Today we’d like to introduce you to Janice-Marie Johnson.
Hi Janice-Marie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Most people know me as the lead singer, bass player and principal songwriter for my group A Taste of Honey. I am currently celebrating the 50th Golden Anniversary of A Taste of Honey featuring Janice-Marie. I can hardly believe it’s been fifty years, wow. One thing people may not be aware of is that A Taste of Honey is the only band I have ever been a member of. Since I co-founded the group with Perry Kibble in 1972, the group has evolved more than once. Many members have come and gone over the last 50 years and I am the only remaining member of A Taste of Honey. It has been a beautiful journey. To have been able to make a living for over 50 years doing what I love to do has been a consistent answer to my prayers. In celebration of A Taste of Honey’s 50th Golden Anniversary, my production team and I put together a brand new 50th Anniversary show. For more information, please visit www.atasteofhoneymusic.com.
Some may not be aware that there is more to me than meets the eye. For example, in addition to being a recording artist and entertainer, I am also a designer of soft sculptor toys, jewelry, clothing, and promotional merchandise. My Soft-Sounds toy collection was released in 1989. I currently have two online stores. My online Jewelry store, www.musictoyourears.co showcases autographed collections of music-inspired jewelry and more. I also have www.shopatasteofhoney.com which is an online store that features a wide variety of A Taste of Honey promotional merchandise, as well as Janice-Marie promotional merchandise. Please take a moment to visit both stores. We have something for everyone.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Looking back, I’d have to say that my life has been filled with a multitude of challenges and lessons. I don’t define them as being smooth or easy. They were all experiences that were necessary in order for me to grow into the woman I have become. I can say, however, that some challenges were easier than others to get through. During my life’s journey, I have found that many of my life’s challenges and lessons came with immediate rewards, gratifications and instant awareness of the lesson learned, while others took years to recognize the value and benefits of the challenge or lesson I had experienced growing up.
Being raised in a family that was constantly financially challenged, I understood, at a very young age, that money did not come easily. Not being able to pay the rent on a regular basis caused my family to move frequently during my childhood. Because of moving so much, I attended over eleven different schools. Being the new kid in school so many times made it difficult for me to make friends easily; as a result, I became somewhat of a loner. I would keep myself company most of the time. Looking back on those days now, I realize that I was learning how to be an independent person.
The circumstances of my childhood made me keenly aware that life is filled with peaks, valleys, lightness, darkness, kindness, meanness, goodness, evil, love, hate, beauty and ugliness. It was instilled in me that I get to choose good over bad, light over dark, love over hate, and so forth. I was taught to choose my own goals; and that with hard work, I could achieve any goal I set out to achieve.
Through the years, I have been told ‘no’ so many times that I can’t even count. I used to look at each “no” as a failure but I was looking at it all wrong. So I shifted my way of thinking. When I started looking at each failure as a stepping stone to my success, it gave me the motivation I needed to keep moving forward, to keep trying. I decided that when presenting my creative ideas, I will get excited when someone tells me “no.” The way I see it, each ‘no’ that I get puts me that much closer to ‘yes.’ After all, there is more than one way to reach one’s goals. When you are on your chosen path and it is filled with holes, don’t just walk around them, take a different path. The lesson learned was not to let anyone define you or alter your goals. Find another way.
Looking in the rearview mirror, it is clear to see that all of my challenges and lessons have been blessings. I am a better human being because of those challenges and lessons.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I am a woman of mixed culture and heritage. My group A Taste of Honey was the first Black group to win “Best New Artist” category at the GRAMMY awards and while I am also of Native American heritage, I became the first person of Native American heritage to win that award as well. I am also a Native American Recording Artist. My song, “Until the Eagle Falls” garnered me “Producer of the Year” at the Native American Music Awards and I was inducted into the Native American Music Awards “Hall of Fame” in 2008. In addition, I was inducted into the Pow Wow circle as a Jingle Dress Dancer back in 2001. You can find the music video to my song “Until The Eagle Falls” on YouTube at https://youtu.be/
My lifetime involvement with Sheenway School and Culture Center in South Los Angeles (www.sheenwayschools.org) is something which I am very proud of. It has been a lifelong commitment filled with an exchange of a perpetual two-way stream of love and appreciation. Aunt Dolores Sheen, co-founder of the school, was my childhood mentor. She took me under her wings when I was ten years old. I have been stuck like glue to her ever since. She is my ‘Shero.’ Aunt Dolores sponsored each and every one of my childhood music, dance, and karate classes. In doing so, she instilled in me the belief that if I was willing to do the hard work, I could be and do anything I wanted.
