Born in Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica, Johnson started to play music with the Virtues as a bass player before moving into management of the group.

)[3][4][5] This single became one of the anthems of the emerging skinhead youth subculture; together with other instrumental hits released in the UK through his own subdivision "Harry J" on Trojan Records, on a compilation album of the same name.

In the beginning of the 1970s, he enjoyed another big success with the vocal duo Bob and Marcia with the song "Young, Gifted and Black".

In addition, Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records, could be found hanging out in the sound room prior to moving to England in the early 1970s.

Since then under the management of Stewart the studio has seen the return of Burning Spear, Toots, Shaggy, Sly & Robbie, and newer projects of Shakira, Papa Sam/Kirk Franklyn, Luciano and Sizzla.