James P. Johnson Essentials

Editors' Notes Jazz trailblazer, pop trendsetter, ragtime virtuoso, piano pounder—James P. Johnson was all of these and more. In the 1920s, he boldly blurred the line between ragtime and the emerging sounds of jazz with syncopated struts like "Carolina Shout," as well as teaming up with blues goddess Bessie Smith on sultry tunes like "Backwater Blues," and setting the pace for an entire generation of flappers with the era-defining "Charleston." Even when he wasn't penning pop standards like "If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight)," he was burning up the ivories on feverish fare like "The Harlem Strut."