Taborah Johnson
Taborah Johnson, also known as
Tabby Johnson, is a
Canadian singer and actor. She is the sister of actor
Clark Johnson and rock and jazz singer
Molly Johnson.
She began her career in the
Toronto production of
Hair as a teenager. She was subsequently a backing vocalist for
Rick James from
1979 to
1982, including on James' most famous single, "Super Freak". She subsequently returned to Toronto, where she sang as a
jazz performer and as a backing vocalist for her sister Molly's band
Infidels, and acted in occasional film and television roles, including appearances on
Cagney and Lacey,
Airwaves,
E.N.G. and
Homicide: Life on the Street, and regular roles in the children's series
Polka Dot Door,
The Big Comfy Couch and
Noddy.
In February,
2005, Johnson joined Toronto jazz station
CJRT as the host of a
gospel music show. She left CJRT barely two months later, amid allegations of
racism at the station. Johnson herself has alleged that a manager told her she was playing too many
black artists, and that the station was paying her significantly less than they paid many other hosts for equivalent duties.
In the summer of 2005, she appeared on Toronto news/talk station
CFRB, filling in for
Mark Elliot on his late night
talk radio shift. In September, the station named her to a permanent shift on Saturdays from 4 to 6 p.m.
EST.
*
The official Tabby Johnson web site