He provided the slightly jazzy yet raucous guitar sound that was the signature of all of Wolf's Memphis recordings.

[1] Johnson stayed on in Memphis for several years, playing on a number of sessions for Sun Records, including a 1955 collaboration with vocalist Sammy Lewis, "I Feel So Worried", released under the name Sammy Lewis with Willie Johnson.

By the time Johnson relocated to Chicago, Wolf had already hired guitarist Hubert Sumlin as a permanent replacement.

[5] Johnson occasionally performed and recorded with Howlin' Wolf after settling in Chicago, and also played briefly in the band of Muddy Waters, as well as a number of other local Chicago blues musicians, including J. T. Brown, in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

He made his living mainly outside of music for the rest of his life, only occasionally sitting in with the bands of his old friends around Chicago.