Polk Countys well-known acoustic musician duo, Phil and Gaye Johnson will talk about their lives as musicians and perform some of their own compositions and traditional songs at the Lanier Library on Tuesday, February 16 at noon. The program is free and everyone is welcome.
Gaye, a native of Green Creek and Phil, from Southern California, met at Santa Monica College in 1969 and realized that they shared an interest in traditional American acoustic music. In 1972, they got married, and moved to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, where they initiated a live and complete 13 episode television series titled “Phils OleTime Pickin Junction.” In 1980 they created and produced a weekly radio program called “Cornbread and Sweetmilk Time” that was broadcast on commercial Country Music stations. The program continued until 1983. They have also performed on numerous occasions on television’s “Fire on the Mountain” series and on public radios “A Prairie Home Companion.” In the mid-1980s they hosted the radio series “The Liberty Flyer”, which was broadcast throughout the United States and to U.S. forces around the world. They currently host “The King Pup Radio Show”, which is broadcast on over 50 radio stations and on the World Wide Web.
Their eclectic music style incorporates traditional Country Music, Blue Grass, Western Swing and Country Rock with Gaye on lead vocals and guitar and Phil on guitar, mandolin and harmonica. They have released five recordings on the ASTER label and give more than 100 performances a year throughout the South.
This program is part of Lanier Librarys Brown Bag Lunch series, held on the third Tuesday each month. The programs are free and everyone is welcome. The library is at the corner of Chestnut Street and Melrose Avenue in Tryon.