Cee Pee Johnson


Cee Pee Johnson was an American jazz drummer and vocalist.
Johnson was born in Algiers, Louisiana. He first appeared in published sources in Dallas early in the 1930s, playing in his brother Bert Johnson's band The Sharps and Flats. Cee Pee Johnson danced and sang with this ensemble, and also played tom-toms.
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 Del Mar Club, the Rhumboogie, and Billy Berg's Swing Club. 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; he toured South America in 1953.
Johnson worked as a sideman with Slam Stewart and Slim Gaillard on their Slim and Slam sessions. According to researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc, he may have died in Hawaii, after 1947.