCLW-AM in Hamilton, Texas to mention a few.
His press coverage has ranged from the smallest Country Music Newsletters to the Washington Post. Including Hard Country Beat, Bluebird Country News, Songwriters Monthly, Entertainment News, Tradition, The Forum, Country Tradition, Rural Music News, Country Illustrated, Sharing & Caring, Alabama Songwriters Guild, Country Plus, Manvel Opry Newsletter, The Alvin Advertiser, Country Note Connection, Artists & Writers Fellowship, Country Music Trails Less Traveled, The Old Towne Crier, Lorton Valley Star, the questionable Marquis' Who's Who? and various internet sites.

MORE EXPOSURE:
A major musical highlight for Mike was his inclusion in Pamela E. Foster's anthologies, "My Country, The African Diaspora's Country Music Heritage" in 1998, and "My Country Too, The Other Black Music" in 2000. These most definitive studies with their detailed discographies, chronicle African-American involvement in Country Music from its origins and development to the present. Pamela is a Pulitzer Prize Nominee and one of Nashville's well-known and respected Award-winning Journalists. She also teaches at the University of Tennessee and her books are available from Borders Books.
In the spring of 2003 Mike's song "Hank Sang Mostly Sad Songs" debuted on Dustin Hunt's CD Album "The Man, The Music, The Legend, A Tribute To Hank." This was in return for Mike's mastering to CD, the analog tracks of Dustin's "An Echo From The Past...A Tribute To Hank" Cassette Album. In September that same year Mike mastered to CD, the analog tracks of six Michael T. Wall Cassette Albums. Namely; 1."The Singing Newfoundlander, 20 Greatest Hits" 2."Introducing Michael T. Wall" 3."On Stage With Molly And Me" 4."More Michael T. Wall" 5."Sing Along With Michael T. Wall" 6. "500 Years Ago, Michael T. Wall."
In late November 2003 everything came to a sudden halt when three neck vertebrae collapsed on his spinal cord. He was treated at the Veterans Hospital in Washington D.C. and underwent surgery in January 2004 at the Veterans Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. On 27 September 2004, Mike's mother died at the age of 75, following a two-year bout with brain tumors.
After almost two years of immobility and rehabilitation, Mike began showing physical signs of improvement. Warned by his Neurologists that his nerve damage will repair at it's own pace and not his, he has been coping.
Mike will soon enter the annuals of Yodeling History in Bart Plantenga's 2nd yodeling book, "Yodeling In Hi-Fi!" which will also include a chapter on America's neglected Black Cowboys. Bart's 2004 Best Seller "Yodel-Ay-Ee-Oooo, The Secret History of Yodeling Around The World," the most definitive study on the subject, traces the yodel's origins to many cultures around the globe, and forever lays to rest the long mis-held Swiss origins myth. Bart is a native of The Netherlands and his book is also available from Borders Books. Mike has an autographed copy and is anxiously awaiting the release of "Yodeling In Hi-Fi."
On 7 May 2005 Mike dared to go to the Bowery Poetry Club in New York City to participate in the last leg of Bart's 2nd U.S. Yodel book promotion tour and perform with Yodeling Randy Erwin and Lynn Book before an audience of highly enthusiastic yodeling fans. Wisely he took the Greyhound instead of driving his pickup truck. He was particularly elated that he suffered only minor hand-tension and no major fatigue or nerve setbacks. A video of this show is available from Roughshod Records.
Mike's yodeling song "Yeah, I'm A Cowboy" is one of 18 yodeling songs featured on the "Rough Guide To Yodel" Compilation CD, a project instigated by Bart Plantenga. Music Licenses were signed with the London-based World Music Network in January 2006 and the CD released on 25 September 2006. www.worldmusic.net/catalogue/world.html

On 23 January 2006 Mike signed a book publishing deal for his short story collection, "El Latigo, A Little Known Legend Of The Tijuana Jail and Other Stories." It was released on 26 July 2006 and is now available at the publisher's website and from several of their affiliates like Borders.com,BarnesandNoble.com, Alibris.com, and Amazon.com in the United States, France, and Germany.
http://www.publishamerica.com/shopping/index.htm
[type El Latigo in the Search Box]
Self-publishing his earlier works since 1977 Mike spent much of 2005 and 2006 re-editing and formatting some of them for re-release in the near future; "Reflections," "The Leopard's Cub," "A Real Live Country Song," "Memories Die Hard," and "What The Jungle Saw."

In March 2005, Mike was given a Tribute Page on the web-site of his friend,Janet McBride, the current Queen Of The Yodelers. Both Janet and Mike performed on the 1999 and 2000 Sonny Rodgers' Yodelers Paradise Show at the Old-Time Country Music Festival in Avoca, Iowa. Both of these shows are available on video from Roughshod Records.
Sonny passed away in July 2001. He toured the country promoting and preserving the legacy of Jimmie Rodgers, yodeling, and traditional music in general. Janet, a personal friend of the late Patsy Montana, has been performing for more than 50 years, including on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. Her song "A Yodeling Addiction" is also on the "Rough Guide To Yodel" compilation CD.
In May 2006 Paul L. White, Janet's Webmaster, has since developed and launched Mike Johnson a very unique and separate site of his own. www.heroeswest.com/blackyodelno1

