Phil and Gaye Johnson

The award winning duo Phil & Gaye Johnson have been described by Betty R. McCain of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources as "... truly some of North Carolina's greatest cultural resources."; they offer a unique blend of traditional and contemporary Folk, Bluegrass, and Country music along with generous portions of Western Swing, Cowboy, Blues, and Old-Time traditions. They are prolific songwriters and storytellers, and they travel from their home in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina to perform throughout the United States.

Gaye, a native of Green Creek in the foothills of North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains, grew up singing and playing music with her family and friends.

Possessing a truly "extraordinary mountain alto" she has charmed listeners since she was a child. A natural musician Gaye began her vocal training under the tutelage of her mother , Margie, who acted as the children's choir director at their home church , Mill Creek Church of the Brethren.

As a young girl she taught herself to play guitar and launched a performing career by playing at local 4-H talent shows, church socials and a variety of informal gatherings.

During the "Folk Boom" of the early sixties Gaye, came under the influence of her older sister, Sandra, whose distinctive soprano voice graced many a "hootenanny" as a member of a popular local folk music ensemble. Having gleaned what musical traditions she could during this time she soon abandoned it all for the life of a carefree teenage girl in the small Southern town of Tryon, North Carolina

It was at Tryon High School where Gaye began to blossom as a performer. Her early training as a cheerleader has proved invaluable to her career. However, it was her coronation as "Homecoming Queen" in 1968 that convinced her mother to pull up roots and head to the west coast. As Margie has stated over the years, "The late sixties were a period when everyone was trying to 'find themselves' so we went to California to see if we left ourselves out there." It was in Los Angeles where Gaye met her future husband and pickin' partner, Phil Johnson. Phil & Gaye came together by accident backstage at play at Santa Monica College where they were both enrolled in the Theater Arts program during the Fall of 1969. Gaye was the costuming mistress and Phil kept popping buttons. The rest is history.