Syl Johnson
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| Syl Johnson | |
|---|---|
 Syl Johnson at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, 1997 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Sylvester Thompson |
| Born | July 1, 1936 Holly Springs, Mississippi, United States |
| Genres | R&B, blues |
| Occupations | Musician, singer |
| Instruments | Guitar, harmonica |
| Years active | 1959–2012 |
| Associated acts | Syleena Johnson Jimmy Johnson |
Syl Johnson born (July 1, 1936) is an American blues and soul singer and record producer.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Born Sylvester Thompson in Holly Springs, Mississippi, United States, 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 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 US Billboard R&B chart in 1969.
In 1971, Willie Mitchell brought Johnson to Hi Records, the two recording three albums which spawned a number of singles. Produced in Memphis with the Hi house band, these yielded 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 chart in 1975. However, at Hi Records, Johnson was always to some extent in Al Green's shadow commercially, if not artistically. Mitchell also chose to use mainly in-house material rather than Johnson originals.[citation needed]
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.[1]
In 1992, Johnson found out that his song "Different Strokes" had been sampled by number of rappers including Wu-Tang Clan, Public Enemy, Kool G Rap, Hammer, and the Geto Boys. Stimulated by this fact, he decided to make a comeback in the music industry.[1] 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.
[edit] Discography
[edit] 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)
- 2002: Two Johnsons are Better Than One (Evangeline) with Jimmy Johnson
- 2010: Syl Johnson: Complete Mythology (The Numero Group)
[edit] Chart singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop[2] | US R&B[3] |
Label | ||
| 1967 | "Come On Sock It To Me" | 97 | 12 | Twilight |
| "Different Strokes" | 95 | 17 | ||
| 1968 | "Dresses Too Short" | - | 36 | Twinight |
| 1969 | "Is It Because I'm Black" | 68 | 11 | |
| 1970 | "Concrete Reservation" | - | 29 | |
| "One Way Ticket To Nowhere" | 125 | 24 | ||
| 1971 | "Get Ready" | - | 34 | |
| 1972 | "The Love You Left Behind" | - | 43 | Hi |
| "We Did It" | 95 | 23 | ||
| 1973 | "Back For A Taste Of Your Love" | 72 | 16 | |
| 1974 | "I'm Yours" | - | 68 | |
| "Let Yourself Go" | - | 54 | ||
| "I Want To Take You Home (To See Mama)" | - | 40 | ||
| 1975 | "Take Me To The River" | 48 | 7 | |
| "I Only Have Love" | - | 15 | ||
| 1976 | "Star Bright, Star Lite" | - | 89 | |
| "Bout To Make Me Leave Home" | - | 94 | ||
| 1977 | "Goodie-Goodie-Good Times" | - | 93 | Shama |
| 1982 | "Ms. Fine Brown Frame" | - | 60 | Boardwalk |
[edit] References
- ^ a b Liner notes to album Back in the Game by Robert Pruter
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2003). Top Pop Singles 1955-2002 (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc.. p. 365. ISBN 0-89820-155-1.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-1995. Record Research. p. 231.
