James P. Johnson Vs. Willie "The Lion" Smith

William Henry Joseph Bonaparte Bertholoff Smith was born in Goshen, New York in 1893. Better known as Willie “The Lion”, he became one of the fiercest pianists Harlem, and the rest of the world, had ever seen. Smith served in World War I where supposedly he earned his nickname from his bravery as a heavy artillery gunner. He returned to Harlem working as a pianist in night clubs and at rent parties where Smith he continued to improve the Harlem Stride Style. Willie “The Lion” was perhaps best known for his legendary cutting contests with James P. Johnson. Johnson was born on February, 1, 1894, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Like Smith, Johnson was a master of stride and was a regular at rent parties and night clubs. Johnson’s “Carolina Shout” has become on the most famous songs in jazz history. It is the standard piece for every aspiring pianist. Johnson perhaps most greatly influenced the future of the piano as he taught Fats Waller personally and Duke Ellington learned “Carolina Shout” note for note when learning the piano. Smith & Johnson’s music shows the clear difference between ragtime and stride as they incorporated free swinging rhythm, along with a steady pulsing of the left hand(as you can see in the video below) to simulate bass. Johnson and Smith often dueled each other in cutting contests and more often then not they came to a draw. However, during the battles neither one “cut” into the others song as was the norm. They both respected each other far too much for that and each recognized the others tremendous skill.