He went on to become a member of the successful English electric folk band Steeleye Span in 1972, after being introduced by fiddler Peter Knight.
Along with "King Henry", he introduced many of the band's better-known songs into the repertoire, such as "Thomas the Rhymer", "Alison Gross", "Long Lankin" and "Gaudete".
Johnson left Steeleye Span temporarily in 1977 to work on a concept album, The King of Elfland's Daughter, along with Peter Knight.
After Tim Hart's departure from the band in 1980, Johnson became the sole guitarist and a more prominent member, taking on a central role for the albums Back in Line (1986) and Tempted and Tried (1989).
On 16 December, the Steeleye Span Twitter account released a statement announcing his death, saying “he had been poorly for a few months now but finally left us in search of the rainbow’s end”.