After playing and singing with his musically gifted family for a few years, he auditioned demos in April 1959 for Norman Petty in Clovis, NM. Norman recognized his talent as a gifted songwriter and Johnny was soon signed to Leader Records, a subsidiary of the Kapp Records label. After 3 US singles and 1 UK release between 1959 and 1962 saw little action, Johnny grew tired of the intent to market him as a pop vocalist and he decided to pursue the country genre and moved to Nashville.