Syl Johnson (July 1, 1936 – February 6, 2022) – I'm Talkin' Bout Freedom (1970)
Syl Johnson (July 1, 1936 – February 6, 2022) – I'm Talkin' Bout Freedom (1970)
A powerful freedom song from Johnson's influential, socially conscious album Is It Because I'm Black, released more than a year before What's Going On.
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Syl Johnson was a multi-talented singer, songwriter and producer who in 1970 released what was arguably the first socially conscious concept album by a Black artist, Is It Because I'm Black. His records were staples of R&B charts from the late 60s through mid-70s, although they seldom crossed over to white audiences, and have been widely sampled by hip hop producers.
Sylvester Thompson moved to Chicago as a teenager and lived next door to blues guitarist Magic Sam. He soon began playing with Sam and sitting in with other blues greats like Junior Wells and Howlin' Wolf. His first single “Teardrops” was released in 1959 on Federal, a subsidiary of King Records, featuring Freddie King on guitar. Label owner Syd Nathan gave him the stage name Syl Johnson. But his early recordings didn't catch fire, and Johnson kept his day job as a truck driver.
He spent the first half of the sixties recording for small labels and performing at clubs. In the middle of the decade, he signed with Chicago's Twilight Records (later to change its name to Twinight) and finally his records became hits. “Come On Sock It to Me” and “Different Strokes” both went top-20 R&B in 1967, and the latter's super funky breaks were destined to be extensively sampled.
Johnson released “Is It Because I'm Black” in 1969, a single that reached #11 on the R&B charts and was one of the most poignant and heartfelt message songs of the civil rights era. He was inspired to write it after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. An extended version became the title track to his second LP, released the following year in 1970.
It was recorded with the former Brunswick Records house band, session musicians who became known as Pieces Of Peace and subsequently backed Johnson. One of the group’s future members was Fred White, who later played drums for Donny Hathaway and Earth, Wind & Fire.
Considered by many to be the first socially conscious concept album by a Black artist, Is It Because I'm Black came out thirteen months before Marvin Gaye's What's Going On. Other message songs included the great “Together, Forever,” written by Pieces of Peace bassist Bernard Reed, the hopeful, inspirational “Black Balloons,” and the superb “Concrete Reservation,“ an epic look at life in the ghetto. There were also covers of Joe South’s “Walk A Mile In My Shoes,” and the Beatles’ “Come Together,” and an upbeat party song that closed out the album, “Right On.”
However, the LP did not sell well. Its undistinctive cover art didn’t help, with a title finger painted by photographer Jerry Griffith over a stock photo of a brick wall. But the biggest problem was summed up by Johnson:
“That was a college record. Black college kids. They’re political. But these kind of records tend to hurt you a bit. You’ve got white people, and then you’ve got white liberals. But you’ve got white people who care nothing about you talking about being black. They say ‘Why shouldn’t I sing “Is It Because I’m White”?’ They just don’t care for it. Not that they hate it, but they’re not going to pay five or six dollars to buy an album of it.”
One of the album's finest masterpieces was Johnson's powerful freedom anthem “I'm Talkin' Bout Freedom,” a universal appeal for the world to unite and seek liberation. As he eloquently reminded us:
"Makes no difference who you are...or what color you happen to be...as long as you're alive and breathing...this has got to be one of your needs. I'm talkin' about freedom!”
“I'm Talkin' Bout Freedom” was arguably the most political song on an album full of them, and urged listeners to imagine a better society. “What a wonderful world this would be…if everybody could live free!” It was co-written by Byron Bowie, saxophonist and flutist with Pieces of Peace, and William Keyes, who also co-wrote the beautiful soul-jazz masterpiece “Brand New Feeling” by The Awakening, released on Black Jazz Records in 1972.
In the 70s, Johnson switched labels to Memphis-based Hi Records. Working with producer Willie Mitchell, he released three albums and numerous singles. In 1975, "Take Me To The River" hit #7 R&B, making it Johnson's all-time biggest record. But during this period he was always overshadowed by Al Green, the label's biggest hitmaker.
After retiring from the music business in the 80s, Johnson staged a comeback in the 90s after realizing how many hip hop artists had been sampling his work. The excellent 2015 documentary Any Way the Wind Blows chronicled his life and career.
#soul #funk #Chicago #SylJohnson