Joel Peresman, President and CEO of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, contacted Terry and sent a special camera crew to Ft. Lauderdale for this historic project. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has been doing a deep and significant oral history project for the Hall of Fame’s Library & Archives over the past year to get the story of rock and roll told through the inductees that created it. They are planning to use it at the Library and Museum for research, study and use by scholars and other interested parties. The Foundation was particularly interested in Johnson’s widely spanned career as a writer, producer, arranger and lead singer with his own group The Whispers, followed by his success as musical & vocal arranger and one of 4 lead vocalist for The Flamingos, giving them their first cross over hit as well as being responsible for the arrangement of their biggest hit, “I Only Have Eyes For You”, followed by his success as a Motown writer and producer with Smokey Robinson as his partner and his continued success as a recording artist, producer, arranger and showman with his touring group, the 2013 version of The Flamingos.
They have completed around 50 of these so far some of which have included: Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Bobby Blue Bland, Allen Toussaint, Buddy Guy, Wanda Jackson, Mary Wilson, Frankie Valli, Al Bell, Steve Cropper, Duane Eddy, Otis Williams, Jerry Moss, Jac Holzman, Ronnie Hawkins, Little Anthony, Smokey Robinson, DukeFakir, Fred Cash, Sam Gooden, Martha Reeves, Hal Blaine, Glyn Johns, Ben E King, Steve Cropper, Jac Holzman, Clive Davis, Booker T Jones, Michelle Phillips, and many more. Plus they have commitments to do these from John Mellencamp, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Debbie Harry and others.
