Johnson was an elderly man before he became known as a blues singer outside his immediate home area, but he had learned guitar in childhood from his brother, and later taught himself piano. Johnson sang religious material in church in his younger days, and later in quartets, appearing on radio with the West Spring Friendly Four and the Silver Star Quartet in the 30s. His musical career was only ever part-time, but on his retirement, he was discovered by blues enthusiasts and made a number of recordings, as well as personal appearances in South Carolina. He appeared on two albums, exhibiting a strong, distinctive singing voice and a powerful guitar style, especially when playing bottleneck. Oddly, a single was issued in the UK, featuring two fine solo performances. Not to be confused with the Chicago-based jazz guitarist of the same name.