Early Years
Born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire Johnny Pearson showed talent with the piano at an early age. By nine, he had won a scholarship with the London Academy of Music. Here he spent four years under English pianist, Solomon. In his teens, he would give classical recitals, but his true love at the time was jazz. His first band was the Rhythm Makers. After World War II, he signed up and became one of the founding members of the Malcolm Mitchell Trio, before leaving in 1954. During his time with the trio, he toured England and Europe, playing the West End and theatres.
After leaving the trio, Pearson turned his talents to British radio, as well as performing in the Peter York Concert Orchestra. By 1960, he was conducting the Romance in Rhythm Orchestra. He recorded two singles for Parlophone, "Waterfall" in mid 1959, and "Theme from an L shaped room" in 1962. He was then offered a solo album deal with Oriole Records, which first teamed him up with John Schroeder. The Oriole album, Piano Sweet - Piano Wild, had a single taken from it, "Ooh La La", released in 1962. After the Oriole releases, Johnny Pearson continued to perform with various concert orchestras until 1964.
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Famous quotes related to early years:
“Even today . . . experts, usually male, tell women how to be mothers and warn them that they should not have children if they have any intention of leaving their side in their early years. . . . Children don’t need parents’ full-time attendance or attention at any stage of their development. Many people will help take care of their needs, depending on who their parents are and how they chose to fulfill their roles.”
—Stella Chess (20th century)