Michael Johnson
(1944-2017)
Inducted in 1994
Michael Johnson’s music has the kind of diversity, depth, and sophistication that takes years of wide-ranging experience to develop. He worked to produce music of quality and depth. From teaching himself to play guitar at thirteen to winning a contest sponsored by CBS while in college and studying classical guitar in Spain, Michael continuously worked to refine his guitar playing. After touring with the Chad Mitchell Trio (which then also included aspiring singer-songwriter John Denver), Michael moved to Minneapolis. He recorded many solo albums for major label EMI-America Records with such hits such as “Bluer Than Blue” and “Give Me Wings”. Having experienced great success in the Top-40 pop market, Michael crossed over to the Country Western field and again experienced great success with his 1986 album entitled Wings. Michael followed with the very successful album That’s That, featuring the hit of the same title, scoring big in Country Western, Top-40, Adult Contemporary and the R & B charts. Michael toured with country music giants Alabama and Eddie Rabbit.
