{"title":"Syl Johnson","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSyl Johnson was an American funk\/soul\/blues singer and music producer. He began his career in the 1950s, singing and playing with blues artists such as Magic Sam, Billy Boy Arnold, Junior Wells, and Howlin' Wolf. In 1959, he made his solo debut with Federal Records backed by Freddie King on guitar. Johnson then went on to record for Twinight Records in the mid-1960s where he had several hits including \"Come On Sock It to Me\" in 1967.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDuring this time, Johnson explored themes of African-American identity and social problems in songs like \"Is It Because I'm Black,\" which reached Number 11 on the R\u0026amp;B charts in 1969. In 1971, he signed with Hi Records and recorded three albums and a number of singles produced by Willie Mitchell. Hits like \"We Did It,\" \"Back for a Taste of Your Love,\" and \"Take Me to the River\" solidified his success.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter leaving Hi Records, Johnson started his own label called Shama and released two LPs including the hit record \"Ms. Fine Brown Frame.\" In the mid-1980s, he became semi-retired from performing after starting a fast-food fish restaurant business. However, inspired by discovering that his song \"Different Strokes\" had been sampled by various rappers including Wu-Tang Clan and MC Hammer, Johnson made a comeback in 1994\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"chicago-blues-the-60s-new-breed","title":"Chicago Blues, The 60s New Breed","description":"\u003cp\u003eTwo artists who recorded for the legendary Federal label in 1959 and 1960, this album compiles 24 tracks offering a perfect snapshot of the R\u0026amp;B scene at the time, several of which include the guitar work of blues legend Freddie King. Experience the sounds that had Chicago juke boxes buzzing as the 50s morphed into the 60s. Includes half a dozen tracks never before available on CD anywhere in the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe informative booklet tells the story of both artists, together with photos, label and sleeve scans.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTracks: Teardrops \/ They Who Love \/ I've Got Love \/ Lonely Man \/ I've Got To Find My Baby \/ (She's So Fine) I Just Gotta Make Her Mine \/ Little Sally Walker \/ I Resign From Your Love \/ I Wanna Know \/ Well Oh Well \/ Please, Please, Please \/ I'm Looking For My Baby \/ Crying Tears \/ What Am I Going To Do \/ I Ain't Gonna Be No Monkey Man No More \/ I've Been Drinking Muddy Water \/ Smokey's Love Sick Blues \/ Come On Rock Little Girl \/ Honey, I Ain't Teasin' \/ Midnight And Day \/ Blind And Dumb Man Blues \/ I Can't Judge Nobody \/ Hello Little School Girl \/ Twist With Me Annie\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Jasmine","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50456743280971,"sku":"1154715","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/f9ecdaec-b248-40a6-b91c-7b2cea19fbe5_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727200671"},{"product_id":"diamond-in-the-rough","title":"Diamond in the Rough","description":"\u003cp\u003eFat Possum Remastered Edition. This second of three underrated releases for Hi finds Syl Johnson slowly but surely transforming from a credulous loser into a standup guy no one messes around with. \u003cem\u003eDiamond in the Rough\u003c\/em\u003e could be viewed as a creative bridge between the slightly formulaic Hi approach of 1973's \u003cem\u003eBack for a Taste of Your Love \u003c\/em\u003eand the more bluesy and rewarding \u003cem\u003eTotal Explosion\u003c\/em\u003e from 1975. Different from the southern soul belter which distinguished fellow Hi second leaguers Otis Clay and O.V. Wright, Johnson's unique feat lies in his earnest yet sometimes ironic take on love and relationships. Exemplary are 'Keeping Down Confusion' with its rolling organ and 'Don't Do It,' where the singer drives home the ultimate cliche of \"I was just doing my job \/ Working overtime,\" convincing listeners of wrongfully being accused of cheating on his better half. Singing at the top of his register unintentionally added to Johnson's well-timed delivery and was perfected for \u003cem\u003eTotal Explosion's\u003c\/em\u003e closing track 'That's Just My Luck.' Not a dry eye in the house as Johnson's seemingly guilty conscious (\"What am I doing here \/ With another man's wife \/ I'm shaking in fear \/ But I'm having the time of my life \/ I'm a fool \/ To put myself in jeopardy \/ But I can't help myself \/ She makes sweet love to me\") makes for an adultery song which holds up with the likes of Don Covay's 'I Was Checkin' out She Was Checkin' in.' \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDiamond in the Rough\u003c\/em\u003e has its own surprises, for instance in the minor R\u0026amp;B chart success of 'I Want to Take You Home to See Mama.' Initially coming on too joyfully honest for its own good, its credibility easily supersedes Al Green's 'Let's Get Married.' As ballads like the unfairly overlooked first single 'Please Don't Give up on Me' stand out, the albums best song remains the driving 'Stuck in Chicago.' The only song not written by Willie Mitchell and his gang, it paved the way for Total Explosion's tougher approach where the former Chicago bluesman would let it loose on his harmonica. His reading of 'Take Me to the River' gave the author and Hi superstar he was often compared to a run for his money. Like Big Mouth Billy Bass miming the song to Tony Soprano in one of the television series' episodes, Johnson did have the last laugh as 'getting stuck in Chicago' would lead to his biggest hit.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Fat Possum","offers":[{"title":"Orange LP | Rough Trade Exclusive","offer_id":50470814843211,"sku":"2003702","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50470813991243,"sku":"372839","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Diamond_in_the_Rough_2ff4d8c5_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727383590"},{"product_id":"diamond-in-the-rough-2","title":"Diamond In The Rough","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis second of three underrated releases for Hi finds Syl Johnson slowly but surely transforming from a credulous loser into a standup guy no one messes around with. Diamond in the Rough could be viewed as a creative bridge between the slightly formulaic Hi approach of 1973's Back for a Taste of Your Love and the more bluesy and rewarding Total Explosion from 1975. Different from the southern soul belter which distinguished fellow Hi second leaguers Otis Clay and O.V. Wright, Johnson's unique feat lies in his earnest yet sometimes ironic take on love and relationships.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Fat Possum","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50477501350219,"sku":"2009922","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/test_d818ef41_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727473391"},{"product_id":"tripping-on-your-love-foxy-brown","title":"Tripping On Your Love \/ Foxy Brown","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAfter parting ways with Memphis soul powerhouse Hi Records in 1979, Syl Johnson reanimated his dormant Shama imprint for another run at the charts. “Disco came in, my repertoire went down, down, down,\" Syl recalled. A string of tepid blues numbers followed, but by the end of the decade he'd found a new stroke: boogie. 1988's Foxy Brown album arrived to little fanfare, and nearly forty years later is a tough pull even its native Chicago. This shrinkflation reissue combines the title track and the album opener \"Tripping On Your Love\" for club use on the inconvenient 7\" format, housed in a full colour sleeve to keep the trainspotters guessing.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Numero","offers":[{"title":"7\" - Black","offer_id":56278265332043,"sku":"R2657-3783","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Screenshot2026-01-10at19.55.31.png?v=1768074974"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_042015a8_thumbnail_4096_3e1a0a87-17a2-4c67-89da-8bb39dfdd5a5.jpg?v=1727200651","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/de\/collections\/syl-johnson.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}