THE CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARD

General Norman Johnson - Ken Knox - Danny Woods

Professional, thorough, and capable of maintaining an audience's attention, The Chairmen of The Board is one of the most captivating groups today. Few have survived the distance and time of General Johnson and The Chairmen of The Board. From small town churches to the eastern seashore, from New York City to L.A.'s Johnny Carson's Tonight Show, it has been a journey that few artists make.

At the age of six in his home town of Norfolk, VA, General began singing in church with his father. By the age of 12, his group, "The Humdingers" were recording with Atlantic Records. However, true luck would not hit until his senior year of high school when General and his band, "The Showmen", were rewarded with a contract with Minit Records. This effort produced five singles, including "It Will Stand", a national anthem to beach music (also known as the international theme of Rock & Roll), and the smash hit, "39-21-40 Shape".

In 1968, General Johnson began negotiations with Detroit based Invictus Records and legendary writers/producers, Holland-Dozier-Holland. By 1969, The Chairmen of The Board were born.

The Chairmen of The Board's first release on Invictus was the million selling classic, "Give Me Just A Little More Time", which was certified Gold by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and made it to #3 on the Billboard charts. This momentum carried the next two releases, "Everything's Tuesday" and "Dangling On A String", each to #38. In 1970, another General Johnson penned tune, "Pay To The Piper", with Danny Woods on lead vocals, was their second best selling record.

General Johnson has diversely affected and helped many other artist's careers. His continued success as a writer naturally captured the attention of various industry producers, managers and major record companies who were looking for "potential hits" for their clients. The magic worked as "Want Ads", "Stick Up" and "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show", were all million selling top chart hits for the group Honey Cone. In 1989, "Want Ads" was also recorded and performed by Arista recording artist, Taylor Dayne. In l970, General's multi-million seller and Grammy Award Winning song, "Patches", launched the career of Clarence Carter and made It to #4 on the Billboard charts. "Patches" was also a major hit for country singer Jerry Reed. That same year brought General his second Grammy nomination for writing "Somebody's Been Sleeping in My Bed", which was recorded by the group 100 Proof and later re-recorded by the rock group Foghat. General's talent for song writing had penetrated every spectrum of the music realm. In 1972, he was bestowed the honor of "R & B Songwriter of The Year" award by BMI (Broadcasting Music, Incorporated).

Danny Woods, The Chairmen of the Board's second lead singer was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He moved to Detroit at age 19 with the band "The Tears" looking for a deal in the Motor City. The band eventually broke up and Danny enjoyed a successful single act performing with names such as David Ruff in, Eddie Kendricks, Walter Jackson, and a band that would later become the group Rare Earth. Danny was approached by an Invictus agent during this time, who was forming The Chairmen of The Board. This led to an introduction to General Johnson and Danny became a permanent fixture. As General reflects on discovering Danny, "...we saw this guy Jumping chairs and doing back flips. He had all this energy and people were going crazy." With Danny's charisma and energy, his performances have absolutely no limitations.

In 1972, the last addition to form The Chairmen of The Board was saxophonist Ken Knox. While growing up In Detroit, Ken would practice his older brother's saxophone while he was away. In this manner, Ken perfected the instrument. After playing with local groups, eventually found himself in the major league playing with national acts such as Millie Jackson and The Detroit Emeralds. While playing with The Emeralds, Ken was spotted by Danny Woods and offered an audition. This was to start the beginning of the long, successful road of The Chairmen of The Board.

In addition to achieving national success, The Chairmen of The Board have had considerable success in Europe and England where they toured six to eight months a year from 1972 to 1975. They have sold out shows in such notable theaters as The Hammer-Smith Odeon Theater In London, The Apollo Theater in New York City, The Uptown in Philadelphia, The Warner in Washington, DC and Chastain Park in Atlanta. They have also made numerous TV appearances including Dick Clark's "American Bandstand", Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show", Don Cornelius' "Soul Train", and "The David Frost Show". They have shared the stage with many notable legends such as BB. King, Jackie Wilson, The Isley Brothers, James Brown, The Beach Boys, Al Green, Gladys Knight, Earth, Wind & Fire, Dion, The Four Tops, Nancy Wilson and The Spinners, just to name a few.

Due to changes in the music industry, both political and non-political, in the late 1970's, General moved headquarters to Charlotte, NC, where he and business agent Mike Branch formed their own record label, Surfside Records. This move allowed General the freedom to write and record the style of music that he loves and is relative to the Carolina's culture. With the releases of "On The Beach", "A Piece of Candy", "I'd Rather Be In Carolina", "Loverboy", and "Carolina Girls", The Chairmen of The Board still maintains the top rank in the beach music industry.

The Chairmen of The Board's popularity is still mounting. With approximately 250 tour dates a year, they continue to establish beach hits such as "Gone Fishin'", "I Wanna Doop Doop Doop Your Doo Wop She Doo Wop", and "You Don't Know What Love Is", from their solo release "Alive & Kickin'". Their newest release, "Boy Toy", is from the compilation album, "Better Late Than Never". In addition to featuring The Chairmen of The Board, the album features Joe Pope and The Tams, The Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose and The Showmen. This album also contains the Grammy Award winning song, "Patches", and was entirely written and produced by General Johnson.

Appealing to all age groups and all walks of life, The Chairmen of The Board are stunning in their abilities to create audience participation. For the veteran fan, a Chairmen show is an event culminating in high energy, laughter, and even solemn moments of reality. Attracting repeat audiences continually, their enthusiasm is contagious and a Chairmen of The Board show Is a hot act to see!!