He comes from a family of professional musicians and was performing
from the time he could walk. In 1955 his singing impersonation of
Johnnie Ray led to a contract with Disney, where he became one of the original
Mouseketeers. As an actor, Johnny Crawford has appeared in over 200
television productions, 15 movies, and 13 plays. He received an Emmy
Nomination at the age of 13 for his role as Mark McCain in the very successful series,
The Rifleman, now featured every weekday evening on Encore Westerns.
Signed by Del-Fi Records in 1961, Johnny had five top 40
hits in the 1960s: Cindy's Birthday, Rumors, Your Nose Is Gonna Grow, Proud,
and Patti Ann. Three of his Del-Fi albums are now available on iTunes and Amazon.com.
Johnny has long been a fan of dance band records from
the first half of the 20th century. After
playing guitar and singing songs of that period for more than a decade,
Johnny spent two years in New York (1987-1989) as the vocalist in Vince
Giordano's Nighthawks Orchestra. With The Nighthawks, Johnny was
seen in numerous appearances on the East Coast, including a Garrison Keillor
TV Special from Radio City Music Hall, and the George Bush Inaugural Ball
of 1989.
Now Johnny enjoys singing with his own vintage dance band, while also
providing authentic period music for film, special events and education. Since 1990 the Johnny Crawford Orchestra
has gathered an enthusiastic following in Southern California from concerts and dances to private parties and corporate events.
Performances with his band at the Hollywood
Athletic Club (1997-98) are favorably referred to
in Elmor Leonard's 1999 novel, Be Cool.
August 5, 2008 will be the official release date of Sweepin' the Clouds Away, the first CD by the Johnny Crawford Orchestra.
