An Interview with Janice-Marie Johnson of A Taste of Honey
By Gregg Shapiro
In the world of classic disco, there are some songs for which you only need to hear a few opening notes before you recognize the tune and then immediately proceed to the dance-floor. The piano intros for Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” and Donna Summer’s “Last Dance,” are a couple of examples. The echoing guitar and insistent bassline of A Taste of Honey’s “Boogie Oogie Oogie” is another prime example. Janice-Marie Johnson, founding member of Best New Artist Grammy Award-winners A Taste of Honey, will be bringing her trademark bass playing, along with some boogie and funk to the Ultimate Disco Cruise, sailing from Miami to Cozumel and Costa Maya, February 26 to March 3, 2022.
Janice-Marie was sweet enough to make time for an interview in advance of the cruise.
Gregg Shapiro: Janice-Marie, for those who might not know the history of A Taste of Honey, I’d like to begin by asking you to say something about the name, which I have read has a connection to the song “A Taste of Honey,” made popular by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass.
Janice-Marie Johnson: The name was not taken from the song by The Tijuana Brass. That’s an assumption that people make. They either think it’s taken from the play or the song. The name A Taste of Honey was the name that was for a group that was the predecessor to the band A Taste of Honey. The singing group had two guys and two girls. We were put together to try to do some originals, to try to get a record deal. After four months, they said, “That’s taking too long [laughs]!” So, they all quit. One of the guys that had been in that group, Smokey, who has since passed on, had come up with the name A Taste of Honey. What made him think of that name? It could have been the song, but I don’t know. I just carried it over.
GS: I also want to ask you about being a female bass player in the 1970s. Today, we have numerous well-respected female bass players, including Gail Ann Dorsey, Meshell Ndegocello and Esperanza Spalding, to name a few. Were there any female bass players you looked to in your early career for inspiration?
J-MJ: The only female bass player that I was even aware of was Carol Kaye. I had all her books. There was no female bass player for me to look to or any of that. Back when I was in college, I was in the string class. In that class, you had the violas, violins, cellos, and bass. They only had ten bass available for the class, but there were 11 bassists who wanted to play. Of course, I’m the only female. The instructor, Mr. DeSario, I remember him so well. I don’t remember all my teachers, but I remember Mr. DeSario. He said, “OK, one of you bassists is going to have to play cello or violin. We don’t have enough bass.” Everyone in the class turned to me because the bass players are up high in the back, and looked at me as if I’m the one who’s supposed to switch instruments. What an assumption! The wrong assumption! They were adamant. “You should just play another instrument because girls don’t play bass anyway.” So, I really laid into them. I said, “First of all, the bass is my first instrument. And you, young man, aren’t you a keyboard player? Aren’t you a sax player? You’re trying to pick up a second instrument? There’s no way in the world I’m letting this instrument go.” I don’t even know what all I said, but I did a whole spiel. “How dare you say a female can’t play bass?” I’m doing my whole women’s lib speech. Mr. DeSario said, “I’ve heard enough! All of you can play bass! Janice, I am bringing my German bass from home for you to play.” What he did was he brought me the best bass ever. His bass. Because all the bass that were in the school were made of plywood. They can only give you certain tones. But my bass [laughs]; he brought in the real deal. That’s the last I heard from those other bass players. I felt it was my duty to do well in the class, so I did get straight A’s. I could play everything written on paper. Other people were jamming. But because I had just started playing bass, so I was jamming but I could play what was on that paper and get creative. I was the best bassist in that class!
GS: Some people might be under the impression that A Taste of Honey was an overnight sensation because the group’s first single, “Boogie Oogie Oogie,” and 1978 self-titled debut album were smash hits. But a Taste of Honey’s musical roots stretches back to the early 1970s. What did that well-earned success in 1978 mean to you?
J-MJ: Earning success in 1978 meant everything, absolutely everything. People called us an overnight success, but nothing could be further from the truth. By the time we got our record deal, we had already toured overseas – Japan, Philippines, Guam, Okinawa, Taiwan, Thailand, Spain, Morocco. I can’t even think of all the places. We had toured quite a bit with the USO. We had played all over the world, all over California, even a few states back east and down south, which was quite interesting. We didn’t care what they called us; as long as they called. Being a female bass player always got the question. “Are you really playing that bass? Where’s the real bass player?” It’s like, “OK, that’s just the way you’re thinking. It doesn’t matter because your opinion of me does not make that my reality.”
GS: The bassline of “Boogie Oogie Oogie” is as central to the song as the beat and handclaps. Was that, and is it still, a conscious decision you make when writing music, to put the bass front and center?
