John Earl Sayles Jr. (February 9, 1937 – August 17, 1993), known as Johnny Sayles, was an American R&B and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...

singer. Sayles was born in

Winnsboro, Texas Winnsboro is a city in Franklin and Wood counties in northeastern Texas, United States, north of Tyler. The population was 3,434 at the 2010 census, down from 3,584 at the 2000 census. Settlement of Winnsboro began in the 1850s with a post office ...

, United States. Around 1955, he moved to

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, whic ...

, where he sang with Eugene Neal’s Rocking Kings, and with

Ike Turner Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and ...

's band, the

Kings of Rhythm The Kings of Rhythm are an American music group formed in the late 1940s in Clarksdale, Mississippi and led by Ike Turner through to his death in 2007. Turner would retain the name of the band throughout his career, although the group has underg ...

. In 1959, he formed the Johnny Sayles Band, who played at

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined a ...

's Paradise Club. He left music for a time to study in

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

, returning in 1963 to tour with the Five Du-Tones Revue, in which he imitated

Little Johnny Taylor Little Johnny Taylor (born Johnny Lamont Merrett; February 11, 1943 – May 17, 2002) was an American blues and Soul music, soul singing, singer. He made sound recording and reproduction, recordings throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and continu ...

.Biography at ''Allmusic.com''
Retrieved 7 November 2016 Jerry Crimmins, "Obituary: Johnny Sayles, 56, 'Hard-soul' Singer", ''Chicago Tribune'', August 19, 1993
Retrieved 7 November 2016 When the tour reached

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, Sayles settled there and signed a recording deal with the Mar-V-Lus record label run by George Leaner. His first records for the label, "Don’t Turn Your Back On Me" / "You Told A Lie", followed by "You Did Me Wrong" / "Got You On My Mind", appealed to both blues and

deep soul Southern soul is a type of soul music that emerged from the Southern United States. The music originated from a combination of styles, including blues (both 12 bar and jump), country, early R&B, and a strong gospel influence that emanated fr ...

fans, but failed to reach the national charts. After further singles on Mar-V-Lus, he joined

Lou Rawls Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American record producer, singer, composer and actor. Rawls released more than 60 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably his s ...

on a tour of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...

, before returning to record on the Chi-Town, Minit and

Chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

labels in the 1960s. Discography, ''SoulfulKindaMusic.com''
Retrieved 7 November 2016 His song "Anything For You" was released in the UK and became a favorite on the Northern soul scene. In the late 1960s, he recorded for

Dakar Records Dakar Records (1967-1976) was a record label started by Carl Davis in 1967, while employed at Brunswick Records. The label was initially distributed by Atlantic Records subsidiary Cotillion Records, and was based in Chicago. All releases after la ...

, releasing an LP, ''Man On The Inside'', in 1973, and in the early 1970s recorded on the Brunswick label. However, he gave priority to live performances rather than recording, and his vocal power and stage presence were said to rival James Brown. Writer

Robert Pruter Robert Douglas Pruter (born July 1, 1944) is an American writer, mainly on soul and rhythm and blues music, and on sports. He was the rhythm and blues editor of '' Goldmine'' magazine from 1985 to 2006. Career In 1969, he was hired as an ass ...

described him as "one of the most exciting singers I've ever seen." Sayles worked as a guard at

Stateville Prison Stateville Correctional Center (SCC) is a maximum security state prison for men in Crest Hill, Illinois, United States, near Chicago. It is a part of the Illinois Department of Corrections. History Opened in 1925, Stateville was built to ac ...

in the 1970s and 1980s, but returned to singing, guesting on

Roy Buchanan Leroy "Roy" Buchanan (September 23, 1939 – August 14, 1988) was an American guitarist and blues musician. A pioneer of the Telecaster sound, Buchanan worked as a sideman and as a solo artist, with two gold albums early in his career and two la ...

's 1987 album ''

Hot Wires ''Hot Wires'' is a 1987 album by American guitarist and blues musician Roy Buchanan. This was his third record for Alligator Records. It was recorded by Justin Niebank and mixed by Niebank and Tim Hale with Brian Poer and David Axelbaum assisting ...

'' and performing with Tommy Jamison's Soul Invaders. Sayles died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...

in 1993, in

Hazel Crest, Illinois Hazel Crest is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 13,382 at the 2020 census. History Hazel Crest was first settled in 1870 in a farming community known as South Harvey. An enterprising newspaper editor na ...

, aged 56. "Johnny Sayles", ''Soulwalking.co.uk''
Retrieved 7 November 2016

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sayles, Johnny 1937 births 1993 deaths American soul singers Singers from Texas People from Winnsboro, Texas 20th-century American singers