Eddie & Ernie

Eddie Campbell was born William Edgar Campbell on December 23, 1940, in Lodi, Texas, and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. Campbell was singing with the local gospel group the Heavenly Travelers when his brother Lloyd introduced him to Ernie L. Johnson Jr.[2]

Earnest L. Johnson Jr. was born October 22, 1943, in Lubbock, Texas. After the family relocated to Arizona, Johnson's father, Ernest Johnson Sr., begin singing with a local gospel group called the Crusaders. As a teenager Johnson joined his father in the group.[3] Johnson released his debut single, "You Need Love," on Asnes Records in 1961.[4]

Campbell and Johnson backed local singer Little Worley on his single "Who Stole My Girl" in 1961. They made their first recordings as a duo (initially as Ernie & Eddie) in 1963 with "It's A Weak Man That Cries," released on Checker Records and Nightingale Record. Musically, Eddie & Ernie are often compared to American soul duo Sam & Dave, but unlike Sam & Dave, they wrote all their own music.[5] Although they recorded for several labels, some quite large such as Columbia, Chess, and Buddah, they never had any significant chart success. Their biggest R&B hit, "Time Waits For No One," on Eastern Records reached #34 on the R&B chart in 1965.[6] In 1971, they both joined a local group, Phoenix Express. Their recordings later became popular with aficionados such as Dave Godin, on whose Deep Soul compilations several of their tracks appear.

Campbell died on July 10, 1994, in Los Angeles, at age 53.

Johnson was killed in a hit-and-run accident on August 20, 2005, in Phoenix, at age 61.[5] On November 9, 2019, Johnson received a headstone in his honor at Resthaven/Carr-Tenney Memorial Gardens in Phoenix. John Dixon, who facilitated the ceremony and handled the purchasing of the headstone had interviewed Johnson. Dixon, who describes himself as "Arizona's unofficial music historian," met Johnson after being contacted by British record producers and music enthusiasts about Eddie & Ernie. He discovered that Johnson was homeless in Phoenix, tracked him down and brought him to a Denny's for breakfast where he conducted the interview. Dixon wanted to help him, so with the permission of Johnson's family he took over power of attorney for some of his songwriting royalties. Dixon also worked with soul music enthusiast Dave Godin to release an Eddie & Ernie compilation CD titled Lost Friends on Ace Records' sub label Kent Soul in 2002.[5]

• Eddie & Ernie on AllMusic