Born on December 2, 1936 and known throughout the industry as “DJ,” Donald Johnson passed away on August 16, 2020. He was 83.
His career in music and audio retailing began in 1958 in the San Jose, CA, area before joining Coast Wholesale in 1961. It was an interesting and historic time to begin calling on retail stores in the San Francisco Bay Area. The folk music boom was in full swing and DJ was on hand to witness first-hand the British Invasion and the full power the Beatles had on the music industry. He ran his own music retail store in northern California before returning to wholesale in the late 1970s for Kaman, which had purchased Coast. DJ also had a long association with Saga Musical Instruments in San Francisco and the company’s founder Richard Keldsen.
Details about a memorial service were not available at press time.
