Johnson, Floyd “Candy”
Johnson, Floyd “Candy”
Johnson, Floyd “Candy” jazz/R&B tenor and baritone saxophonist; b. Madison Co., 111., May 20, 1922; d. Lucas, Ohio, June 1, 1981. When he was 13, he began playing drums, butquickly switched to first alto then tenor saxophone. In college, he played in the student band;after graduation, his first major job was as lead saxophone player with Andy Kirk’s band (1942–47). He then led his own Detroit-based band for a while, before joining Count Basie(1951-53). He is best-remembered for his tenor and baritone sax work with Bill Doggett’s R&B band (1958-64), including the hit “High and Wide” He retired from music making from the mid-1960s through 1971, when he toured Europe with MiltBuckner. He led the student band at Bowling Green State Univ. in 1974, and also briefly worked with Duke Ellington that year.
Discography
Bikini Beach (1964); Candy Johnson Show (1964); Live: BGSU (1974).
—John Chilton, Who’s Who of Jazz /Lewis Porter