lir
08-01-2007, 01:33 PM
Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Charles "The Electrifying Mojo" Johnson (b ?) was a Detroit disc jockey whose on-air journey of musical and social development shaped a generation of music-lovers in Detroit and throughout southeastern Michigan and Canada and was of importance to the development of Detroit Techno.
He is recognized for having introduced or "broken" many artists into the Detroit radio market, including Prince, the B-52's, and Kraftwerk, and was occasionally thanked on-air by the artists for his support of their work. Prince granted Mojo a telephone interview following a sold out birthday concert at Cobo Arena on June 7, 1985, during an era when Prince rarely if ever granted interviews. He was visited in the studio by the B52's and the J. Geils Band with the latter thanking him for playing "Flamethrower" from their album Freeze Frame.
Mojo's seminal radio show ran from 1977 through the mid-1980s, and while broadcast on stations marketed toward the African-American market, his programming was an inspired blend of the best soul, funk, new wave, and rock that defied standard radio industry formats and genres.
Mojo's habit was to play entire recordings without interruption and regular listeners became deeply familiar with each recording. Detroiters from this era still speak of the diversity of Mojo's shows, and it is a common opinion that if someone is from the Detroit area, it's Mojo's fault if they are a Prince fan. Mojo would often play hours of Prince's music, not only his hits, but deep album cuts and b-sides. When Prince was about to release a new album, Mojo would often play the album in its entirety, and this practice continued into the '90s.
The Midnight Funk Association (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_Funk_Association). Consisted regularly of Parliament-Funkadelic, the Gap Band, Zapp and other funk bands of the era.
Mojo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Electrifying_Mojo)
He is recognized for having introduced or "broken" many artists into the Detroit radio market, including Prince, the B-52's, and Kraftwerk, and was occasionally thanked on-air by the artists for his support of their work. Prince granted Mojo a telephone interview following a sold out birthday concert at Cobo Arena on June 7, 1985, during an era when Prince rarely if ever granted interviews. He was visited in the studio by the B52's and the J. Geils Band with the latter thanking him for playing "Flamethrower" from their album Freeze Frame.
Mojo's seminal radio show ran from 1977 through the mid-1980s, and while broadcast on stations marketed toward the African-American market, his programming was an inspired blend of the best soul, funk, new wave, and rock that defied standard radio industry formats and genres.
Mojo's habit was to play entire recordings without interruption and regular listeners became deeply familiar with each recording. Detroiters from this era still speak of the diversity of Mojo's shows, and it is a common opinion that if someone is from the Detroit area, it's Mojo's fault if they are a Prince fan. Mojo would often play hours of Prince's music, not only his hits, but deep album cuts and b-sides. When Prince was about to release a new album, Mojo would often play the album in its entirety, and this practice continued into the '90s.
The Midnight Funk Association (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_Funk_Association). Consisted regularly of Parliament-Funkadelic, the Gap Band, Zapp and other funk bands of the era.
Mojo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Electrifying_Mojo)