caption website associated_acts years_active birth_place landscape background birth_date instrument genre image article_title name occupation
johnson fire in 2007 , left , performing with earth wind and ralphjohnson ralph johnson earth , wind & fire 1968 -- present los angeles , california united states yes solo_singer 4 july 1951 vocals machine , drums , percussions , keyboards , drum r & b , funk , soul , jazz ralph johnson -lrb- musician -rrb- . jpg ralph johnson -lrb- musician -rrb-
 ralph johnson musician
ralph johnson -lrb- musician -rrb-

ralph johnson -lrb- born july 4 , 1951 -rrb- is an american musician , best known as one of the original members , percussionists and vocalists for earth , wind & fire .
ralph has produced and performed on several artists ' records such as howard hewitt , jay - z , temptations , johnny adams , blue magic , stanley turrentine , chuck carbo , and more .
by 1968 ralph had become involved with a local veteran showcase called , `` maverick splash . ''
he joined a local band called , `` the master 's children '' .
in his early career , maurice and verdine white attended one of ralph 's performances and became very impressed by his talent .
in late 1971 , ralph received a phone call from michael beale , earth , wind and fire 's then guitar player .
ralph auditioned with michael beale and verdine white at michael 's house , soon landing him a spot in the legendary music group .
in 1972 , earth , wind & fire signed with columbia records , and soon hit the top music charts with their first single entitled , `` mighty , mighty '' .
this was followed by yet another hit , `` shining star '' and `` sun goddess '' -lrb- a ramsey lewis contribution . -rrb-
in 1984 , when earth , wind & fire took a hiatus from the music industry , the group members split and began to work on various projects .
ralph johnson and al mckay worked with motown and produced the temptations hit single , `` treat her like a lady . ''
ralph first received film exposure when earth , wind & fire created a movie soundtrack entitled , `` that 's the way of the world '' .
though the film failed to reach the masses , its soundtrack became an instant commercial hit .
the title song `` that 's the way of the world '' would become the band 's official anthem .
on april 25 , 2000 , ralph johnson and morris pleasure met in copenhagen , denmark to begin a new conceptual jazz project .
ralph johnson , morris pleasure and steen kyed prevailed and now comprise the jazz ensemble simply known as , `` audio caviar . ''
the first release for the band `` audio caviar '' was entitled , `` transoceanic '' .
this premiere album showcased other special guests including george duke , philip bailey , janet jackson , pam johnson , howard hewitt , jonathan butler , paulinho da costa , gary bias , and more .
ralph 's talents extend beyond music and film .
if you 've caught one of their shows you 've probably seen ralph johnson perform a series of karate moves at the end of the night when he is introduced .
he has practiced martial arts for over 20 years and holds first-degree black belts in both american tang soo do karate and kung fu san soo .
ralph can still be found center stage with his own brand of `` slick '' choreography and smooth vocal artistry to support ewf 's signature sound that fans have grown to love over the past forty years .
