Caprock Chronicles: The Velvets featuring Virgil Johnson: Odessa's doo-wop legends, Part 2

Editor’s Note: Jack Becker is the editor of Caprock Chronicles and is a Librarian Emeritus from Texas Tech University. He can be reached at jack.becker@ttu.edu. Today’s article about Virgil Johnson and The Velvets is the second of a two-part series by frequent contributor Chuck Lanehart, Lubbock attorney and award-winning Western history writer.

By 1964, The Velvets had recorded about 30 songs, some blending rockabilly sounds with doo-wop and R&B. During their recording sessions, they came to know music stars Ike and Tina Turner (“Proud Mary”), songwriter Boudleaux Bryant (“Wake Up, Little Susie”) and Ray Stephens (“Ahab the Arab” and “The Streak”), among others.

Virgil Johnson visited Ray Stevens in his home. Ray was a few years younger but had been successful in the music business since 1957. "He's a funny guy and down to earth," Virgil said. "He gave me some great advice — to never give up on a song." Stevens encouraged Virgil, the promising new singer-songwriter, to always try hard. "I think you can apply it in real life. He gave me perseverance when it came to a song."

Once, The Velvets recorded in RCA studios following an Elvis Presley session. Virgil remembered, “We used all the microphones in the studio. That way, by chance, one of us might be standing in the same spot singing into the same microphone as Elvis had!”

Major recording acts tour nationally to promote their music, and in the 1960s, “Black artists made most of their money from personal appearances, not recordings,” Virgil explained. But the Velvets never toured, primarily because of racial stereotypes of the era.

There were two music markets, one white and one Black. White artists who sounded Black — like Elvis — were popular everywhere. Some Black superstars crossed over into both markets. But Black artists who sounded white — like The Velvets — were popular only among white listeners.

“We were actually pretty famous for being articulate,” Robert Thursby said. “We would pronounce our words correctly.” The Velvets’ enunciation certainly came from their mentor — Virgil — the English teacher.

“We were extremely popular with Whites,” Virgil said, “But we were never extremely popular with Blacks. We were Black and we didn't sound like it. People didn't know we were a Black group. We couldn't tour and that really hurt us." The group faded after 1966.

When The Velvets’ tour of Japan with Roy Orbison was cancelled, Virgil decided to concentrate on his day job — education — which he had never given up.

"Singing was always part time," he said. "My job teaching was separate." As the only adult member of the group, a man with a job and a family, Virgil understood his priorities. "It's crazy to leave a $20,000 job with just the hopes of making it big. By virtue of my having a family, I had to be sure.”

Before 1961, Virgil attempted to enroll as a graduate student at Texas Technological College, but he was denied admittance because of his race. (Tech first admitted Black students in the summer of 1961.)

He returned to Lubbock in 1961 as a teacher at his alma-mater, Dunbar High. Eventually admitted to Texas Tech, he earned a master’s degree in guidance and counseling in 1974. He became principal at Alderson Junior High, then Estacado High School and finally, Virgil returned to Dunbar as principal.

When he retired in 1993, he was named Texas Classroom Teachers Association Administrator of the Year. “Any award you get from your peers is a great honor,” said Virgil. He had no regrets for not taking the chance with music.

“I wouldn’t trade my times with The Velvets,” he said. “I’m happy with my life as an educator.” But Virgil was always a singer. In the 1990s, he performed with other legends of rock’n’roll: Paul and Paula, The Intruders, Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs, and Len Barry.

Meanwhile, Virgil became known as “V.J. the Dee-Jay” on Lubbock’s KSEL radio and later KDAV radio, spinning oldies tunes. Music producer Don Caldwell booked Virgil to perform at several concerts. "Virgil was a wonderful talent and one of the most charismatic performers I have ever worked with,” Caldwell said.

Virgil’s wife Ida Delois was also an educator, and their son Patrick Deon became an educator. The family was active in Lubbock’s New Hope Baptist Church, where Virgil first sang publicly as a choirboy. Virgil Johnson died in 2013, age 77.

Fellow Velvets performer Clarence Rigsby died in a car crash in 1978, William Soloman died in 2006, and Mark Prince died in 2021. Robert Thursby, who performed at a Velvets tribute in Odessa in June of 2022, lives in Hawaii.

In 2008, Virgil was named among the 100 most influential people in the history of Lubbock by the Avalanche-Journal. The Velvets were recognized as one of the top ten doo-wop groups of all time.

In 1994, Virgil was the first African American honored on the West Texas Walk of Fame. During his acceptance speech, Virgil — always the teacher — stressed the importance of positivity in human life. Former Lubbock Avalanche-Journal entertainment editor William Kerns wrote, “Virgil was still the entertainer . . . dozens could be seen singing along as he sang what seemed to be prophetic lyrics, ‘Hold me tight, and tonight just could be the night.’”

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Caprock Chronicles: The Velvets featuring Virgil Johnson: Odessa's doo-wop legends, Part 2