Cee Pee Johnson (born Clifton Byron Johnson,"Cee Pee's Wife Faints As She Gets Prison Term". The California Eagle. October 4, 1951. Retrieved January 9, 2021."Real Estate Transfers" The Shreveport Journal. January 8, 1920. Retrieved January 9, 2021.Morris, Earl. "Cameras Star Work on 'Mystery in Swing'; Picture Will Deal with Newspaper Plot". The Pittsburgh Courier. February 3, 1940. Retrieved January 9, 2021. February 21, 1910 – after October 1954)"People and Places". The California Eagle. November 4, 1954. Retrieved January 8, 2021. was an American jazz composer,Library of Congress. Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 3: Musical Compositions; New Series, Vol 32, Pt 1: First Half of 1937. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1937. Page 346.Library of Congress. Catalog of Copyright Entries 1945 Music New Series Vol 40 Pt 3 No 10. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 1,294, 1,375 and 1,404. bandleader,"'Mystery in Swing' Goes to Cutting Room Floor". The Norfolk Journal and Guide. February 10, 1940. Retrieved January 10, 2021."Famed 'Cee Pee Johnson' Coming With his Band for October Shows". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. September 22, 1947. Retrieved January 10, 2021. singer and multi-instrumentalist.

Early life and career Johnson was born in Marshall, Texas in February 1910 and raised in Algiers, New Orleans. He first appeared in published sources in Dallas early in the 1930s, billed as C. B. Johnson, playing in his brother Bert Johnson's band The Sharps and Flats. Johnson danced and sang with this ensemble, and also played banjo and tom-toms."Now: Bert Johnson and His Sharps and Flats". El Paso Times. November 27, 1933. Retrieved January 9, 2021.Rye, Howard. "Johnson, Cee Pee". Grove Jazz online.

He moved to Los Angeles in the middle of the decade, and played with Emerson Scott's band at the Onyx Club in Hollywood. He eventually became the group's bandleader, and played at several high-profile West Coast clubs, including the Paradise Club,"The Paradise Club Presents Gladys Bentley, 'Peg Leg' Bates". The California Eagle. August 11, 1938. Retrieved January 9, 2021. the Del Mar Club (1940), the Rhumboogie,"On the Stand: Cee Pee Johnson". The Billboard. November 15, 1941. Retrieved January 8, 1941. and Billy Berg's Swing Club."Actress Asks Damages; Struck by Drum Stick". Harrisburg Telegraph. May 6, 1947. Retrieved January 12, 2021. His sidemen included Teddy Buckner, Karl George, Buddy Banks, Marshal Royal, Jack McVea, Johnny Miller, and Buddy Collette. His backup drummer was Alton Redd. The ensemble appeared in many films, and was active until at least 1954;"Sunday Jam Session — 4 - 9 P. M.". The Long Beach Independent. July 31, 1954. Retrieved January 8, 2021. he toured South America in 1953."Rhythm N' Blues Ramblings: Los Angeles". The Cash Box. January 9, 1954. Retrieved January 8, 2021.

Johnson worked as a sideman with Slam Stewart and Slim Gaillard on their Slim and Slam sessions.

Filmography All entries drawn from Library of Congress except where otherwise noted.Meeker, David. "Jazz On the Screen: A Jazz and Blues Filmography". Library of Congress. Retrieved February 7, 2021. Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 (1929) – N/A (uncredited)"Fox Coronado: On the Stage". Las Vegas Daily Optic. July 12, 1933. Page 7. Retrieved February 15, 2021. The Music Goes 'Round (1936) – N/A (uncredited) Woodland Café (1937) – Chorus voice (uncredited) Mystery in Swing (1940) – With his orchestra Citizen Kane (1941) – Drummer in beach party sequence (uncredited) Tom, Dick and Harry (1941) – N/A (uncredited)"Famed 'Cee Pee' Johnson Coming with His Band for October Shows". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. September 22, 1947. Page 7. Retrieved February 18, 2021."Obituaries: Buddy Collette". The Guardian. October 7, 2010. Page 33. Retrieved February 18, 2021. Birth of the Blues (1941) – N/A (uncredited) Hellzapoppin' (1941) – With his orchestra (uncredited) Swing for Your Supper (soundie; 1941) – Leading his orchestra, with Dorothy Dandridge dancing Jump In (soundie; 1942) – With his orchestra The Desert Song (1943) – Percussionist in Moroccan cafe sequences"Torrid Tom-Toms Set". Hollywood Reporter. July 31, 1942. Page 8. Retrieved February 18, 2021. Jungle Jig (soundie; 1944) – With his orchestra, accompanying Dorothy Dandridge To Have and Have Not (1944) – Drummer in club group (uncredited) The Jolson Story (1946) – Unseen drum soloist in final night club scene (uncredited)Lamar, Lawrence F. "Cee Pee Orch. Sets Fast Pace". New York Amsterdam News. January 18, 1947. Page 21. Retrieved February 18, 2021. The Razor's Edge (1946) – Bandleader / Drum soloist in nightclub (uncredited) The Foxes of Harrow (1947) – Drummer in voodoo sequence (uncredited)"Large Cast for 'Foxes'". The Pittsburgh Courier. June 7, 1947. Page 16. Retrieved February 7, 2021.

Notes

References

Further reading Articles Doyle, Freddy. "Orchs and Musicians". The California Eagle. May 14, 1937. Page 12. "Season's Greetings from the Musicians". The California Eagle. December 23, 1937. Page 20. Helm. "Vaudeville; Night Club Reviews: Rhumboogie, H'wood". Variety. February 26, 1941. pp. 46–47. "Cee Pee Johnson Band Booked at Civic Auditorium". The Honolulu Advertiser. September 27, 1947. Page 7. "Musician Jailed for Burglary; More About Cee Pee Johnson". The California Eagle. August 9, 1951. pp. 1, 3. "'Ceepee' Johnson, Wife Face Many Burglary Charges". Los Angeles Sentinel. August 16, 1951. pp. A1, A2. "Cee Pee's Wife Faints As She Gets Prison Term". The California Eagle. October 4, 1951. Page 1. "King of Tom Tom Drums". The California Eagle. December 10, 1953. Page 8. "C. P. Johnson Crew All Set to Swing for Old Charity". The California Eagle. December 17, 1953. Page 9.

Books Royal, Marshal. Jazz Survivor. London: Cassell. 1996. pp. 55–56. .

External links [ Cee Pee Johnson] at Allmusic

Whitey's Lindy Hoppers — excerpt from Hellzapoppin' (1941) featuring Johnson's trademark tom-tom act on YouTube Johnson's "Swinging It Lightly" — accompanying himself on piano at the conclusion of Mystery in Swing (1940) on YouTube