General Johnson (May 23, 1941 – October 13, 2010) – Finder's Keepers (1973)

The Chairmen of The Board lead singer co-wrote and co-produced this superb funk jam, feat. Bernie Worrell on keyboards and McKinley Jackson on trombone.

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General Johnson was a singer/songwriter, producer, and the lead singer of Chairmen of the Board.

General Norman Johnson was born in Huntersville, Virginia and began singing in his church choir at age six. He joined a group called the Humdingers, who recorded unreleased tracks for Atlantic Records in 1953, when Johnson was twelve years old. After changing their same to the Showmen, they had a hit in 1961 with “It Will Stand” on Minit Records. They released other records with little success over the next few years, and broke up in 1968.

After legendary producers Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland left Motown and founded their Invictus and Hot Wax labels, they signed Johnson to Invictus and built a new vocal group around him. Chairmen of the Board became the label’s flagship act and the primary vehicle for the Holland-Dozier-Holland team’s musical creativity. The other original members were Eddie Custis, Danny Woods and Canadian singer Harrison Kennedy.

Their first single was also the group’s biggest-ever hit. “Give Me Just A Little More Time” went to #8 R&B, and crossed over to even greater heights at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It sold over a million copies in the U.S. and helped establish Invictus as a label. Holland-Dozier-Holland gave the songwriting credit to “Edythe Wayne” (which many assumed was a pseudonym, although apparently the real Edith Wayne was a close friend of theirs) and Ron Dunbar, a fellow songwriter/producer who left Motown with them and became A&R Director for Invictus and Hot Wax.

During that period, Holland-Dozier-Holland were still under contract to Motown’s publishing arm Jobete and were legally prevented from using their names on the songs they wrote. By the time the legal battle was settled in 1977, Invictus and Hot Wax were winding down. Years later, Lamont Dozier described the situation in an interview:

“Brian [Holland] and I came up with “Band of Gold” (by Freda Payne) and “Give Me Just a Little More Time,” but we didn't put our names on 'em because we were in a lawsuit and couldn't use our names. So we used Ronnie Dunbar, who was an employee of ours and Edith Wayne, who was a friend of the Holland family.”

Another of the group’s early tracks was the superb, upbeat gospel flavored “Where There Is Faith, There Is Hope,” which was recorded in 1970. Sadly, it remained unreleased until nearly five decades later in 2014.

Unfortunately, some folks sleep on Chairmen Of The Board, maybe because they only remember “Give Me Just A Little More Time” and later years when they became beach music icons. But during their time on Invictus, they also recorded epic Holland-Dozier-Holland funk jams like “Hanging On To A Memory” (1970).

After their self-titled debut LP and their second album In Session, both released in 1970, founding member Eddie Custis left the group, which continued as a trio. Johnson and Invictus keyboardist Greg Perry co-wrote and co-produced most of their third LP Bittersweet (1972), including the great “Saginaw County Line.” It was co-arranged by trombonist McKinley Jackson. “Free as your mind will let you be!”

Chairmen Of The Board's fourth and final album was The Skin I'm In (1974). Its first single “Finder’s Keepers,” a superb funk anthem about love lost and found, went to #7 R&B in late 1973. Johnson co-wrote and co-produced the track along with Jeffrey Bowen, who also co-produced The Skin I'm In. He was a Motown songwriter/producer who also worked at Invictus and later married Bonnie Pointer.

“Finder’s Keepers” featured Funk Brother Dennis Coffey on guitar, plus special Parliament-Funkadelic guests Bernie Worrell on keyboards, Eddie Hazel on guitar, Billy “Bass” Nelson, and Ramon “Tiki” Fulwood on drums. The P-Funk members played on the entire album, which reportedly caused George Clinton to ban his musicians from doing any future sessions for other artists.

When they performed the track in an epic Soul Train appearance, some of the players on the studio version came along. McKinley Jackson was behind the trombone, with Donald Baldwin on lead guitar, Zachary Slater on drums, Billy “Bass” (who was Funkadelic’s original bass player from 1966-71) and Worrell on keyboards.

#soul #funk #ChairmenOfTheBoard #GeneralJohnson