Syl Johnson

b. 1st July 1936, Holly Springs, Mississippi, U.S.A.
Died, 6 February 2022 (Age 85)

American funk/soul/blues singer and music producer.

Johnson sang and played with blues artists [a=Magic Sam], [a=Billy Boy Arnold], [a=Junior Wells] and [a=Howlin' Wolf] in the 1950s, before recording with [a=Jimmy Reed] for [l=Vee Jay Records] in 1959. He made his solo debut that same year with [l=Federal Records (2)], a subsidiary of [l=King Records (3)] of Cincinnati, backed by [a=Freddie King] on guitar.

He then began recording for [l=Twinight Records] of Chicago in the mid 1960s. Beginning with his first hit, [i]Come On Sock It to Me[/i] in 1967, Johnson dominated the label as both a hitmaker and producer.

Like other black songwriters of the period, several of his records at this time explored themes of African-American identity and social problems in songs including [i]Is It Because I’m Black[/i], which reached Number 11 in the R&B charts in 1969.

In 1971, [a=Willie Mitchell] brought Johnson to [l=Hi Records], for whom he recorded three albums and a number of singles. Produced in Memphis with the Hi house band, these yielded music of power and enduring value, including the hits [i]We Did It[/i], [i]Back for a Taste of Your Love[/i] and [i]Take Me to the River[/i], his biggest success, reaching Number 7 on the R&B charts in 1975. However, at Hi Johnson was always to some extent in [a=Al Green]’s shadow commercially, if not artistically.

After the Hi years ended, Johnson produced two LPs for his own label [b]Shama[/b], the latter of which (Ms. Fine Brown Frame, 1982) was picked up for distribution by [l=Boardwalk Records, Inc.] and produced Johnson’s last hit record, the title cut.

Around the mid-eighies, Johnson started a fast-food fish restaurant business, and became semi-retired from performing, only making occasional appearances at blues club gigs.

In 1992, Johnson found out that his classic song [i]Different Strokes[/i] have been sampled by number of rappers including [a=Wu-Tang Clan], [a=MC Hammer], and [a=Geto Boys]. Stimulated by this fact, he decided to make a come back in the music business. In 1994, he released the album [i]Back in the Game[/i] on [l=Delmark Records]. The album featured the the Hi rhythm section and his youngest daughter [a=Syleena Johnson].

Blues guitarist and singer [a=Jimmy Johnson (8)], and bassist [a=Mack Thompson]/[a=Mac Johnson (3)] are his brothers.