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The Brothers Johnson was an American
funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
and R&B band consisting of the American brothers George ("Lightnin' Licks") and Louis E. Johnson ("Thunder Thumbs"). They achieved their greatest success from the mid-1970s to early 1980s, 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. 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 William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, backing Little Richa ...
's band and wrote selections for his albums '' Music Is My Life'' and '' The Kids & Me'' before leaving his group in 1973. In 1976, the Brothers covered the
Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
' song, "
Hey Jude "Hey Jude" is a song by the English rock music, rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in August 1968. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The single was the Beatles' fir ...
", for the musical documentary ''
All This and World War II All or ALL may refer to: عرص Biology and medicine * Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer * Anterolateral ligament, a ligament in the knee * ''All.'', taxonomic author abbreviation for Carlo Allioni (1728–1804), Italian physician and pro ...
''.
Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...
hired them to play on his LP ''Mellow Madness'', and recorded four of their songs, including "Is It Love That We're Missin'?" 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, which went to number 9 on the U.S. Billboard chart. Their ''Right on Time'' album was released in May 1977 and reached number 13 on the
Billboard Hot 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a record ...
. ''Blam!!'' came out in August 1978 and reached number 7 on the Billboard 200. Two of the band's songs were featured on the soundtrack of the 1976 film '' Mother, Jugs & Speed'' and one on the 1997 film ''
Jackie Brown ''Jackie Brown'' is a 1997 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, based on the 1992 novel ''Rum Punch'' by Elmore Leonard. It stars Pam Grier as Jackie Brown, a flight attendant who smuggles money between the United Sta ...
''. 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 ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
''. 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) which prominently featured
Syreeta Wright Syreeta Wright (born Rita Wright, February 28, 1946 – July 6, 2004), known mononymously as Syreeta, was an American singer-songwriter, best known for her music during the early 1970s through the early 1980s. Wright's career heights were songs ...
, " Strawberry Letter 23" (Hot 100 #5 in 1977, originally recorded by
Shuggie Otis Johnny Shuggie Otis (born Johnny Alexander Veliotes Jr.; November 30, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter, recording artist, and multi-instrumentalist. Otis's composition " Strawberry Letter 23" as recorded by The Brothers Johnson topped ...
), "Ain't We Funkin' Now" (1978), and " Stomp!" (Hot 100 #7 and Hot Dance Music/Club Play #1 in 1980). Their styles include
funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
, and R&B
ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...
s. Each album also included at least one instrumental cut that would either be considered light jazz ("Tomorrow", 1976; "Q", 1977; "Streetwave", 1978; "Smilin' On Ya", 1980; "Tokyo", 1984) or funk ("Thunder Thumbs & Lightnin' Licks", 1976; "Brother Man", 1977; "Mista' Cool", 1978; "Celebrations", 1980).


1982 split

The duo split up in 1982 to pursue separate projects.


Louis's solo work

Louis Johnson recorded a
gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...
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 Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
's '' Thriller''. In 1985 he recorded a single, "Kinky", on
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
; 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, age 60. His last performance was in 2013. Tommy Johnson left the group and had a 29-year career with the
Los Angeles Fire Department The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD or LA City Fire) provides firefighting services and technical rescue services, hazardous materials services, and emergency medical services to the residents of the city of Los Angeles, California, United ...
.


George'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 Jeffrey H. Lorber (born November 4, 1952) is an American keyboardist, composer, and record producer. After six previous nominations, Lorber won his first 60th Annual Grammy Awards, Grammy Award on January 28, 2018 for Best Contemporary Instrumen ...
, released in 1981 on
Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...
.


Various 1980s reunions and other projects

In 1984 the brothers 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 ("Kick It to the Curb") was a collaboration with their then-neighbor Irene Cara. Although "Kick It to the Curb" became a minor hit, the album's success was even more limited. 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", ''Street''s 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 Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...
and
Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan ( ), is an American singer. Known as the " Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of ...
. 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''. 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 Adina Marie Howard (born November 14, 1973) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to fame during the mid-1990s with her debut album, ''Do You Wanna Ride?'' and her debut single, "Freak like Me". Some of her other minor hit record, hits ...
, Cherrelle, Ray Parker Jr., and others. Louis Johnson was found dead at his home in Las Vegas, May 21, 2015. The cause of death was gastrointestinal bleeding of the esophagus. In 2022, the brothers' song "Ain't We Funkin' Now" was sampled in singer
Harry Styles Harry Edward Styles (born 1 February 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His showmanship, artistry, and flamboyant fashion have had a Cultural impact of Harry Styles, significant impact on popular culture. Styles's musical ca ...
' song 'Daydreaming" from his third album '' Harry's House''.


Discography


Studio albums


Live albums

*''Strawberry Letter 23: Live'' (2004, Goldenlane)


Compilation albums


Singles


Videography

*1977 – ''Right on Time'' *1980 – ''Stomp'' *1981 – ''The Real Thing'' *1988 – ''Kick It to the Curb''


See also

*
List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. dance chart This is a list of recording artists who have reached number one on ''Billboard magazine's'' Dance Club Songs chart. ''Billboard'' began ranking dance music on the week ending October 26, 1974, and this is the standard music popularity chart in ...
* List of Number 1 Dance Hits (United States)


Notes


References


External links


Brothers Johnson career on A&M Records
with gallery, international discography *

(1987/1988) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brothers Johnson, The American dance music groups American funk musical groups African-American musical groups American disco groups Family musical groups Grammy Award winners Musical groups from Los Angeles Brother duos American soul musical groups Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups disestablished in 1982 A&M Records artists Capitol Records artists