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Biography
To most people interested in
the tuba from the last third of the twentieth
century to the beginning of the twenty-first
century, a number of outstanding musical
achievers have given dignity, honor and respect
to our instruments. They have done so by being
outstanding players, performers, recording
artists, teachers, music educators, promoters,
commissioners of new works, and having perhaps
other roles as well. While these people may be
mentioned more frequently in low brass journals,
Tommy Johnson is certainly one of our all-time
unsung heroes.
When the name “Tommy Johnson” is mentioned, it
takes a second for our data banks to come up
with a few notable things about him because his
name is not always in the forefront of
recognition, even though he is the most heard
tuba player on the planet. Here are the usual
things that come to mind: “Jaws,” “Close
Encounters of the Third Kind,” and “The Simpsons.”
There are also those special moments when the
Los Angeles Philharmonic used Tommy Johnson to
record the extra tuba parts in various Strauss
tone poems and particularly in Varese’ “Arcana.”
Probably most notable in that era of recordings
was the famous doubling of the lone tuba part
with Roger Bobo in Holst’s monumental work, “The
Planets.” While this and the aforementioned
recordings may fade into the memory of past
discography for the world at large, the
recording of the Holst will never stop being a
source of amazement for tuba players well into
the future. There may not be life on the
planets beyond Earth, but there sure is a damned
good low E on Uranus!!
After these isolated facts about Tommy Johnson,
most other tuba players and tuba enthusiasts
know very little about him. Most don’t realize
that along with teaching privately and at
universities in southern California, he taught
public school for over twenty years at the
junior high level. That means that besides
teaching the usual beginning winds and advanced
band class, he was also teaching beginning
strings and teaching advanced orchestra as well.
Most don’t realize (unless you are a school
teacher) that many times the teacher actually
becomes a surrogate parent to many students. He
may have taught music to a lot of young people,
but he taught everybody what it means to be a
good person and a good citizen.
Most don’t realize he was
given the “Teacher of the Year Award” and the
“Lifetime PTA Award” from Sepulveda Junior High
School where he taught.
Most don’t realize that
after having received the “Most Valuable Player
Award for Tuba Player” for six years straight
from the National Academy of Recording Arts and
Sciences, they finally gave up re-issuing the
award to him and honored him with the “Most
Valuable Player Emeritus Award” in 1980.
Most don’t realize that famous Hollywood film
composer, Bruce Broughton wrote a piece for
Tommy Johnson and his cellist son, Keith. And
most don’t realize that when that piece was
played at Keith Johnson’s senior cello recital
at Indiana University with Tommy Johnson playing
the tuba part, it was probably the only cello
recital at Indiana University where the tuba
players in the audience outnumbered the cellists
by ten-to-one.
Most don’t realize that one
of the first recording dates Tommy Johnson did
was the “Tubby the Tuba” recording on Disney
Records with Annette Funicello narrating. If
that and a few other recordings did not
materialize in those early years, he was
contemplating a career selling tires for
Firestone Rubber Company.
Most don’t realize how many
people worldwide actually hear him compared to
how many people hear other tuba players. We all
know that he is the most heard tuba player on
the planet, but even when Tommy Johnson records
a film score to a movie that totally bombs, it
is still seen (and heard) by enough people to
fill up a concert hall a thousand times over!
Most don’t realize that the
biggest contribution the USC Athletic Department
made to the USC Music Department was when it
gave a basketball scholarship to a young John
Thomas Johnson who was to start on the USC
Basketball Team. Unfortunately, a knee injury
kept him from being on the team.
Most don’t realize that the
UCLA Basketball team started winning most
of its games and pennants after that year.
Most don’t realize that
much of his playing has been accomplished with
some health issues that would have slowed down
or stopped other players with lesser mental
stamina and resilience.
Most don’t realize that his
versatility in changing instruments (from
different tubas to bass trombone to cimbasso) is
part of the norm in the Hollywood studios.
Most don’t realize the
versatility of his musicianship. Within 18
hours of playing Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring”
in Chicago with conductor Daniel Barenboim, he
was in a recording studio in Burbank recording
oom-pahs for “Weird Al” Yankovic!!
Most don’t realize that
Tommy Johnson inadvertently contributed to the
fame of some fine tuba players like John
Fletcher. Early on, especially in the 1970s,
some studio composers were captivated by Tommy
Johnson’s artistry and approach. So, instead of
writing regulation, unchallenging tuba parts,
John Williams and others got into the “thin
branches” and wrote some very, very challenging
tuba parts with Tommy Johnson in mind. When the
film studios decided to cut down on musician
costs and lower residual payments, some of the
music went to England to be recorded by
struggling London musicians. That is when the
public heard some fascinating artistry when John
Fletcher ended up playing Tommy Johnson-inspired
tuba lines in “Jabba the Hutt” and other great
music from “Star Wars” and other movies.
There are lots of areas where we tuba players
can contribute and make a difference in our art
to a lot of people. Few have done it in so many
ways and for such a consistently long time as
Tommy Johnson. While he may be very touched at
the recognition of receiving this award, it is
the one-on-one difference that he has made with
his students, his recording colleagues, his
friends and especially, his loving family, that
make his life a very fulfilling one.
In the end, most people
do realize that.
by Gene Pokorny
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