Johnny Pearson facts for kids

John Valmore Pearson (born June 18, 1925 – died March 20, 2011) was a talented British composer, pianist, and leader of an orchestra. He was famous for leading the Top of the Pops orchestra for 16 years. He also wrote lots of music for TV shows and films, including many well-known theme songs.

Early Musical Journey

Johnny Pearson was born in Plaistow, England. He was the only child in his family. When he was seven years old, Johnny started learning to play the piano. By the time he was nine, he won a special scholarship. This allowed him to study at the London Academy of Music. He spent four years there, learning from a famous English pianist named Solomon.

When World War II began, his scholarship ended. Johnny then started a seven-year apprenticeship to become a toolmaker. But he still loved music! As a teenager, he performed classical piano concerts. He also started his own jazz band called the Rhythm Makers. During World War II, Johnny played in the Royal Artillery Band.

After the war, in 1948, Johnny helped start the Malcolm Mitchell Trio. He toured England and Europe with them, playing in famous theatres. He left the trio in 1954 when Malcolm Mitchell decided to go solo.

After that, Johnny worked in British radio. He also played in the Peter York Concert Orchestra. By 1960, he was leading his own group, the Romance in Rhythm Orchestra. He recorded some songs and an album called Piano Sweet - Piano Wild in 1962.

Working with Cilla Black

In 1964, Johnny Pearson helped a new singer named Cilla Black become famous. She had been noticed by The Beatles' producer, George Martin. Cilla had released a song in 1963, but it wasn't a big hit.

George Martin heard a song called "Anyone Who Had a Heart". He thought it would be perfect for Cilla. In early 1964, Cilla Black recorded the song at London's Abbey Road Studios. Johnny Pearson created the special musical arrangement for it. His arrangement used bassoons, which made it sound unique.

In February 1964, Cilla's version of "Anyone Who Had a Heart" became a huge success. It reached number 1 in the UK and Ireland! Because of this success, Johnny was asked to work on Cilla Black's next song, "You're My World". This song also went to number 1 in May 1964. Johnny also worked on other songs for Cilla's album, Cilla Sings a Rainbow.

Sounds Orchestral

Sounds Orchestral was a musical group idea by John Schroeder. He wanted to create an instrumental version of a US hit song called "Cast Your Fate to the Wind". John Schroeder remembered Johnny Pearson from their earlier work. He heard Johnny playing on Radio Luxembourg.

Johnny Pearson was first paid to record "Cast Your Fate to the Wind". Later, he became a full partner in the Sounds Orchestral project. Their song "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" became a number 5 hit in the UK in 1965. Sounds Orchestral went on to record many albums until 1977.

Top of the Pops Orchestra Leader

Johnny Pearson first appeared on the BBC music show Top of the Pops in January 1965. He played piano with Sounds Orchestral. In 1966, Johnny became the leader of the Top of the Pops Orchestra. This orchestra was created because the Musicians' Union said bands couldn't just pretend to play their instruments on TV.

Johnny continued to work on Top of the Pops until 1981. His arrangement of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" was the famous theme song for Top of the Pops for most of the 1970s.

Working with Dusty Springfield

In 1966, Johnny Pearson also worked with the famous singer Dusty Springfield. He directed the orchestra for her TV shows, which were made by the BBC. Johnny led a large 32-piece orchestra for these shows. There were 12 episodes in total. Many of these episodes have been released on DVD as "Dusty Springfield Live at the BBC".

Music for TV and Film (KPM)

In 1966, Johnny Pearson started working with KPM, a company that creates "library music." This is music made for TV shows, films, and commercials. Johnny worked with KPM for many years until 1978. He then moved to Bruton Music, another library music company. He later returned to KPM in 1988.

Some of his music from KPM was used in the popular TV series All Creatures Great and Small. Johnny's earliest work for KPM was with their in-house orchestra, the Group-Forty Orchestra. From 1967, Johnny started appearing on many KPM recordings under his own name.

The Carpenters and "Heather"

In October 1971, Johnny Pearson was the musical director for a BBC TV special featuring the American music duo, The Carpenters. The show was called Carpenters: Live at the BBC.

In 1973, Richard Carpenter asked Johnny for permission to use one of his songs. The song was originally called "Autumn Reverie" and first appeared on a KPM album in 1968. The Carpenters renamed it "Heather" for their album Now & Then. Richard Carpenter had heard the song in a TV commercial and loved it! "Autumn Reverie" was also used as background music in the British TV series All Creatures Great and Small.

Johnny Pearson and his Orchestra

As the leader of the Johnny Pearson Orchestra, he had a big hit in 1972. His song "Sleepy Shores" reached number 8 on the UK music chart. This song was the theme music for the TV series Owen, M.D..

