Terry Johnson’s Biography
In 1954, Terry (center, at age 16) recorded with his Baltimore group called THE WHISPERS, (not The Whispers of the 1960′s), on Gotham Records in Philadelphia. He wrote, arranged and sang lead on “Fool Heart” and wrote, arranged and sang lead on “Are You Sorry”, released in 1955.
He brought that sound and talent to The Flamingos in 1956 with his first arrangement of music and vocals on “The Ladder of Love” and continued with writing and arranging, “Lovers Never Say Goodbye”, “Mio Amore”, “At The Prom”, “Heavenly Angel”, “You, Me and the Sea” and others, and also with his unforgettably beautiful production and arrangement of “I Only Have Eyes For You”. Terry arranged the music, vocals and sang tenor on all of the songs on the albums “Flamingo Serenade”, “Requestfully Yours” and “Flamingo Favorites”. Terry sang on the duets such as “Lovers Never Say Goodbye”, “Love Walked In”, “Time Was” and “But Not For Me”. He also sang the lead on some of their album cuts such as “I’m In The Mood For Love”, “When I Fall In Love” and “Beside You”.
During his visit to Detroit in 2003, he had some nostalgic moments in front of the Motown recording studio, “Hitsville USA”.
After The Flamingos, Terry formed his own group called Terry Johnson & The Modern Flamingos. When Nate Nelson left The Flamingos, he joined forces with Terry. They recorded under the name THE STARGLOWS. They co-wrote and sang “Let’s Be Lovers” on the Atco Label, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records. Terry arranged the background vocals using his group.
Still working with his group, Terry went to Motown Records as an artist and producing partners with Smokey Robinson. As an artist, he recorded several records on the Gordy Label. He wrote, arranged, and produced songs for Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Supremes, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, The Marvelettes, Edwin Starr, The Spinners, Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers, David Ruffin, Jimmy Ruffin, Mickey Denton, Blinky and other Motown artists.
From The Whispers, to The Flamingos, to The Starglows, to Motown Records and up to today, his legacy, sound and the success of his music continues with touring with his own FLAMINGOS group. Many of you saw him around the country on the PBS special called “Rock and Roll At 50” and the PBS special called “Doo-Wop Lost And Found”, filmed in Atlantic City, that aired in November of 2005.
After celebrating the Diamond Anniversary with a new CD entitled ‘The Flamingos Diamond Anniversary Tour 2013’, he has continued to record and produce new originals. True to his reputation of being ahead of his time, he is enjoying producing and co-producing with some of today’s hottest young producers and musicians throughout the world, creating a combination of styles from the past and present. Terry together with his writing and producing partner since 1976, Theresa Trigg, have had much success in releasing music of all styles including R&B, Latin, Contemporary and Pop.
In 2016, Terry and Theresa recorded and produced a song for the Boyz ll Men album “Under The Streetlight”, recorded in the famed EastWest Studios in Hollywood CA., released in 2017.
Also in 2017, Terry and Theresa were #1 for 4 consecutive weeks on the Euro Indie Music Chart Top 100 with their explosive Latin tune “Knock Knock (Let Me In)”.
Under their record label, Hot Fun Records, they have introduced a younger sound via worldwide radio under The Flamingos name and have brought the Gen Z generation to their Spotify page to hear the NEW and to introduce them to the CLASSICS. This formula has generated over 2 million monthly listeners on their Spotify page as of 2025. Clash Music Article states this about The Flamingos, “Their vaunted cover of ‘I Only Have Eyes For You’ is among the most-listened to classics on TikTok this year” (Sept. 2024). A new release is coming May 30, 2025 called ‘What Did You Do’ and even more exciting is their new release in July/August of 2025 called “Solid Ground (Meet Me There)” which is a featured single from a new album by well known singer/songwriter/poet Lisa Marie Simmons and Marco Cremaschini. The album is entitled “Note Speak In A Word”, due to be released in September 2025.
In other words, Terry & Theresa show no signs of slowing down!
Terry’s Inductions: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Grammy Hall of Fame, Rhythm & Blues Foundation, HAL Award, Doo-Wop Music Hall of Fame, Avenue of the Stars, Wildwood, NJ.
