The Brothers Johnson

Biography

The Brothers Johnson was an American funk 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!×Stomp!1980 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAStomp!3:58BLet’s Swing4:07").

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'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' song, "Hey Jude", for the 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 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×Look Out for #11976 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracksA1I'll Be Good to You4:47A2Thunder Thumbs and Lightnin' Licks4:51A3Get the Funk Out Ma Face2:27A4Tomorrow3:02A5Free and Single4:11B1Come Together4:14B2Land of Ladies4:32B3Dancin' and Prancin'3:06B4The Devil3:46, 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. 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. 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×Light Up the Night12 February 1980 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracksA1Stomp6:24A2Light Up the Night3:48A3You Make Me Wanna Wiggle3:38A4Treasure4:13B1This Had to Be5:14B2All About the Heaven4:01B3Smilin' on Ya3:46B4Closer to the One That You Love3:13B5Celebrations4:31 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. The brothers self-produced the subsequent album, Winners×Winners19 June 1981 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1The Real Thing3:54A2Dancin' Free3:44A3Sunlight3:43A4Teaser3:47A5Caught Up3:52B1In the Way3:17B2I Want You5:12B3Do It for Love3:38B4Hot Mama3:26B5Daydreamer Dream3:57; 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, "Strawberry Letter 23" (Hot 100 #5 in 1977, originally recorded by Shuggie Otis), "Ain't We Funkin' Now" (1978), and "Stomp!×Stomp!1980 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAStomp!3:58BLet’s Swing4:07" (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 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 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 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, 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.

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, released in 1981 on Arista Records.

Various 1980s reunions and other projects

In 1984 the brothers reunited in the recording studio. The resulting Leon Sylvers-produced LP, Out of Control×Out of Control9 July 1984 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1You Keep Me Coming Back5:05A2Lovers Forever4:36A3Do You3:17A4Let's Try Love Again3:26A5I Came Here to Party4:04B1Out of Control4:10B2Save Me4:01B3Tokyo4:36B4Dazed4:16B5It's All Over Now3:55, 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", Streets opening track showcases George's bass-guitar playing. He previously showed his bass skills on tracks like "Teaser" and "The Great Awaking" from Winners, 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.
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, 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' song 'Daydreaming" from his third album Harry's House.

Live albums

Strawberry Letter 23: Live (2004, Goldenlane)