Syl Johnson was a soul and blues singer and guitarist known for songs including “Different Strokes,” “Is it Because I’m Black,” and “Take Me to the River.”
- Died: February 6, 2022 (Who else died on February 6?)
- Details of death: Died at the age of 85.
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Musical career
Johnson grew up in a musical family that included his brother, blues guitarist Jimmy Johnson (1928–2022). In his early career, he played with blues legends including Junior Wells (1934–1998) and Howlin’ Wolf (1910–1976). Johnson began his own recording career in the late 1950s, and he began charting singles in 1967 with “Come on Sock it to Me” and “Different Strokes.” A top-15 R&B hit, “Different Strokes” became one of the most heavily sampled songs, heard in tracks by artists including Public Enemy and the Wu-Tang Clan. Johnson followed those successes including “Dresses too Short,” “Back for a Taste of Your Love,” and “Is it Because I’m Black,” which he wrote in response to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968). In 1975, he had his biggest success with his recording of “Take Me to the River,” written by Al Green. It became Johnson’s only top ten R&B hit and his only song to crack the top 50 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. He continued to release singles until his retirement in the mid-1980s. In later years, Johnson returned to recording and performing, as well as suing several artists for sampling his music without his permission.
Johnson on learning to play guitar
“Do you know of Matt ‘Guitar’ Murphy? He was my older brother, Jimmy’s friend. He had a guitar that he would leave with Jimmy sometimes. When he would go to the field, he would tell me, ‘Boy don’t touch that guitar when I go to the field.’ Of course, when he’d go to the field, I’d pick up that guitar. That’s how I made my first licks.” —from a 2020 interview for Blues Blast magazine
Tributes to Syl Johnson
Full obituary: Pitchfork