On 13 June 2006, Mike Johnson celebrated his 60th birthday. And to prove that he still yodel with the best of them, he went out picking that night with his super picking buddy, Jeff Seidel. In fact, Mike has recently [August 2006] finished mastering 22 songs to disc-1 of his "40-Years of Yodelin'" album, featuring the best of the 50-plus yodeling songs he has written. It will feature his studio cuts, the best of his live performances, demo sessions and his new 2006 yodeling songs.
Another project still in the wings and making some small progress, is a art exhibit of his many acrylics, pastels, pen & inks, and watercolor drawings. Unfortunately this first love has taken a back seat to his other endeavors. But there's hope yet. At least some of them are presented in his literary works.
Mike was hosting the Saturday night Open Mic at the Coffee House of Occoquan in Occoquan, Virginia. In the summer of 2005 his long-time music friend, Brenda Weitzel, passed her M/C spot over to him. He temporarily relinguished hosting in September 2006 to pursue other matters. Sponsored by Coffee House owner, Linda Caldwell, the "Friendliest Open Mic in Northern Virginia" runs from 6pm to 10:30pm during the summer months, and attracts a variety of talent from miles around. Take I-95 to the Route 123 North Exit [next one from Woodbridge] and follow Rte. 123 to the light at the Occoquan River bridge. Turn left and go to the first Stop Sign. The white house on the opposite left-corner facing you is where's its all happening. Come on down and pick some! [703-492 8976]
So there you have it. Mike Johnson, man of many hats, but always Mike Johnson!
By Joe Arnold, Roughshod Records

MIKE JOHNSON DISCOGRAPHY:
45 RPMs: Out of Print
1981: King Of The Fish & Please Don't Squeeze The Charmin
1985: Hooked On Rodeo & I Hear Her Words Ringing

CASSETTE ALBUMS:
1983: Mike Johnson's Guitar Songs Vol.1
1986: I Believe In Roy Rogers
1987: Did You Hug Your Mother Today?
1993: Black Yodel No.1 The Song The Songwriter

CASSETTE SINGLES:
1994:Did You Hug Your Mother Today? *Little Boys and Doggies
1995: Just A Nobody *Always For You
1995: Take Time Out *Snakes Don't Sleep On A Hot Rock
1995: As Long As There Is Music *Black Yodel No.1, The Song The Songwriter

CD ALBUMS:
1999: Black Yodel No.1, The Song The Songwriter
1999: Did You Hug Your Mother Today?
2000: Country Classics Radio DJ Special [Special Project]
2001: Yodeling McDonald Craig [Special Project]
2001:Mike Johnson's Guitar Songs Vol.1, "1983 Collector's Classic"
2002: Mike Johnson's Guitar Songs Vol. 2 "Some Old Demo Sessions"
2002: Mike Johnson Live!
2002: Three Country Music Yodelers, Who Just Happen To Be Black! [Special Project]
CD SINGLES:
2000: 20thAnniversary Issue; King Of The Fish *Please Don't Squeeze The Charmin
2001: Take Time Out *Little Boys And Doggies
2001: Let's Take It Easy *Did You Hug Your Mother Today? [Piano solo by Thanh Bui]
2002: Hooked On Rodeo *I Can't Believe I'm Fallin'
2003:Your Cheatin' Heart *He Stopped Loving Her Today [Special Project]
2004:17thAnniversary Issue; Did You Hug Your Mother Today? * If This Old Tree Could Talk
2004:2004 Mother's Day Special; Did You Hug Your Mother Today?
2004:Sammy * Me And My Friend Jim
2004: Here's To Jim And Tammy *You Scratch My Back
2004: Pictures On The Wall *Pigtails And Bubblegum
2004: King Of The Road *I Walk The Line [Special Project]
2006: Little Boys And Doggies *Please Don't Squeeze The Charmin [original studio tracks]
***Roughshod Records Special Projects are promotional releases and Not For Sale.***

MIKE JOHNSON ON VIDEO: DVD-R & VHS
2004: MIKE JOHNSON LIVE! #CMV-1- 1hr.45min. Featuring Mike's Hall Of Fame Induction and some of his performances in Alvin, Texas, Nashville Tennessee, Orrstown, Pennsylvania, Avoca, Iowa, and Arlington, Virginia, fellow musicians, Kenny Haddaway, Ralph Heymsfeld, Western Starr Duo, Traditional Music Association Cast Members, Ron & Linda Cook Band, Mike Johnson [Mike's Texas friend] Jeff Seidel, Ken Smith, Buddy Roberston, and Danny Dee.

2004: SONNY RODGERS 1999 YODELERS PARADISE SHOW. #CMV-3- 3hrs.
Featuring World Famous Yodelers, Chris Schurman, Ben Steneker, Mike Johnson, JoAnna DeGroute, Roy Harper, KG & The Ranger, Stew & Juanita Clayton, Rick McWilliams, Janet McBride, The West Sisters, Teresa Endres, and McDonald Craig.

2005: SONNY RODGERS 2000 YODELERS PARADISE SHOW. #CMV-5- 3hrs.
Featuring World Famous Yodelers, The Hammer Sisters, Troy Cook, Greta Elkins, Buzz Gertzen, KG & The Ranger, Joyce Leonard, Teresa Endres, Tom Wills, Donna Hyland, Mike Johnson, Janet McBride, Lorraine Croft, Stew & Juanita Clayton, Jillian Marie LeVasseur and Mallory Haley.

2005: "9 WEIRD STORIES ABOUT YODELING" by Bart Plantenga. #CMV-7- 1hr.45min.
On 7 may 2005, Netherlands author Bart Plantenga promotes his 2004 best seller "Yodel-Ay-ee-Ooo, The Secret History Of Yodeling Around The World," and his upcoming book, "Yodeling In Hi-Fi" at the Bowery Poetry Club in New York City. Yodelers Randy Erwin, Lynn Book and Mike Johnson demonstrate their different and unique yodeling styles.

For available Mike Johnson music, videos, and other products go to the Roughshod Records Store;
http://hometown.aol.com/blackyodelno1/roughshodrecordstore.html
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