By 1939 they'd made some radio appearances and scored a recording contract, and the following year they produced a million-seller, "In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town." It became their signature song, and was just the first of many hits, but even though the band had some first-class musicians and tried to straddle the line by playing hot tunes like "Carribean Clipper," they mostly played sweet. That included most of their bigger hits — "No Love, No Nuthin'," and "Time Waits For No One," along with "My Dreams Are Getting Better All The Time."

The band was very successful for years, and at the height of its popularity even began to appear in Hollywood films, which was common at that time, but in one movie Johnny played a straight role as the second lead. That was unusual, and was a tribute to his good looks and smooth persona. The group's popularity continued through the decade, but as the big bands began to fade, Long's group seemed to suffer more than some. The fickle pop music fans no longer bought the records quite as often, and the lack of a solid jazz reputation hurt the band with the purists. Long managed to keep his band going in a reduced form into the 1950's, but the handwriting was on the wall and within a few years he retired from music and embarked on a second career as a teacher. Unfortunately, his health declined and he died in 1972 — still a young man in his fifties.