was with Fred John Adam Forster of the Forster Music Publisher, Inc. Although Johnson’s career would wax and wane with the economy of the turn of the century, World Wars I and II, and the Depression, Charles always had work and could always respond to the musical climate of the U.S. At some point in his career Johnson began writing under pseudonyms. He used Raymond Birch the most, penning several of his well-known rags under that name such as "Blue Goose Rag", "Melody Rag", and "Powder Rag". But he also used several others. Under any name, however, Johnson was a significant contributor to the Ragtime Era and to rag music in general. By far the biggest hit of 1906 was Charles’ most successful rag "Dill Pickles". The first rag to sell a million copies was Scott Joplin’s "Maple Leaf Rag"; the second was "Dill Pickles". It has been suggested that by 1906 ragtime was already beginning to wane. After the publication of "Dill Pickles" there was a revival of interest in ragtime that extended its life by nearly ten more years. This piece of music made use of the “three over four” syncopation that was subsequently copied and used in dozens of rags by other composers. Joplin himself had difficulty getting away from its conventions. As mentioned before, Johnson had a remarkable ability to reflect the needs and trends of the time. A clear example of this was in his war pieces. During his musical career Charles wrote pieces for the Spanish–American War, World War I, and World War II. Certainly most of these pieces (numbering almost 20) responded to the patriotism of U.S. soldiers in World War I. Among these pieces were "GoodBye Susanna", "Be a Pilgrim (And Not a Ram)", "We Will Follow the Red, White, and Blue", and "We Are All in the Same Boat Now". See also List of ragtime composers References Notes Bibliography External links Dill Pickles Rag audio recording at the Library of Congress Jukebox Sheet music for "Our Yesterdays", by Charles L. Johnson, lyrics by Francis Lake, Forster Music Publisher, 1918. The Rags of Charles L Johnson, by Ted Tjaden 1876 births 1950 deaths American male composers American composers Musicians from Kansas City, Kansas Ragtime composers