The Johnny Pearson Orchestra started in 1972. It worked alongside his other projects, like Sounds Orchestral and his music for KPM Records. Johnny was offered a project to create easy-listening and romantic music. This was because of the success of "Sleepy Shores." He worked with Larry Page, who wanted his record label, Penny Farthing, to release more easy-listening music.

These albums were released in Europe, Australia, Canada, and the US. In 1978, Larry Page changed his label's name to Rampage Records. One of the first songs from this new label was another of Johnny's international hits: the theme from All Creatures Great and Small.

Famous TV Theme Music

Johnny Pearson was very successful at writing theme music for TV shows. You might know some of his work!

In the United Kingdom

His famous UK TV themes include:

• The Rat Catchers
• All Creatures Great and Small
• General Hospital
• Captain Pugwash
• Triangle
• 3-2-1
• Mary Mungo & Midge
• ITN's News at Ten (part of a piece called "The Awakening")

He also wrote music for films like The Jokers (1967).

In the United States

In the US, Johnny Pearson's most famous song is "Heavy Action". This was originally the theme for the BBC sports show Superstars. Later, it became the theme for ABC's Monday Night Football, a very popular American football show.

His song "Graveyard" was used in cartoons like The Ren and Stimpy Show and SpongeBob SquarePants. Another piece, "Mini Walking," was used on Sesame Street. NFL Films also used many of his songs for their Super Bowl and other highlight films.

"Power Drive," written in 1967, was used in some episodes of the Spider-Man cartoon series. It was also the theme for a movie show in Los Angeles.

In Australia

In Australia, "Power Drive" was the theme for the police drama Division 4 (1969-1975). Some of Johnny's music was also used as background music in the TV series Prisoner and Underbelly. "Sleepy Shores" was used in the drama series Certain Women.

In the Netherlands

In the 1970s, Johnny composed the music for the Dutch TV series Sil de Strandjutter. His song "Heather" (the Carpenters' version) was used as background music on Radio Veronica. It was the last music heard before Radio Veronica went off the air in 1974.

Later Years

After leaving Top of the Pops, Johnny Pearson continued to work on his own projects. In 1982, he released an instrumental album called On Golden Pond.

In 1984, he formed the Johnny Pearson Studio Orchestra. They contributed to the movie soundtrack for Scream For Help. In 1985, he created music for the BBC TV drama Maelstrom. One song, "Camellia Waltz," was made to sound like an old record.

In 1988, he returned to the KPM record label. He recorded two new music CDs for radio and TV. Johnny Pearson also made occasional live appearances with a quartet. In 1993, he worked with Shirley Bassey on her album "Shirley Bassey sings the songs of Andrew Lloyd Webber." He mainly conducted the orchestra for this album.

In 1996, Johnny recorded a CD of library music called Simply Piano. In 2005, he released another CD, Simply Piano 2.

Death

Johnny Pearson passed away on March 20, 2011, at the age of 85. He was married to his wife, Alex, since 1963.

Discography

Johnny Pearson worked on several projects at the same time. These included Sounds Orchestral, his own Johnny Pearson and his Orchestra, and creating music for KPM Records.

Albums (Solo Work)

• 1962 Piano Sweet - Piano Wild
• 1967 Portrait of the 20th Century
• 1970 Sounds Extravanganza
• 1970 The Johnny Pearson Sound
• 1971 Heavy Action (Superstars theme)
• 1972 Sleepy Shores
• 1974 Touch Me in the Morning
• 1975 In Love
• 1976 Sil de strandjutter (original score from Dutch TV series)
• 1976 Rodrigos Guitar Concerto
• 1977 If You Leave Me Now
• 1978 All Creatures Great and Small: The Original Music from the TV Series and Other Favourite Themes
• 1980 Bright Eyes
• 1981 I Remember that Summer
• 1982 On Golden Pond

Compilations

• 1980 Thinking of You

Compact Disc Releases

• 1989 Themes and Dreams
• 1989 Golden Instrumental Hits
• 1991 Sleepy Shores
• 1997 Best of Johnny Pearson and Orchestra
• 1998 Breaking Up and Making Up
• 1999 Music and Romance
• 2010 King of Elegant Piano (Double CD)

Selected Television Compositions

Here are some of the TV shows that featured Johnny Pearson's music:

• Captain Pugwash
• Ready Steady Go!
• The Rat Catchers
• ITV News at Ten
• Mary, Mungo and Midge
• Division 4
• Carpenters: Live at the BBC
• Superstars
• Top of the Pops
• General Hospital
• All Creatures Great and Small
• Monday Night Football
• Triangle
• Maelstrom
• 3-2-1
• Singles