The Song Spinners

The Song Spinners were an American vocal group which enjoyed a burst of popularity during the 1942–44 musicians' strike. They accompanied Dick Haymes on "You'll Never Know" and several other hits.[1] They had their own #1 hit in 1943 with "Comin' In on a Wing and a Prayer".

The Song Spinners
OriginUnited States
GenresVocal
Years active1942 (1942)–1944 (1944)
Associated actsDick Haymes

They also had a hit with "Johnny Zero" (originally known as "Johnny Got a Zero") that peaked on #7 on Billboard chart. The song was inspired by John D. Foley (March 1, 1918 – December 21, 1999), who served in the United States Army Air Forces as a gunner during World War II amd was popularly known as Johnny Zero.[2] In the song, Johnny does poorly in school, with the other children mocking him with "Johnny got a zero" every time he fails a test. However, when he grows up and becomes a fighter pilot, the words take on an entirely different meaning.[3]

In 1948, The Song Spinners recorded "My Happiness" as an a cappella with Ella Fitzgerald. usband, ==Membership== The leaders of The Song Spinners were Margaret Johnson as alto and pianist-arranger and her husband, Travis Johnson as tenor and business manager. The membership of the group was basically stable over its 30-plus years but shifted as the nature and purpose of their music evolved remarkably. 

    The Song Spinners began in the mid 30's as a folk song group, created to provide music as part of an early radio show, "The Wayside Cottage", which dramatized the stories told in early American and English-Appalachian music.(The word "spinners" was invented to suggest a spinning wheel rather than a phonograph record, though the implication of their title morphed along with their music.) Unlike the material being recorded on wire recorders in the hills, the Song Spinners showed their classical training by presenting the material in simple but artfully structured SATB (soprano-alto-tenor-bass) arrangements, in pin-point pitch, perfectly balanced. At this point the soprano and bass were Bella Allen and John Rogers. 
    By 1942 the Song Spinners were performing popular songs of the day as well as many of bygone eras. The bass (really a baritone) by this time was Leonard Stokes. In 1943 they had their biggest hit in this vein with "Comin' in On a Wing and a Prayer." "Johnny Zero" on the other side of the disk told the story of a struggling school boy who earned zeros in school but shot down Japanese zeros as a fighter pilot. A musicians' strike had forced the group to perform acappella using an addional bass singer (John Nehr) to "thmp thmp" a rhythm, while Margaret's clever and busy arrangement did the rest. Despite this success, Decca Records did not wish to market another group (They had others already, including the Andrews Sisters) and offered the group an opportunity to provide acappella backup for Dick Haymes which they accepted. "You'll Never Know Just How Much I Love You" was produced in this way and was a national hit as well. 
    By the late 40's the group had begun to perform commercial jingles on live radio shows and was soon creating and recording them as well.

With Marcia Neal (Patterson) as their soprano, the 1950's and 1960's saw the Song Spinners (Johnson Jingles) much sought after by Madison Avenue. Here their biggest success was "Winston Tastes Good Like a (clap-clap) Cigarette Should," which Margaret ghost-wrote for the William Esty ad agency. The Johnsons retired in 1967, returning to Dallas at which point the group was permanently disbanded. (N.B. Another group bearing the name Song Spinners issued a record around this period, but there was no lawsuit.)

    Travis Johnson was born 1905 in Troup, Texas and attended Baylor where he met Margaret. They graduated in 1928 and were married in Dallas that June. Margaret was born Margaret Marcella Bassett 1907 in Missouri where she also attended Larange Junior College before her two years at Baylor.
    After Travis' death in 1970,  Margaret performed in senior homes as a volunteer performer until her death on May 27, 2007.[4]

Discography
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References
  1. Whitburn, Joel (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954.
  2. "Johnny Got a Zero". National Museum of the United States Air Force. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
  3. Jones, John Bush (2006). The songs that fought the war: popular music and the home front, 1939-1945. Waltham, Massachusetts: Brandeis University. p. 175. ISBN 1-58465-443-0. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
  4. "Dallas Morning News Margaret Johnson obituary".


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