J-MJ: It depends on the song. For a dance song, of course, the bass is going to be front and center, along with the drums [laughs]. We’ve got to get our groove on. You can’t have a dance song with the bass buried in the bottom. Not these days. That was a conscious decision. But the bassline itself just kind of came. “Boogie Oogie Oogie” has to be one of the quickest songs I’ve ever written. We were already in the process of recording the album. But we were booked at March Air Force Base in Perris, California. Hazel [Payne] hadn’t been in the group too long. The other guitar player, Carlita Dorhan, had been with the group since its formation. She was also in one of my earlier singing groups prior to A Taste of Honey, so we grew up together. She was the guitar player, but she fell in love and quit. Then I recruited Hazel. After we got Hazel, we were already shopping for [record] deals and getting turned down, you know how it goes. We had been performing for quite a while before Hazel joined and the rest is history.
GS: It’s a good thing you stuck it out.
J-MJ: This was my dream. I formed this band. I’m not going anywhere. It’s so funny, I’m the only one in the beginning, the only one in the end.
GS: “Boogie Oogie Oogie” was released in 1978, probably disco’s biggest year, and went on to earn A Taste of Honey a Best New Artist Grammy. What did all that attention mean to you?
J-MJ: Stress [laughs]! Here’s the deal, when you come out and you’re successful and you hit number one, where do you go from there? People had categorized us as a disco group because of the “Boogie,” but in reality, A Taste of Honey was not a disco group, if you listen to the first album, it was mid-tempo. But that’s the category that was selling at that time so that’s where they placed us. Being number one without management, without career guidance, it wasn’t easy. Even our first gig that we did, we opened up for The Commodores, LTD and Con Funk Shun, we had come straight out of the club scene, so our techs and roadies did not have the experience for such a fast-paced stage changeover. Had it not been for Con Funk Shun, our good friends who we had known since ‘73 in Japan, we go way back, we had the same management at the time, their techs helped change the stage. We lost so much equipment that year with our techs because they just weren’t ready for that pace. When you come out number one, it’s a struggle to stay up. The record company doesn’t listen to you as to what songs you think should be released [laughs]. They do what they want to. But it’s okay. We were out there. I got to take my mom to the Grammy Awards with me. Got her all decked out. Had a limo; just really made it her day more so than mine, because she had put so much into my career. I remember driving her Falcon back then. The Falcon ended up looking like a hot rod car because the front was so swooped up. But it was only swooped up because my big, heavy bass amp was always in her trunk [laughs]. So, one of the first things I did was I bought her a brand-new car.
GS: What a great daughter!
J-MJ: I would do it all over again. You don’t get to be successful without support coming from somewhere. Some musicians don’t get it at home, but I did.
GS: Disco and the LGBTQ+ community have a long history of association and mutual admiration. Were you and the members of A Taste of Honey aware of a gay fanbase?
J-MJ: Are you kidding? How can we not be made aware? They’re my favorite audience. Letting your hair down, grooving, no inhibitions, just having fun. Stop worrying about who’s watching what you’re doing. Go ahead and do your little groove, that little step you’ve been doing for the past 40 years. We’re with you [laughs]! I have the same step. I plant my feet. The feet don’t move, but my body moves. My body used to move more when I was younger, but now I just flail my arms around, look like I’m having a great time. That’s an audience that 100% supports A Taste of Honey. I don’t know why I have not been booked to play the Gay Pride Festivals. Are you kidding? You’re talking about the best audience ever! EVER!
GS: From February 26 to March 3, 2022, A Taste of Honey will be one of the musical acts performing on the Ultimate Disco Cruise 2022. What are you most looking forward to about the cruise?
J-MJ: I’m looking forward to being on the stage! Oh, my God, being on the stage and I get to perform for a whole hour. That is music to my ears. The last time I performed was March 6, 2019. I performed at The Orleans Hotel with the First Ladies of Disco, which includes Linda Clifford, Martha Wash and Norma Jean [Wright]. I was a special guest performer at the show. I’ve done that show a couple of times. I was a surprise guest. We had the best time! Thank God for that gig, because it got us all the way through this pandemic and not being able to work.
GS: I think Norma Jean is also scheduled to perform on the disco cruise.
J-MJ: Yes, she’s on there, as well. That’s one of the other things I’m looking forward to. Seeing all of my fellow musicians. Usually, they only all get together when it’s a memorial service or a funeral because we’re all spread out all over the place. These kinds of gigs are wonderful. We get to go see each other’s show, which we don’t often get the opportunity to do because we’re usually performing somewhere else on the same weekend.
To learn more about the Ultimate Disco Cruise, visit UltimateDiscoCruise.com.
