[1] In 1967, Johnson began studies at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM), where his teachers included Harry Isaacs and John Streets.
Johnson has acknowledged a 1972 live recital by Peter Pears and Benjamin Britten as key in directing his musical career ambitions towards being an accompanist.
In 1976, he formed The Songmakers' Almanac to explore neglected areas of piano-accompanied vocal music, along with founder singers Felicity Lott, Ann Murray, Anthony Rolfe Johnson and Richard Jackson.
Johnson is Senior Professor of Accompaniment at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and has led a biennial scheme for Young Songmakers since 1985.
He is the author of several books, including The Songmakers' Almanac: Twenty Years of Recitals in London (Thames Publishing),[10] The French Song Companion (Oxford University Press; 2000), Britten, Voice & Piano: Lectures on the Vocal Music of Benjamin Britten (Guildhall; 2003)[11] and Gabriel Fauré – The Songs and Their Poets (Guildhall; 2009).
[16] In February 2021 Graham Johnson was awarded the Cross of the Order of Merit (Bundesverdienstkreuz) by the Federal Republic of Germany in recognition of his “outstanding contribution to the art of German song in Britain.” German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier praised the British pianist’s “tireless commitment to advancing the careers of young talent” and “special contribution to British-German musical friendship”.