Another ancient singer gone—Betty Bonney, who usually performed as Judy Johnson, died on Jan. 29, age 100. Johnson was best known for her 1941 hit "Joltin' Joe DiMaggio," performed with Les Brown and His Band of Renown (another of her top songs with Brown was “How Little We Know”). She began singing on the radio and dancing in tent shows as a teen, and by the time the US finally entered WWII, she joined the USO (she was also a Copa Girl in New York). When TV became popular, Johnson was a regular on such shows as Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows, Summertime Revue, Judge for Yourself, America After Dark, and America After Dark. Johnson also toured the nightclub circuit with several male singers, in an act called Judy and Her Dates [!]. She was married to famed composer and conductor Mort Lindsey from 1955 till his death in 2012 (they had six children, one of whom briefly married Burt “Robin” Ward).
Judy Johnson singing “How Little We Know” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HB7t3CHn70s