For years she managed my singing groups. I can still hear her saying, “Make those movements bigger. How are the people in the back row going to see what you’re doing?” She also taught me not to be afraid to take chances. Had it not been for her involvement in my life, who knows what may have happened to me. She kept me focused on my goals. I have been involved with the school for over 50 years working as a volunteer, a teacher, and a mentor. My most favorite class that I teach at Sheenway is Japanese Classic Dance, Nihon Buyo. I still incorporate this beautiful art form in my performances of my English lyric version of “Sukiyaki.” In 1980, Sheenway School and Culture Center had the first all-black Nihon Buyo (Japanese Classic Dance) dance troop to participate in the “Little Tokyo Nisei Week Japanese Festival” parade. Over the past 56 years, I have gone from student to President of the Sheen Educational Foundation. Because of the heart of Aunt Dolores, I learned the importance of mentoring. I experienced first hand how mentoring can change the trajectory of a person’s life. She inspired me to become a mentor. It’s important to me that I be a blessing to others.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
First and foremost, knowing that I am loved by God, family, and friends makes me the happiest. This type of happiness shines through even on my most difficult days. In fact, it is knowing that no matter what life dishes out, it’s their love that will get me through even the most challenging of times, fills my heart with the kind of happiness that permeates my entire being and keeps me centered.
On the other hand, for me happiness comes in many different variations. For the most part, I believe that happiness is a state of mind. It can depend on your view of life, your financial status, your priorities, your character, and your values, as to whether or not you understand that you can access it, or whether or not you are aware that you can choose to be happy. I believe that happiness is alive and well inside of each and every one of us. It is often hidden behind the cracks and crevices created by the trauma or drama encountered during our journey to being a grownup, or behind the fear of failure. But it’s there– waiting for the opportunity to present itself; waiting for us to recognize our blessings and our beauty. One Sunday afternoon, I called to check on a friend who I hadn’t spoken to in a few months. I greeted her by saying, “Hey Girl, Happy Sunday.” Before I could even finish my sentence she blurted out, “What’s so happy about it? I just got a manicure and I have already smudged one of my fingernails…. what have I got to be happy about this Sunday?” I was a little startled by her response. She seemed to be willing to let a smudged fingernail destroy her entire Sunday. I was getting ready to tell her how petty I thought she was being when I heard the news playing on her television in the background. I said to her, “You want to know what there is for you to be happy about today? Listen to what they’re saying on the news and see what did not happen to you or anyone you love today. Your family was not the family killed by the drunk driver.” I find happiness in daily dosages of appreciation.
I also find happiness in the little things like when my son tells me he loves me and that he appreciates me supporting his dreams and goals (www.jeanplacide.com), or things like realizing that today is Tuesday and not Wednesday which means I have an extra day to complete a particular task.
Happiness has many layers. There are passing moments of happiness like the happiness we may feel when we get the material things we’ve longed for, or receiving recognition for a job well done, or having my mom with me at the Grammy Awards when my group won the “Best New Artist of the Year By a Group or Duo.” These happy moments are filed under happy moments in the memory banks of my yesteryears. I dust them off from time to time by sharing the stories created by those happy moments.
My music makes me happy. Having written songs that have touched so many people around the world makes me happy. I am filled with happiness and joy each time I am on stage listening to the entire audience sing the words to a song that I wrote. Knowing that my song, “Boogie Oogie Oogie” went Platinum in the U.S., Europe, and Japan is incredible, and it would make me even happier to finally be able to perform in Europe–as I have never performed there before. Until then, the footage I’ve seen recently of people in London, France, and Italy singing and dancing to “Boogie Oogie Oogie” excites me and I can’t wait to get there and get my boogie on with them! I could never have imagined the depth of joy and happiness my fans receive through my music!
My greatest happiness of all came with the birth of my son. Giving birth to a healthy baby boy was by far the happiest moment of my entire life. Caressing him in my arms gave me a feeling of happiness that I have never felt before or since. This kind of love never fades. It only intensifies over time. This kind of love is anchored in the arms of God.
Pricing:
- You will find that the prices for merchandise on my online stores are very reasonable. At musictoyourears.co, current prices range from $9.99 to $74.99 and www.shopatasteofhoney.com from $12.00 – $65.50.
- A Taste of Honey is available for festivals, corporate events, private parties and more!
Contact Info:
- Management Email: management@brandnewdayent.com
- A Taste of Honey Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
atasteofhoneyfeatjanicemarie - A Taste of Honey Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/
theofficialatasteofhoney/ - Janice-Marie YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@
janicemariejohnson - Janice-Marie TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@
theofficialatasteofhoney - Janice-Marie Twitter: https://twitter.com/
janicemariej
Image Credits
Bobby Quillard: First & Second Photo
Chrystina Black: Third Photo
