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Austen Herbert Croom-Johnson (20 October 1909 Hereford, England – 18 May 1964 Manhattan, New York City) was an English-born-turned-American pianist, composer, and radio producer: first, until about 1935, for the BBC, then, from about 1936, for NBC. He went on to become a prolific jingle writer, first beginning around 1938 in radio with his chief collaborator, Alan Kent, then, beginning around 1947, in telivision. Croom-Johnson and Kent are widely credited for being the fathers of the modern short jingle.^[1]^[2]

Career[edit]

Austen Herbert Croom-Johnson – nicknamed "Bunny" and "Ginger" Croom-Johnson – was born in Hereford. His double surname, "Croom-Johnson," are the surnames of his paternal great-grandparents, Henry Johnson (c. 1795–18??) and Catherine Croom (c. 1795–1876). Austen moved to New York in 1935.

Austen Croom-Johnson was enthusiastic about jazz, and in particular, English composer Frederick Delius (1862–1934).^[3]

He imported the tune, "D'ye ken John Peel," and scored it for a 1939 jingle, "Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot" (aka "Nickel, Nickel"). His Chicago-born lyricist partner, Alan Bradley Kent (né Karl Dewitt Byington, Jr.; 1912–1991), wrote the words. Its first and most enduring recording was performed – jazz-swing style, uptempo – by the Tune Twisters, a male vocal jazz trio that, for the prior 5 years, had been enjoying popularity on non-jazz oriented broadcasts from New York. Lord & Thomas, a bygone New York advertising agency, had commissioned songwriters Johnson and Kent to develop the campaign; and Newell-Emmett, another bygone New York advertising agency, managed it for Pepsi-Cola. The jingle is the first in several respects. It is the first to become a hit, as popular music, on network radio, coast to coast – owed in part to the catchiness of the tune. It proved so popular that, in some cases, radio stations played it as entertainment rather than as advertising.^[4] It also is the first jingle with a short run-time, an innovation that changed broadcast advertising. In an era when advertisements ran often 5 minutes and employed annoyance factors,^[a] "Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot" was the first to run slightly under 15 seconds, which permitted many more repetitions.^[5]^[6] The jingle, in 1999, was ranked by AdAge's "Top 100 Advertising Campaigns" as the No. 1 jingle of the 1940s and No. 14 of all time.^[7]

Before moving to New York in 1935, Johnson had worked for the British Broadcasting Company for many years as a producer and performer. One of the programs he created for the BBC, Soft Lights and Music, became very popular. While in England, he wrote themes for Billy Mayerl's "Green Tulips" and "Bats in the Belfry."^[3]

Education[edit]

King's School, Bruton, graduate^[8]
Oxford University, student for two years
Royal College of Music, graduate; he studied with Ralph Vaughan Williams, there

Selected works[edit]

Up until 1935 in England with Billy Mayerl

"Green Tulips," a syncopated impression (©1935)

By Billy Mayerl

On a theme by Austin Croom-Johnson

Keith Prowse & Co.

OCLC 810625810

From 1938 to 1947 with Alan (aka Allan) Kent

"Junk Ain't Junk No More – 'Cause Junk Will Win the War" (©1943)

Austen Croom Johnson (music)

Allan Kent (words)

OCLC 497906558

After 1946 with Redd Evans

"Just the Other Day" (©1946)

Austen Croom Johnson (music)

Redd Evans (1912–1972) (words)

Shapiro, Bernstein & Co.

OCLC 61727699

"There's No One But You" (©1946)

Austen Croom Johnson (music)

Redd Evans (1912–1972) (words)

Shapiro, Bernstein & Co.

OCLC 739098312

Selected discography[edit]

Nan Blakstone (de) (née Naomi Marie Ewald; 1902–1951), vocalist

Ginger Croom-Johnson, piano

Recorded May 11, 1933, London

Side A; CE6068-1: "You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me"

Al Dubin (words)

Harry Warren (music)

Side B; CE6069-1: "I'll Putcher Pitcha In The Paper"

From the 1931 Broadway musical, The Third Little Show, at the Music Box Theatre

Maxwell Lief (1899–1969) and Nathaniel B. Lief (1893–1944) (words)

Michael H. Cleary (1902–1954) (music)

Parlophone R1536 (78 rpm)

"Why Couldn't It Last?" ("Last Night")

Recorded September 15, 1939

Kenny Baker (1912–1985), vocalist

Nathaniel Finston (né Nathaniel William Finkelstein; 1890–1979), orchestra director, brother-in-law of composer Nathaniel Shilkret (1889–1982)

Victor PBS-042122^[9]

Family[edit]

Marriages[edit]

Johnson was married at least five times.

First, on September 4, 1935, in Manhattan to Marthe L. Lamquet (maiden; born 1916).
Second, on October 17, 1938, in Birmingham, Alabama, to singer Loulie Jean Norman (maiden; 1913–2005),^[8] her first of two marriages. They divorced sometime before May 1942. Loulie was, from 1970 to 1973, the mother-in-law of Little Feat rock singer Lowell George (1945–1979) and from 1968, Little Feat musician Richie Hayward (1946–2010).
Third, on December 24, 1943, in Manhattan to Joan Ashton Lindsley (maiden; 1913–1971), her third of four marriages. They divorced in 1947.^[10]
Fourth, on November 21, 1949, in Baltimore to Peggy Sullivan (maiden; 1925–2001), and
Fifth to Winifred Maureen McMahon (maiden; born 1916 – died after 2011)

Aliases[edit]

Austen Herbert C. Croom-Johnson:
Ginger Johnson
Joe Cobb
Maureen Croom-Johnson

Notes and references[edit]

Notes[edit]

^ An annoyance factor, when used intentionally in broadcast advertising and brand management, is designed to help a message stick in the mind of consumers. Annoyance factors typically feature repetitive phrases or an annoying communicator. The strategy, often subtle or nuanced, might involve creating an unpleasant sound, such as a bad jingle – one that consumers can't get out of their minds. Advertisers generally try to appeal to positive emotions – and, using various gradations of annoyance can achieve that. Nonetheless, the goal is to etch a message in the minds of consumers without turning them off of the product. Capital outlay for the use of it can be relatively expensive for major consumer product companies and the research behind it, highly sophisticated.