Don and Juan were an R&B vocal duo from Long Beach, NY,[1] consisting of Roland "Don" Trone (July 2, 1936 – May 1982[2]) and Claude "Juan" (aka "Sonny") Johnson (November 24, 1934 – October 31, 2002[3]). Johnson had previously sung with a doo-wop group called the Genies, who reached #71 on the Billboard pop charts in 1959 with "Who's That Knocking" on the Shad label. Johnson had also co-written "Who's That Knocking".[4] (Contrary to doo-wop lore, Trone was never with the Genies.)
Don & Juan's sole top 40 hit was "What's Your Name" on Big Top Records, which reached #7 on the Billboard pop charts in 1962.
After the death of Roland Trone in May 1982 at age 45, Claude Johnson continued performing with different partners, including Alexander "Buddy" Faison of the Genies, in the early 90s.
Claude Johnson died on October 31, 2002, at age 67.
Their single, "What's Your Name", was featured on the soundtrack of It Came from Hollywood in 1982. This song was recently nominated to the Doo-Wop Hall of Fame. "What's Your Name" was also mentioned in the film Flipped by fictional characters portraying "Don and Juan". In the 1998 film Slam, there is a brief scene where two police officers are driving while arguing over the lyrics to "What's Your Name".
References
- ^ Mirrione, Joseph (May–June 1993). "Interview with Sonny Johnson". Doo Wopp Etc.
- ^ "Roland Trone 1936-1982 - Ancient Faces".
- ^ "Claude Johnson Discography at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
- ^ Dahl, Bill. "Bear Family CD - Who's That Knocking - The Genies". Bear Family. Retrieved 21 July 2018.