George W. Johnson (singer)

George W. Johnson
A photo of Johnson from The Phonoscope, July 1898
Background information
Birth name	George Washington Johnson
Born	c. October 1846 (exact date unknown) Virginia, US
Origin	New York City, New York, US
Died	January 23, 1914 Queens, New York City, New York, US
Genres	Vaudeville
Occupation(s)	Singer, valet
Instruments	Singing, whistling
Years active	1891–1910
Labels	Berliner Gramophone, Edison, Columbia, Victor Talking Machine Company
Associated acts	Len Spencer

George Washington Johnson (c. October 1846 – January 23, 1914) was a singer and pioneer sound recording artist, the first African-American recording star of the phonograph.

Johnson was born in Virginia, either in Fluvanna County or near Wheatland in Loudoun County. His father may have been a slave; if so, he was likely freed in 1853. From an early age, Johnson was raised near Wheatland as the companion and servant of a prosperous white farmer's son. During his time with this family, he developed his musical ability and even learned to read and write, which was unusual for a black child in Virginia before the American Civil War. Johnson later worked as a laborer, and in his late twenties he moved to New York City. By the late 1870s he was making his living as a street entertainer in New York, specializing in whistling popular tunes.

Some time between January and May 1890, Johnson was recruited by two different regional phonograph distributors who were looking for recording artists for their coin-operated machines. Charles Marshall of the New York Phonograph Company and Victor Emerson of the New Jersey Phonograph Company both heard Johnson performing in Manhattan, probably at the ferry terminals on the Hudson River. Both of them invited Johnson to record his loud raggy whistling on wax phonograph cylinders for a fee of twenty cents per two-minute performance. Although Johnson could whistle all the tunes of the day, one of his first recordings for both companies was a popular vaudeville novelty song called "The Whistling Coon". Johnson sang as well as whistled, and also was able to give a boisterous laugh in musical pitch. From this he developed the second performance that made him famous, "The Laughing Song". Although he recorded other material, including whistling the song "Listen to the Mockingbird" and some short minstrel show performances done with other performers, it was these two songs that Johnson would perform and record over and over for years.