Al "Carnival Time" Johnson

Al "Carnival Time" Johnson
Johnson performing in New Orleans, 2007
Background information
Birth name	Alvin Lee Johnson
Born	(1939-06-20) June 20, 1939 (age 78)
Origin	New Orleans, Louisiana
Genres	Rhythm and Blues
Occupation(s)	Singer
Instruments	Vocals, Piano
Years active	1954-
Labels	Aladdin, Ric
Website	alcarnivaltimejohnson.com

Al "Carnival Time" Johnson (born June 20, 1939, in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American singer and piano player best known for the Mardi Gras song "Carnival Time".

After spending his early years in Houston, Johnson returned to New Orleans at the age of ten settling in the Lower Ninth Ward. His father bought him a trumpet, also a piano for his sisters and a trombone for his brother. Johnson took interest in the piano and learned the basic chord changes in different keys. His early musical influences included Sugar Boy Crawford, Fats Domino and Smiley Lewis, to name a few.

In 1956, at seventeen, he recorded his first songs, "Ole Time Talkin" and "I've Done Wrong"" for Aladdin Records. Johnson subsequently signed with Ric records and recorded series of songs at Cosimo Matassa's New Orleans recording studio starting with "Lena" in 1958. "Carnival Time" was recorded for the label in 1960. Produced by Joe Ruffino, the owner of the Ric Label, the song eventually joined Professor Longhair’s "Go to the Mardi Gras" and "Big Chief", and The Hawketts "Mardi Gras Mambo" as one of the most played and requested classics of the New Orleans Mardi Gras. Johnson was drafted and subsequently served and stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas.

When he returned to New Orleans in late 1964 he found that Ruffino had died and a protracted legal fight over royalties and rights to his music, among others, had left him with virtually nothing to show for his songs. Somewhere along the line, Johnson was nicknamed "Carnival Time" in honor of his famous song.