Spoiler : Born in Tyler, Texas 11/15/1913; died 2/6/2000 from complications of Alzheimer's disease in Westminster, Colorado. After high school, Johnson moved to Kansas City drumming with a variety of groups, by 1938 had joined Jay McShann's band featuring Charlie Parker on alto sax. The drummer stayed with that group until he entered the Army in 1943. In 1948 Johnson replaced Jo Jones in the Count Basie Orchestra, staying with the Basie band until 1954. Johnson spent the rest of his career as a freelance player, accompaning singers including Ella Fitzgerald and Lena Horne, recording with Charlie Byrd, Woody Herman and Gerry Mulligan while serving as an auxiliary police officer in New York City.