#163: It Will Stand by the Showmen

City: Windsor, ON
Radio Station: CKLW
Peak Month: May 1964
Peak Position in Windsor ~ #6
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ #28
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #80 (1964) | #61 (1961)
YouTube: “It Will Stand”
Lyrics: “It Will Stand”

The Showmen were a group formed by General Norman Johnson. He was born in 1941, in Norfolk, Virginia. “General” was his first name, not a military name, stage name or nickname. He began singing in choirs at the age of six. In 1953, Johnson formed The Humdingers. They were recorded by Atlantic Records in 1956, but their four singles were not released. In 1961, the group changed its name to The Showmen. They moved to New Orleans from Norfolk (VA) and were signed to Minit Records and Allen Toussaint produced fifteen of their singles. General Norman Johnson was the lead singer for The Showmen. He was backed up by bass singer Milton “Smokes” Wells, second tenor Dorsey “Chops” Knight, his first tenor brother Gene “Cheater” Knight, and Leslie “Fat Boy” Felton on baritone. Wells, Dorsey and Gene Knight, and Leslie Felton all met General Norman Johnson at the same high school in Norfolk, Virginia. They all lived in the same neighborhood.

In 1961, The Showmen released “It Will Stand”. The single climbed to #1 in Wheaton (MD), Birmingham (AL), and Baltimore, #2 in Los Angeles, #3 in San Bernardino (CA), #5 in Spokane (WA), and Chicago, #6 in Washington DC, #7 in Louisville (KY), #8 in Atlanta, #10 in El Cajon (CA), and #11 in San Francisco.

In early 1962, the Showmen released a followup titled “The Wrong Girl”. It climbed to #10 in Wheaton (MD). The group released four more singles in 1962 and 1963. In 1964, the group re-released “It Will Stand”.

“It Will Stand” was written by General Norman Johnson. The song is an anthem to rock and roll. It attests that “rock and roll will stand.” Johnson offers up the recipe for why the new genre of music was so popular:
You take some music, music,
sweet flowin’ music.
Some movin’ and groovin.’
Rock and roll will stand.

Take some heart beats, drum beats,
finger poppin’ and stompin’ feet.
Little dances that look so neat,
you see why it will stand. 

Johnson references “finger poppin'” which had been immortalized in the Top Ten R&B and pop hit in 1960 by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters titled “Finger Poppin’ Time”. The lyrics later commend saxophone and drums adding a distinctive sound to the early rock era. Given the unstoppable popularity of rock and roll that has “swept this whole wide land,” General Norman Johnson concludes, “Don’t nick-name it, you might as well claim it.”

In 1964, “It Will Stand” peaked at #4 in Port Huron (MI), #5 in Pittsburgh, and Flint (MI), #6 in Detroit, and Windsor (ON) where it spent three weeks in the Top Ten, and #9 in Leamington (ON).

Neil Sedaka was a fan of “It Will Stand” and wrote in his autobiography that his hit song “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do” to a similar beat. “As I traveled from city to city, the record sounded different in each place, almost as if the change of scenery altered the mood. … I tried to capture the same kind of enthusiasm and mood in a song of my own” – which turned out to be “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do.”

In 1967, “39-21-46”, which was passed over in 1963, became a Top Ten hit in Lynchburg (VA), Knoxville (TN), Atlanta, York (SC), and Spartanburg (SC). It reached #11 in Augusta (GA), and #12 in Montgomery (AL). Actually, Minit Records mislabeled the song which was titled “39-21-40 Shape”. The mistaken song title, “39-21-46” might have earned the attention of men who were especially fond of women with large buttocks.

Initially, The Showmen recorded on Minit Records. By 1963, they switched labels to Airecords, and then Imperial, Swan, Jokers Three, BB, Amy and the Liberty label.

General Norman Johnson left The Showmen in 1968 to form Chairmen Of The Board. He had hits with that group including “Give Me Just A Little More Time” and “Pay to the Piper”. Leslie Felton took over lead vocals for The Showmen into the early 70s.

Meanwhile, Johnson wrote “Patches” for Clarence Carter which won them both a Grammy Award in 1970. The single reached #2 in the UK pop singles chart, #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #2 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart. Johnson also wrote “Want Ads”, “One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show” and “Stick Up”, all hits for Honeycone. He also penned “Somebody’s Been Sleeping”, a Top Ten pop and R&B hit in 1970 for 100 Proof (Aged in Soul). As well, Johnson penned the Top Ten R&B hits “Bring The Boys Home” for Freda Payne (1971), and “You’ve Got To Crawl (Before You Walk)” for 8th Day (1971). He died at the age of 67 in 2010.

After leaving The Showmen, Gene Knight became a construction worker. He got married and became a father to five children. Gene Knight died in 1991 at the age of 47. A short obituary in the Virginian-Pilot announced plans for a funeral mid-February of that year.

Little is known of what became of Dorsey Knight, Leslie Felton or Milton Wells. If anyone knows, leave a comment below this post.

September 16, 2026
Ray McGinnis

References:
Mark Washburn, Lawrence Toppmann, and April Baker, “Beach Music Icon General Johnson Dies,” Charlotte News and Observer, Charlotte (NC), October 15, 2010.
Tony Wilkinson, “The Showmen“, Black Cat.nl.
“Gene Autry Knight,” Virginian-Pilot, February 17, 1991.

CKLW 800-AM Windsor (ON) | May 5, 1964