The Brothers Johnson

The Brothers Johnson

Brothers Johnson in 1976
Background information
Also known as Brothers Johnson
Origin Los Angeles, United States
Genres R&B, funk
Years active 1975–82, 1984–present
Labels A&M, Capitol
Associated acts Passage, David Diggs, Quincy Jones, Billy Preston
Members George Johnson
Past members Alex Weir
Richard Heath
Bobby Rodriguez
Wayne Vaughn
Ricky Lawson
Richard Diamond
Michael "Patches" Stewart
Michael Perkins
Malcolm Robinson
Mark Johnson
Louis Johnson (deceased)
Arthur Arnold

The Brothers Johnson were an American funk and R&B band consisting of American musicians and brothers George ("Lightnin' Licks") and Louis E. Johnson ("Thunder Thumbs"). They achieved their greatest success from the mid-1970s to early '80s, with three singles topping the R&B charts ("I'll Be Good to You", "Strawberry Letter 23", and "Stomp!").

Background

Formation

Guitarist/vocalist George and bassist/vocalist Louis formed the band Johnson Three Plus One with older brother Tommy and their cousin Alex Weir while attending school in Los Angeles, California.[1][2] When they became professionals, the band backed such touring R&B acts as Bobby Womack and the Supremes. George and Louis Johnson later joined Billy Preston's band and wrote Music in My Life and The Kids and Me for him before leaving his group in 1973. In 1976, The Brothers covered the Beatles' song, Hey Jude, for the ephemeral musical documentary All This and World War II.

Quincy Jones hired them to play on his LP Mellow Madness, and recorded four of their songs, including Is It Love That We're Missing? and Just a Taste of Me.

After touring with various artists including Bobby Womack and Billy Preston, they were hired by Quincy Jones for a tour in Japan and produced their debut album Look Out For #1, released in March 1976 (#9 US) Their Right on Time album was released in May 1977 and reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 200. Blam!! came out in August 1978 and reached number 7 on the Billboard 200.

Two of the duo's songs were featured on the soundtrack of the 1976 film Mother, Jugs & Speed. The instrumental track Thunder Thumbs and Lightnin' Licks refers to the brothers' nicknames. Get the Funk Out Ma Face was cowritten with Quincy Jones.

Their popular album Light Up The Night was released in March 1980 and rose to #5 on the Billboard 200. It was number 46 on the "Top 100 LPs of 1980" list in Rolling Stone Magazine. The brothers self-produced the subsequent album, Winners; released in July 1981, it only reached #48 on the Billboard 200.

Among their most popular songs are I'll Be Good to You (Billboard Hot 100 #3 in 1976), Strawberry Letter 23 (Hot 100 #5 in 1977, originally recorded by Shuggie Otis), Ain't We Funkin' Now (1978), and Stomp! (Hot 100 #7 and Hot Dance Music/Club Play #1 in 1980). Their styles include funk, and R&B ballads. Each album also included at least one instrumental cut that would either be considered lite jazz (Tomorrow 1976, Q 1977, Smilin' On Ya 1980, Tokyo 1984) or Funk (Thunder Thumbs &Lightning Licks 1976, Brother Man 1976, Mista Cool 1978, Celebrations 1980).

1982 Split

The duo split up in 1982 to pursue separate projects.

Louis Johnson's solo work

Louis Johnson recorded a gospel music album in 1981 with his own group Passage, which included his then-wife Valerie Johnson and former Brothers Johnson percussionist/singer Richard Heath. He played bass on Michael Jackson's "Off The Wall" and Thriller. In 1985 he recorded a single, "Kinky", on Capitol Records; it appears on his Evolution album which was exclusively released in Europe that year. Louis then made 3 instructional videotapes for the Starlicks video-distribution company in which he shared his bass-playing skills. The first was released in 1985. He then settled down to enjoy family life with his wife and son, but by 1988 his then-manager Diane Taren talked him into going back into the recording studio. He started his bass academy during the 1990s and gave workshop clinics via his own Website. Louis Johnson died on May 21, 2015.

George Johnson's solo work

George Johnson released one single in 1985, "Back Against The Wall", on Quincy Jones' own Qwest label. A complete album (recorded but unreleased) came from that session, as George confirmed when he and Louis were interviewed around 1987/88 for Blues & Soul Magazine in the United Kingdom (see link below). George also delivered guitar work for Steve Arrington's album Dancing in the Key of Life (1985) and had ad-libbed vocals on the track "Think Back And Remember" from the Galaxian album by the Jeff Lorber Fusion, released in 1981 on Arista Records.

