General Norman Johnson (23 May 1943, Norfolk, VA – 13 Oct 2010, Atlanta, GA), had a hit as the lead singer of The Showmen, in the early '60s, with the New Orleans rock'n'roll anthem It Will Stand.
When Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown, in 1967, to establish their own Invictus/Hot Wax group of labels, they teamed-up Johnson with Eddie Custis, Danny Woods &, Canadian born, Harrison Kennedy - as the new company's flagship act - under the appropriate name 'Chairmen of the Board'. Dozier explained, according to Songfacts: "We called them that because of their extraordinary talents. They each played several instruments, sang and wrote songs as well." Custis left the group after their second album.
Though they all had a turn at lead vocals, it was General Johnson's quirky hiccup-laden style and his songwriting which became increasingly showcased, wit hthe group selling a million plus copies of "Give Me Just A Little More Time". Chairmen of the Board also scored with "You've Got Me Dangling On A String", "Pay To the Piper", "Everything's Tuesday", "Working On A Building Of Love", "Elmo James", "Finders Keepers", and the original version of "Patches", a memorable ballad later covered with great success by Clarence Carter.
Kennedy, Woods and Johnson all went on to cut solo albums of varying quality, whilst Johnson wrote and produced (with Greg Perry) for other Invictus/Hot Wax acts, notably Honey Cone. Harrison having left, Johnson and Woods toured the UK in 1976 with six musicians as "Chairmen of the Board", but were not as successful as before. The act was broken up immediately afterwards, Johnson having signed for Arista Records as a solo artist.
In 1978, Johnson reformed the Chairmen of the Board. In 1980, the new Chairmen founded Surfside Records, for which the group records for to this day.
The Chairmen of the Board (General Johnson, Danny Woods and Ken Knox) were inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 1999.
General Johnson continued to perform with Woods and Knox as the "Chairmen of the Board" until his death from lung cancer in 2010.
In 2012, Chairmen of the Board released a single, "You", which was written and produced by Knox.
In 2013, former member Harrison Kennedy was nominated for a Blues Music Award in the "Acoustic Artist" category.
Danny Woods died in January 2018.
Didn
Chairmen Of The Board Lyrics
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Didn't we?
This time we almost made some sense of it
Didn't we?
This time I had the answer, right here in my hand
Then I touched it and it had turned to sand
This time we almost sang our song in tune
This time we almost made it, made it to the moon
Didn't we, love?
This time we almost made our poem rhyme
This time we almost made that long hard climb
Didn't we almost make it?
Didn't we almost make it?
Didn't we almost make it this time?
The lyrics of Chairmen Of The Board's song "Didn't We" express a sense of disappointment and regret. The singer appears to be reflecting on a past relationship that almost worked out. The line "This time we almost made the pieces fit" suggests that the two people involved were close to making the relationship work, but something didn't quite fit. The line "This time I had the answer, right here in my hand / Then I touched it and it had turned to sand" further emphasizes the idea that the singer had something within their grasp that slipped away. The sand is a metaphor for the relationship slipping through their fingers.
The chorus contains a series of "almosts" which suggest that the couple were close to making something work but ultimately failed. The line "Didn't we almost make it to the moon" is a metaphor for them almost achieving something great, but ultimately falling short. The phrase "Didn't we, love?" is repeated throughout the song, emphasizing that the relationship was the focus of the singer's thoughts and feelings.
Overall, the song is a bittersweet reflection on a failed relationship. The singer is aware that they were close to making something work, but ultimately they were unable to overcome whatever problems they faced.
Line by Line Meaning
This time we almost made the pieces fit
We came very close to making things work between us this time
Didn't we?
Did we not come very close?
This time we almost made some sense of it
We almost understood why things weren't working out between us
Didn't we?
Did we not almost understand why things weren't working out?
This time I had the answer, right here in my hand
I thought I knew how to make things work this time
Then I touched it and it had turned to sand
But my plan fell apart and I was left with nothing
This time we almost sang our song in tune
We almost got along well this time
Didn't we, love?
Is it not true, my love?
This time we almost made it, made it to the moon
We almost achieved something great together this time
Didn't we, love?
Is it not true, my love?
This time we almost made our poem rhyme
We almost found a way to make our differences work together
This time we almost made that long hard climb
We almost overcame the challenges keeping us apart
Didn't we almost make it?
Did we not come very close to making it work?
Didn't we almost make it?
Did we not almost overcome our differences?
Didn't we almost make it this time?
Did we not come very close to making it work out between us this time?
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JIMMY L WEBB
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind