Syl Johnson

:"For the Major League Baseball pitcher, see Syl Johnson"Infobox musical artist
Name = Syl Johnson

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Img_capt =Syl Johnson at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, 1997
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Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Sylvester Thompson
Alias =
Born = Birth date and age|1936|7|1|mf=y
Died =
Origin = Holly Springs, Mississippi, U.S.
Instrument = guitar, harmonica
Genre = R&B, blues
Occupation = musician, singer
Years_active = 1959 - present
Label =
Associated_acts = Syleena Johnson
Jimmy Johnson
URL =
Current_members =
Past_members =
Notable_instruments =

Syl Johnson (born July 1 1936) is an American blues and soul singer and music producer.

Career

Born Sylvester Thompson in Holly Springs, Mississippi, Johnson sang and played with blues artists Magic Sam, Billy Boy Arnold, Junior Wells and Howlin' Wolf in the 1950s, before recording with Jimmy Reed for Vee-Jay in 1959. He made his solo debut that same year with Federal, a subsidiary of King Records of Cincinnati, backed by Freddie King on guitar.

He then began recording for Twinight Records of Chicago in the mid 1960s. Beginning with his first hit, "Come On Sock It to Me" in 1967, Johnson dominated the label as both a hitmaker and producer. His song "Different Strokes", also from 1967, featured recently on the "Ultimate Breaks and Beats" breakbeat compilation.

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 "Is It Because I'm Black", which reached Number 11 in the R&B charts in 1969.

In 1971, Willie Mitchell brought Johnson to 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 "We Did It", "Back for a Taste of Your Love" and "Take Me to the River", his biggest success, reaching Number 7 on the R&B charts in 1975. However, at Hi Johnson was always to some extent in Al Green's shadow commercially, if not artistically.

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

Around the mid-1980s, Johnson started a fast-food fish restaurant business, and became semi-retired from performing, only making occasional appearances at blues club gigs.Liner notes to album "Back in the Game" by Robert Pruter]

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

Blues guitarist and singer Jimmy Johnson, and bassist Mack Thompson are his brothers.

Discography

ingles

* 1967 "Come On Sock It To Me" (Twilight)
* 1967 "Different Strokes" (Twilight)
* 1969 "Is It Because I'm Black?" (Twinight)
* 1970 "One Way Ticket To Nowhere" (Twinight)
* 1972 "Diamond in the Rough" (Hi)
* 1972 "We Did It" (Hi)
* 1973 "Back For A Taste Of Your Love" (Hi)
* 1975 "Take Me To The River" (Hi)
* 1975 "I Only Have Love" (Hi)
* 1982 "Ms. Fine Brown Frame" (Boardwalk)

Albums

* 1968 "Dresses Too Short" (Twinight)
* 1970 "Is It Because I'm Black?" (Twinight)
* 1973 "Back For A Taste Of Your Love" (Hi)
* 1974 "Diamond In The Rough" (Hi)
* 1975 "Total Explosion" (Hi)
* 1979 "Uptown Shakedown" (Hi)
* 1982 "Ms. Fine Brown Frame" (Shama)
* 1994 "Back In The Game" (Delmark)
* 1995 "This Time Together by Father and Daughter" (Twinight) with Syleena Johnson
* 1995 "Bridge to a Legacy" (Antone's)
* 1999 "Talkin' About Chicago" (Delmark)
* 2000 "Hands of Time" (Hep Me)
* 2001 "Two Johnsons Are Better Than One" (Evangeline) with Jimmy Johnson
* 2004 "Straight Up!" (P-Vine)

References

External links

* [http://geocities.com/cheatersx/twi.htm Twinight Records]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:gjfwxql5ldje~T1 Biography on All Music Guide]
* [http://www.soulexpress.net/syljohnson_discography.htm The complete Syl Johnson discography at Soul Express]