Richard Johnson and the Indiana University Percussion Department: A Personal History

| tags: Richard davis johnson, Indiana university school of music
Richard D. Johnson, professor of percussion
Richard D. Johnson (1921–83), professor of percussion at Indiana University, in an undated photo (likely from the early 1950s)

While in graduate school studying musicology at Indiana University, I worked on a minor in percussion performance, and my teacher was Richard Johnson, founder of the percussion department. Ever since his tragic death in 1983, I’ve wondered about his background—-where he grew up, how he ended up in Bloomington, whether he had family in the area. Thanks to the availability of US Census reports on Ancestry.com—and the release in April 2023 of the 1950 census—I was able to answer some of my questions. I also found newspaper articles and photographs of Mr. Johnson that have made available through Proquest Historical Newspapers.

I incorporated what I found into a a post on Mr. Johnson and the percussion department at IU, which complements my post on Ralph Papakhian, another major influence on me while I was a student at Indiana.