Willie Neal Johnson

Known throughout the gospel circuit as "The Country Boy" for his rootsy, blues-driven style, singer Willie Neal Johnson was born and raised in Tyler, TX; he began performing with his five siblings while still a child, and was still in his teens when he was tapped to join Rev. C.W. Jackson's group the Five Ways of Joy Gospel Singers. A few years later he formed Willie Neal Johnson and the Gospel Keynotes with longtime friends Ralph McGee, Rev. J.D. Talley, Charles Bailey, John Jackson, Lonzo Jackson, and Archie B. McGee; after rising to popularity across the southwest, the grou...