Biography
Floyd Johnson's surname lacked the allure needed for a spotlight career, evoking instead the signage on a neighborhood tool shop, so the prospect of adopting an appealing moniker like Candy held clear attraction for an emerging jazz reed player. His work on tenor and baritone saxophone dated to the 1930s, yet he continued to record and appear onstage well into the 1960s, most often billed simply as Candy Johnson. While nearly every veteran jazz musician confronted the upheavals of the decade's shifting musical landscape, Johnson encountered an extra complication. A popular go-go dancer also named Candy Johnson surfaced in 1962, releasing her own singles that were later interpreted by artists including Tom Jones. Both Floyd "Candy" Johnson and the unadorned Floyd Johnson began surfacing again on album credits. The saxophonist accepted without bitterness that audiences favored the dancer over the horn blower. A veteran of the scene, he had entered the 1940s as a sideman in Andy Kirk's medium-sized ensemble, the Twelve Clouds of Joy. He was surely familiar with the old quip about listeners choosing a talking frog over an acclaimed jazz drummer. That awareness may explain why, after taking up drums at age thirteen, he eventually changed to saxophone, progressing from alto to the lower tenor and baritone voices. His early drumming contributed to numerous blues dates, placing his name among respected timekeepers in the idiom. At Wilberforce College he pursued formal horn studies while performing with the campus ensemble as well as working groups led by Ernie Fields and Tiny Bradshaw. Saxophonist Jimmy Forrest, later celebrated for his robust, rhythmic style, was Johnson's cousin. Between 1942 and 1947 he served in Kirk's ranks, frequently featured on ballads where his poised timbre, relaxed phrasing, and evident debt to Coleman Hawkins stood out. A subsequent engagement with Count Basie's orchestra added greater force to his attack. By then the nickname, earned through his fondness for sweets, had taken hold. In the early 1950s he fronted his own Detroit-based unit, the Peppermint Sticks, whose title echoed the same confectionery theme. During the late 1950s he produced some of his most compelling work within Bill Doggett's streamlined funky-jazz setting; tracks such as "Honky Tonk," "Night Train," and the memorable "Blip Blop" remain benchmarks of the style. The ascendancy of the go-go performer and the British rock wave overlapped with Johnson's withdrawal from steady performance, activity resuming only with the arrival of the 1970s. In 1971 he toured France alongside Milt Buckner, projecting undiminished power in the organ-driven context. The partnership proved durable, leading to an extended 1973 visit that also featured the vigorous saxophone of Arnett Cobb. Jazz listeners recognize the electricity generated when compatible horn players trade ideas. Johnson's professional engagements persisted through the mid-1970s and briefly encompassed a substitute role in the Duke Ellington orchestra, filling in for the ailing Paul Gonsalves. He drew on deep experience to occupy those substantial, expressive shoes, though he was spared the customary audience parade and the ritual query "Hey boss, when do I get a raise?" He performed with and helped assemble the New McKinney's Cotton Pickers, a project that revived original Don Redman charts whose popularity once rivaled that of Fletcher Henderson and Duke Ellington. Several founding members participated, and Johnson distinguished himself by weaving more contemporary ideas into his improvisations. Even so, no invitation to go-go dance ever materialized.
Albums
