Johnson studied at the Royal College of Music in London, and spent four years in the Coldstream Guards before moving to the entertainment industry in the 1950s. one of his first major projects was as composer and music director in a musical adaptation of Henry Fielding's Rape Upon Rape entitled Lock Up Your Daughters (1959), which opened in Bernard Miles' Mermaid Theatre. The score, with lyrics by Lionel Bart, won an Ivor Novello Award. Johnson's stage work included music for the Peter Cook revue, Pieces of Eight (1959), and The Four Musketeers (1967), starring Harry Secombe.
존슨은 런던 왕립음악학교에서 공부를 했으며 왕실근위대에서 4년간 복무하고 1950년 연예계에 들어섰다. 초장기에 그가 했던 주요 업적으로는 Bernard Miles' Mermaid Theatre 에서 상연되었던 Henry Fielding 의 'Rape Upon Rape'에서 'Lock Up Your Daughters (1959)' 라는 곡명으로 편곡을 담당한 음악감독이었다. Lionel Bart 가 가사를 붙인 이 곡은 아이버 노벨로 상을 수상하였다. 존슨의 무대작품으로는 Harry Secombe 이 출연한 Peter Cook 의 풍자극 Pieces of Eight (1959) 와 The Four Musketeers (1967)가 있다.
In 1961, Johnson entered the UK Singles Chart with "Sucu Sucu", the theme music from the UK television series Top Secret. It was in this area of television scoring that he was to be most prolific. From the 1960s to the 1980s, he composed over fifty themes and scores, including the theme used on This Is Your Life (entitled "Gala Performance") (1952), The Avengers (from 1965), Animal Magic (entitled "Las Vegas") (1962), Jason King (1971), The New Avengers(1976) and The Professionals (1977).
1961년 존슨은 'Sucu Sucu'라는 곡으로 영국 TV 방송 'Top Secret' 의 주제곡으로 UK싱글차트에 올랐으며, 이로서 그는 TV 음악을 가장 많은 곡을 작곡하게 된 계기가 된 것이다. 1960년대부터 1980년대까지 그는 50개가 넘는 주제곡을 작곡하였으며, 여기에는 This Is Your Life 의 주제곡으로 사용된 'Gala Performance'(1952), The Avengers (1965), Animal Magic 에 사용된 'Las Vegas(1962), Jason King (1971), The New Avengers(1976) 그리고 The Professionals (1977) 등이 있다.
Johnson's film scores included The Moonraker, No Trees in the Street, Tiger Bay, I Aim at the Stars, Spare The Rod, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, First Men in the Moon, East Of Sudan, The Beauty Jungle, Hot Millions, And Soon the Darkness, The Belstone Fox, Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter and Diagnosis: Murder. Among his other works was the music for the television film, Mister Jerico, which involved many of the original Avengers team, including Patrick Macnee.
존슨이 작곡한 영화음악으로는 The Moonraker, No Trees in the Street, Tiger Bay, I Aim at the Stars, Spare The Rod, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, First Men in the Moon, East Of Sudan, The Beauty Jungle, Hot Millions, And Soon the Darkness, The Belstone Fox, Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter and Diagnosis: Murder. 등이 있고, 이외에도 TV영화 'Mister Jerico' 의 음악이 있는데, 이 영화에는 Patrick Macnee 를 포함한 오리지널 'Avengers' 팀의 배우들이 출연하였다.
He was one of the founders (with Albert Fennell and Brian Clemens) of Mark one Productions, the television production company responsible for The New Avengers and The Professionals. Johnson made several recordings on the Unicorn-Kanchana label. These included his own Symphony: Synthesis for a large ensemble comprising a jazz orchestra and symphony orchestra. The recording featured several famous jazz names including Tubby Hayes, Don Lusher, Joe Harriott, Kenny Wheeler and Stan Tracey, as well as the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He also recorded music from The Avengers, The New Avengers and The Professionals and a re-recording of Bernard Herrmann's suite for North by Northwest.
그는 Albert Fennell, Brian Clemens 와 함께 'The New Avengers' 와 'The Professionals' 같은 TV 프로 제작을 위한 Mark one Productions 라는 제작사를 만들게 된다. 존슨은 Unicorn-Kanchana 레이블로 몇곡을 녹음했는데, 여기에 대규모 재즈 오케스트라와 심포니 오케스트라를 위한 자신의 'Symphony (Synthesis ) 가 들어있다. 이 연주 녹음에는 Tubby Hayes, Don Lusher, Joe Harriott, Kenny Wheeler 그리고 Stan Tracey 같은 유명 재즈연주가들이 등장하며, 런던 필오케스트라가 참여한다. 그는 또한 'The Avengers', 'The New Avengers' ,The Professionals' 에 나오는 음악들과 Bernard Herrmann 의 모음곡 'North by Northwest' 을 녹음했다.
Since 1997, Johnson has toured with the band he formed, 'The London Big Band'. Their "Theme From 'The Professionals'" peaked in the UK Singles Chart at #36 in May 1997. He has also provided DVD commentaries on several of the series in which he has been involved.
Many of his works have since become stock music for a number of animated series, notably Spongebob Squarepants and Ren And Stimpy.
존슨은 1997년부터 'The London Big Band'라는 악단과 함께 순회공연을 다니고 있으며, 'The Professionals'는 1997년 5월 영국싱글차트에서 36위에 올랐다. 그는 자신이 지휘한 일련의 공연실황을 DVD로 내놓았다. 그의 음악은 'Spongebob Squarepants', 'Ren And Stimpy' 등 많은 만화음악의 스톡뮤직(배경 및 삽입곡으로서 사용료를 받음)으로 사용되고 있다. [멀뚱]
