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.
Pay To The Piper
Chairmen Of The Board Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You've got to pay to the piper
Ask your mama
If you dance to the music, don't you know
You've got to pay to the piper
I spend my money on you every dime
You even told me you had a good time
You said it's time that you went home
You've been wined and dined in front of me
Just how nice must I be?
I played the tune, you dug the beat
Now come on girl, be nice to me
If you dance to the music, don't you know
You've got to pay to the piper
Ask your mama!
If you dance to the music, don't you know
You've got to pay to the piper
Come on, come on, yeah (come on, baby come on)
Come on, come on, darling (baby come on, baby come on)
You say that you haven't known me long
How much longer will this go on?
Girl, my patience is wearing thin
I want to be more than just a friend
Girl, I need some love desperately
Stop teasing girl, take care of me
I played the tune, you dug the beat
Now come on, girl--be nice to me
If you dance to the music, don't you know
You've got to pay to the piper
Ask your mama
If you dance to the music, don't you know
You've got to pay to the piper, oh yeah
Come on, come on, yeah (come on, baby come on)
Come on, come on, darling (baby come on, baby come on)
I played the tune, you dug the beat
Now come on, girl, be nice to me
If you dance to the music, don't you know
You've got to pay to the piper
Ask your mama
If you dance to the music, don't you know
You've got to pay to the piper
Ask your mama
If you dance to the music, don't you know
You've got to pay to the piper
"Pay To The Piper” by Chairmen of the Board is a song that talks about the concept of "you reap what you sow,” or "what goes around comes around.” Essentially, it means that if you enjoy something, you must be prepared to pay the price for it. The song also highlights the idea that if you want to be loved and cared for, you have to give back the same to the person who loves you. The song starts with an opening line that says "if you dance to the music, don't you know you've got to pay to the piper?" This line can be interpreted to mean that if you want to experience the beauty and fun of life, you must be prepared to pay the price that comes with it. It can also be interpreted to mean that if you want to dance to life's music, you must be prepared to give back what you take.
The lyrics further enumerate that the singer has been spending his money on a girl every time they go out, but the moment it's time to go home, she wants to leave. The singer expresses that he has been patient with the girl's behavior, but needs her to show him love and care just as he has been doing for her. He is, in a sense, asking for their relationship to be more than just a fling. Ultimately, the song highlights the give and take nature of love and relationships. If you want to enjoy the best of life, you must be ready to give back the same level of enjoyment to the people that love and care for you.
Line by Line Meaning
If you dance to the music, don't you know
If you enjoy the music and dance to it, you must understand
You've got to pay to the piper
that you must pay the price for this pleasure
Ask your mama
You can even ask your mother and she'll tell you the same thing
I spend my money on you every dime
I spent all my money on you, every last penny
You even told me you had a good time
You told me you enjoyed it
The night is through and we're all alone
The night has come to an end and we're the only ones here
You said it's time that you went home
You said it's time for you to leave
You've been wined and dined in front of me
I treated you to the finest things
Just how nice must I be?
How much nicer can I be?
I played the tune, you dug the beat
I provided the music, you enjoyed it and danced to it
Now come on girl, be nice to me
It's your turn to be kind and give something back to me
Come on, come on, yeah (come on, baby come on)
Let's do this and have some fun
Come on, come on, darling (baby come on, baby come on)
My dear, let's go for it
You say that you haven't known me long
You claim to have only met me recently
How much longer will this go on?
How much longer will you keep me waiting?
Girl, my patience is wearing thin
I'm starting to get impatient
I want to be more than just a friend
I want to be more than just a friend to you
Girl, I need some love desperately
I am in desperate need of your love
Stop teasing girl, take care of me
Stop teasing me and take care of me
If you dance to the music, don't you know
If you enjoy the music and dance to it, you must understand
You've got to pay to the piper
that you must pay the price for this pleasure
Ask your mama
You can even ask your mother and she'll tell you the same thing
If you dance to the music, don't you know
If you enjoy the music and dance to it, you must understand
You've got to pay to the piper, oh yeah
that you must pay the price for this pleasure
I played the tune, you dug the beat
I provided the music, you enjoyed it and danced to it
Now come on, girl, be nice to me
It's your turn to be kind and give something back to me
If you dance to the music, don't you know
If you enjoy the music and dance to it, you must understand
You've got to pay to the piper
that you must pay the price for this pleasure
Ask your mama
You can even ask your mother and she'll tell you the same thing
If you dance to the music, don't you know
If you enjoy the music and dance to it, you must understand
You've got to pay to the piper
that you must pay the price for this pleasure
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: General N. Johnson, Ronald Dunbar, Gregory S. Perry, Angelo Bond
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
L. ANGEL LOVE
CONGRATULATIONS TO MOTOWN'S 60TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
HOLLAND DOZIER HOLLAND WITH
YOUR SUCCESSFUL MUSIC CAREER;
BECAUSE YOU ALL MADE MUSIC
THAT WAS WAS WORTHWHILE TO ENDURE THOSE GOOD TIMES,
THAT GOT US ALL THROUGH THOSE BAD TIMES WITH YOUR OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCES
AND
WOW, THIS SONG JUST MADE MY DAY, SOMETHING I HAVEN'T HEARD FOR QUITE SOMETIME NOW, AND
THE MAIN REASON I'M OLD SCHOOL
TO MY HEART, MOST SONGS
PROVIDE YOU WITH POWERFUL
LYRICS WITH FACTS AND NOT FICTION, ALONG WITH MEANINGFUL
STORYTELLING & THOSE HISTORICAL
EVENTS THAT CAN NEVER BE DONE WITHOUT YOUR EXTRAORDINARY
TALENT AND FABULOUS BEATS
AND CREATIVE WRITING SKILLS
Carrie Nixon
Oh my. This song will never grow old. I’ll always love it. 2023 and still can’t be touched. 💚
Muffs 55mercury
Yep almost 53 years and still sounding great.
B. Covington
Only the best songs stay alive. This is one of them. Super talented lead singer Danny Woods delivers a truly outstanding vocal performance. A pleasure to hear again and again.
Peter Ryan
Had completely forgot about this song absolute classic from a terrific band
Muffs 55mercury
Mainstream oldies radio never plays this one so it's understandable why some have forgotten it.
Wesley Dickens
This song needs a revival. Someone call Disney and tell them you got the next intro song for a new Guardians of the Galaxy movie.
Valenda Newell
This was my skating song back in 1970, with my precision skates I was tearing the roller rink up...GREAT TUNE!!✌🏾✌🏾
Mr. 86
Northland and pontiac
LANGEL LOVE
IT'S REALLY GREAT TO HEAR
THIS GENUINE CLASSIC
Gregg Mireau
Timeless great soul music!!!