He sessioned with a few jazz musicians before landing a job with Weather Report,[2] taking over for co-founding member Miroslav Vitous.

He appeared on two more Weather Report albums: Tale Spinnin' (1975) and Black Market (1976) before he left the band to work with drummer Billy Cobham.

In early 1982, Johnson joined Grateful Dead member Bob Weir's side project Bobby and the Midnites.

In 1996, Johnson played bass on tracks "Dance on a Volcano" and "Fountain of Salmacis" on Steve Hackett's Genesis Revisited album.

Later in 1996, Johnson toured Europe and Japan with composer and saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist James Beard, drummer Rodney Holmes, and guitarist David Gilmore.