Michael Alston Johnson

Mike passed away on Thursday, May 22, 2025, at Life Care Center of Aurora from complications from COPD; cremation through Newcomer Funeral Home, Aurora, Colorado. No service. Many thanks to The Denver Hospice staff (both home hospice and the facility hospice) and also to the Life Care Center of Aurora staff who are all very professional, efficient, thorough, helpful, and fun.

Michael Alston Johnson was born in Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar, Minnesota, to Alston P. and Eva J. (Nelson) Johnson, descendants of Swedish immigrants. Mike was baptized June 20, 1943, at Svea Evangelical Lutheran Church, Svea, Minnesota, and confirmed at Hope Lutheran Church, Aurora, Colorado. The family lived on a farm south of Willmar, near many farming relatives. He attended Kandiyohi County District 57 School. In November 1952 Mike and his family moved to Tucson, Arizona, and then in late 1953 they moved to Aurora, Colorado.

Mike graduated from Aurora High School in 1961. In 1993, he received his Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Colorado at Denver in International Business and Marketing. He worked in construction, securities, and home warranty industries to support his primary emphasis throughout life which was music, along with the many friends he made and the great times he had through music. His musical interest started with playing drums and then being a part of the marching band and orchestra in school—junior high, high school, and college.

In 1970, he started working for Your Father’s Mustache nightclub where he saw his first washboard used as a musical instrument, which he quickly learned to play and played for the rest of his life. From 1970-1971, he spent six months helping to open a Your Father’s Mustache nightclub in Brussels, Belgium. In 1975 when the Denver Your Father’s Mustache nightclub closed, Mike and friends kept the band going. This band continues to perform around Colorado. In October 2011, Your Father’s Mustache nightclubs had a 50th reunion at Carnegie Hall, New York. Mike was one of 55 musicians (washboard, banjo, tuba, and trombone players) on stage.

In 1983, Mike established Washboards International www.washboards.com which consisted of about 700 washboard players from all over the world. Over 40 years, Mike arranged washboard concerts (musical accompaniment from banjos, tubas, and pianos) from Connecticut to Ohio to Arizona, to Sacramento and Monterey, California. Mike was pleased to be able to donate to Rocky Mountain Music Museum over 200 items, including his washboard; videos, CDs, DVDs, photos of washboard concerts; Washboards International history; plaques, framed documents and historical articles; and many other music related items.

Mike lived his life with a spirit of optimism, laughter, and abundant connections with others. In 2020, Mike was thrilled when he learned he had a daughter, three grandchildren, and a great grandson. Mike asked that this notice express his deep gratitude to all his friends and family for helping make his life a wonderful adventure.

He is survived by his daughter Liz (Richard), grandchildren—William, Kaitlyn, Jesslyn, great grandson Zachariah; his siblings—Mark (Betty), their son Tavis and his children Ida and Cohen; Brad; Cheryl; Brent (Denise) and their children Gunnar and Zoe (Ilya). Mike was preceded in death by an infant brother and his parents. Any memorials to Rocky Mountain Music Museum, 3535 South Irving Street, Suite D, Englewood, CO 80110 (make checks payable to Close Music Foundation—which is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization—tax ID number is 27-1885077).

Mike Johnson’s Suggested Websites for Washboard Music

Washboards International

www.washboards.com

Your Father’s Mustache Band

www.mustacheband.com

Rocky Mountain Music Museum

www.rockymountainmusicmuseum.com

Mike’s You Tube Channel (140 videos)

www.youtube.com/washboardsint

You can Google:

Your Father’s Mustache at Carnegie Hall 2011

You can contact Gordon Close at Rocky Mountain Music Museum, 3535 South Irving Street, Suite D., Englewood, CO 80110 (303-901-3523) to arrange for a tour.