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03/29/2022

Remembering Greg Johnson

By TERRY CURRIER // Music Millennium's owner remembers the life of Greg Johnson

The Portland Blues Community lost their #1 advocate , Greg Johnson, on March 24th.

Greg had been the president of the Cascade Blues Association for several decades and helped keep Portland as one of the top Blues cities in the United States. His efforts were recognized far beyond the region as he was a recipient of the Blues Foundation’s “Keeping The Blues Alive” Award in 2016, which he was presented with in Memphis, TN. 

Supporting Blues music was a passion of his and he became respected by both artists and fans. He lived and breathed the Blues and did whatever it took to promote and preserve it. He was a big champion of new artists and helped put on the “Journey To Memphis” competition that selected a new artist in the area to represent Portland at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis each year.

 He also took time off from his job each year to go to Memphis and help with the competition as a judge. Greg was also the stage manager for seven years of the events at the Orpheum Theater.

Greg was like an “Ambassador of Blues” and was at most live Blues music shows by national and international artists, welcoming them to our city and in many cases, becoming long time friends with many of them as they returned over the years. 

He was presented with the George Page “Back What You Believe” award in 2021 by the Cascade Blues Association, an award he won three previous times. It’s an award given to a person within the Blues community that really has stepped up to the plate during their life to support the blues and the Cascade Blues Association. These bookend his “Lifetime Achievement” award given to him 2008

His other passion was photography and you could see him shooting photos at most Blues events in the city. Along with that, he loved writing and was a regular contributor to the Cascade Blues Notes, which many of his photos accompanied. Much of this has documented much of the Northwest’s Blues history over the years. Greg also co-authored the book “Blues On Beale Street: Memoirs Of The International Blues Challenge”.

Myself being a Cascade Blues Association member since it’s inception in 1987, it’s hard to think of anyone that has put as much effort aas Greg into the blues community. He was considered the “best friend of the Blues community” by everyone that was part of it. 

He fought a hard battle against cancer and a stroke this past year with the help of the love of his life, wife Cherie. He was an inspiration to all of us and will truly be missed.

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