Biography
Born in 1903 [1] to parents from the Swedish province of Skåne, Johnson grew up in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis, where Scandinavian music was frequently heard in the lodges and meeting halls. In the 1920s he embarked on a musical career, accompanying the singer Olle i Skratthult and later joining the Danielson Brothers Orchestra.[2]
Throughout the 1930s and 1940s Ted Johnson led a group variously known as the "Nordvest Skandinavisk Orkester" and "Ted Johnson and his Midnight Suns". The violin and accordion-based ensemble played in a light and lively style unlike that of German brass bands.[2] For many years they were the house band at the Stockholm Cafe in the heart of the Minneapolis Swedish quarter. They played at Dania Hall, Norway Hall, the Uptown Auditorium, the Prom Ballroom and other Twin Cities venues. Appearances on local radio stations (WCCO, WDGY and WTCN) [1] and records on the Columbia and Vocalion labels [3] spread their fame throughout the Upper Midwest.
In the 1930s Ted Johnson and the Thorstein Skarning were the leading Nordic bandleaders in the Twin Cities as well as good friends.[4] The Minnesota Historical Society has an autographed photo of Skarning that he inscribed to his "old friend Ted Johnson, violinist par excellence."
After the 1940s Johnson performed with "The Scandinavian Four" and with his wife and daughter as the "Ted Johnson Trio". In 1977 he issued the LP "Gammaldans!" with fifteen songs recorded by his orchestras of the 1930s and 1940s.[2]
Johnson's choice of material was influenced by his time spent with the Olle i Skratthult band, and his discography had several songs in common with that group.[5] A similar artist was Edwin Hoberg, who as leader of the "Little Oscar Gang" drew heavily on Olle's repertoire for his mid-1930s songbook.[6]
