10 Facts About Syl Johnson

However, at Hi Records, Syl Johnson was always to some extent in the shadow of Al Green, commercially if not artistically.

Syl Johnson's voice is still shriller, and more strained than Green's, but that can be a satisfying distinction in the right context.

The title track of that album was Syl Johnson's last hit record.

Around the mid-1980s, Syl Johnson mostly retired from performing, making only occasional appearances at blues clubs.

In 1992, Syl Johnson found out that his song "Different Strokes" had been sampled by several rappers, including Wu-Tang Clan, Public Enemy, Kool G Rap, Hammer, De La Soul, and the Geto Boys.

Syl Johnson recorded the album Back in the Game, released by Delmark Records in 1994, which featured the Hi Rhythm Section and his youngest daughter, Syleena Johnson.

Syl Johnson was one of the most sampled artists, largely from "Different Strokes" and "Is It Because I'm Black".

Syl Johnson felt passionately that taking music from an original artist without proper compensation constituted theft, and he sued other artists for copyright infringement.

Syl Johnson was the brother of blues guitarist and singer Jimmy Syl Johnson and bassist Mack Thompson.

Syl Johnson died of congestive heart failure, at the home of one of his daughters, in Mableton, Georgia, on February 6,2022, at the age of 85, six days after the death of his older brother Jimmy.