The Legend of Paul Johnson
A 5 Mag special issue on the life & music of a beloved Chicago House Music pioneer.
Four years in the making, this is 5 Mag's special issue celebrating the life and music of Chicago house music legend Paul Johnson.
Paul Johnson was born on January 11, 1971 and they broke the mold after they made him. When people talk about a DJ that saved their life — Paul Johnson was that kind of DJ. When people talk about the DJ in the corner of the club cracking jokes — Paul was that kind of DJ too. Life makes everyone humble, and Paul lived more than any of us — yet I don't think he questioned for a minute his place in house music and DJ history. These were plain facts: he was the baddest DJ alive, the one that superstar DJs from the next generation and his own wanted to emulate.
After four years of research and interviews with dozens of people who knew Paul and loved him, we are publishing The Legend of Paul Johnson, a full-length special issue of 5 Mag dedicated to the life and music of a beloved Chicago House Music pioneer.
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The story follows Paul's life and music from his early days on the Southside of Chicago and meeting with his soon-to-be famous peers, to the shooting accident that left him unable to walk. Paul emerged from rehab with incredible tenacity, recording tracks on whatever equipment he could find — tracks that would become synonymous with the golden age of Chicago House Music in the 1990s, released on Dance Mania, Relief Records and culminating with the worldwide fame of his smash hit "Get Get Down."
Along the way we meet an incredible cast of characters, from witnesses of the birth of the American rave scene and Paul Johnson's role in it, and the lost history of Chicago tapedeck DJ culture. Friends and collaborators give us a rare glimpse of Paul Johnson in the studio and his remarkable generosity in tutoring a new generation of house music producers. Daft Punk wrote a track you might have heard of called "Teachers," and the first two words of the lyrics are Paul and Johnson. That is not a coincidence.
We are making this special issue of 5 Mag free to everyone because we want the whole world to know about Paul Johnson. That's it: there are no strings attached, no teasers, no sample chapters. Paul Johnson was a major Chicago artist and a foundational figure in house music and one of the greatest and most influential DJs and producers in the world. You can't tell the story of house music without Paul Johnson.
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