Syl Johnson - My Gift

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 , , and in the 1950s, before recording with for in 1959. He made his solo debut that same year with , a subsidiary of of Cincinnati, backed by on guitar. He then began recording for 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. 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 Im Black, which reached Number 11 in the R&B charts in 1969. In 1971, brought Johnson to , 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 s shadow commercially, if not artistically. After the Hi years ended, Johnson produced two LPs for his own label Shama, the latter of which (Ms. Fine Brown Frame, 1982) was picked up for distribution by and produced Johnsons 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 Different Strokes have been sampled by number of rappers including , , and . 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 . The album featured the the Hi rhythm section and his youngest daughter . Blues guitarist and singer , and bassist / are his brothers.

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