Various 1980s reunions and other projects

Brothers Johnson in 1980

In 1984 the brothers briefly reunited in the recording studio. The resulting Leon Sylvers-produced LP, Out of Control, did not equal their past success, but it did garner them another R&B hit with "You Keep Me Coming Back". They teamed up again in 1988 to record "Kickin'", the title track of which was a collaboration with their then-neighbor Irene Cara. This album's success was even more limited, but it did include the minor hit "Kick it to the Curb".

Between the two albums, both George and Louis released their aforementioned solo material and also appeared on Street Shadows, an album by keyboardist/arranger David Diggs, who had provided horn and string arrangements for Winners, Blast, and Louis' Passage. "Last Night", Streets opening track, showcases George's bass-guitar playing. He previously showed his bass skills on tracks like "Teaser" from Winners and "The Great Awakening" from Blast, the same way Louis shows his guitar skills on the duo's various compositions.

Also during this time, the band's song "Tomorrow" (originally an instrumental on the B-side of "Get The Funk Out Ma Face") was recorded with vocals by Tevin Campbell for Quincy Jones' Back on the Block release in 1989. This album also included Jones' hit remake of the Brothers Johnson's "I'll Be Good to You", featuring Ray Charles and Chaka Khan.

The 2002 reunion tour and death of Louis Johnson

Besides the brothers' brief appearance in Japan around 1994 and George guest-appearing at a Graham Central Station concert in Japan (including a released double-CD), the duo launched an expanded US tour in 2002 which got positive, wide exposure. It was visited by many fans and various artists in the entertainment business. Along with a website and discussion-forum, online visitors could share their experiences of the shows by wandering through the Land of Ladies and reliving Funkadelia's heyday. A few years later, a combi-release of live-CD + DVD was released under the name Strawberry Letter 23: Live.

Until recently, the brothers have been doing performances on their own. In 2006, Louis gave a duo-show with a drummer on the Poetry in Motion 1 Festival in Maryland. In late 2007 George performed with his own band at a Detroit-Festival, including a persona called Sir Nose. These days George performs with a special band, an initiative of Michael Henderson that includes Adina Howard, Cherrelle, Ray Parker Jr., and others.

Louis Johnson died May 21, 2015. No cause of death was given.[3]

Discography

Studio albums

Year Album Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales threshold)
Record label
US
[4]
US
R&B

[4]
AUS
[5]
CAN
[6]
UK
[7]
1976 Look Out for #1 9 1 25
  • US: Platinum [8]
A&M
1977 Right on Time 13 2 43 36
  • US: Platinum [8]
1978 Blam! 7 1 51 48
  • US: Platinum [8]
1980 Light Up the Night 5 1 57 58 22
  • US: Platinum [8]
1981 Winners 48 10 42
1984 Out of Control 91 20
1988 Kickin'
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Live albums

Compilation albums

Year Album Peak positions Record label
US
[4]
US
R&B

[4]
1982 Blast!: The Latest and the Greatest 138 23 A&M
1987 Classics, Vol. 11
1996 Greatest Hits
1998 The Best of the Brothers Johnson PolyGram
2000 The Millennium Collection: The Best of the Brothers Johnson A&M
2003 The Universal Masters Collection UMG
Strawberry Letter 23: The Best of the Brothers Johnson A&M
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions Album
US
[4]
US
R&B

[4]
US
Dan

[4]
AUS
[5]
CAN
[6]
UK
[7]
1976 "I'll Be Good to You" 3 1 12 Look Out for #1
"Get the Funk Out Ma Face" 30 4 11 31
"Free and Single" 103 26
1977 "Strawberry Letter 23" 5 1 25 8 35 Right on Time
"Runnin' for Your Lovin'" 107 20
1978 "Love Is" 50
"Ride-O-Rocket" 104 45 50 Blam!!
"Ain't We Funkin' Now" 102 45 43
1980 "Stomp!" 7 1 1 13 49 6 Light Up the Night
"Light Up the Night" 16 47
"Treasure" 73 36
1981 "The Real Thing" 67 11 50 Winners
"Dancin' Free" 51
1982 "Welcome to the Club" 13 Blast!: The Latest and the Greatest
1983 "I'm Giving You All of My Love" 75
1984 "You Keep Me Coming Back" 102 12 22 77 Out of Control
1988 "Kick It to the Curb" 52 Kickin'
"Party Avenue"
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Videography

See also

References

  1. Harrington, Richard (February 15, 2002). "Oh Brothers!". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
  2. DiscoMuseum.com Archived January 28, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "US Charts > The Brothers Johnson". Billboard. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
  4. 1 2 David Kent (1993). Australian Charts Book 1970—1992. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. 1 2 "CAN Charts > Brothers Johnson". RPM. Retrieved 2012-01-21.
  6. 1 2 "UK Charts > The Brothers Johnson". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "US Certifications > The Brothers Johnson". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2012-01-21.

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