Syl Johnson died on February 6, 2019, at the age of 85. Six days after his elder brother Jimmy Johnson died, the singer died. Although the reason for death is unclear, his family made a statement in which they referred to him as a legend. According to Johnson’s family’s statement:
“It is with great regret that we announce the death of Soul & Blues Hall of Fame icon Syl Johnson” (born Sylvester Thompson in Holly Springs, MS). He spent his life as a singer, musician, and entrepreneur who loved black music as a father, brother, grandfather, great grandfather, uncle, friend, and artist.”
Syl Johnson’s net worth and career
Sylvester “Syl” Johnson was best known for his hit singles Different Strokes, Is It Because I’m Black, and Take Me to the River. The net worth of the Holly Springs, Mississippi native was assessed to be approximately $6 million by CelebrityNetWorth. He amassed a substantial fortune as a result of his musical career and the popular songs he created in the 1960s and 1970s.
Life and work
Syl Johnson and his family moved to Chicago in 1950, and their next-door neighbor was blues guitarist Magic Sam. In the 1950s, Johnson sang and performed with Magic Sam and other blues singers. In 1959, he recorded with Jimmy Reed for Vee-Jay Records before making his solo debut with Teardrops on Federal Records.
He began recording for Twilight/Twinight of Chicago in the mid-1960s and rose to prominence as a hitmaker and producer with his first hit, Come On, Sock It to Me, in 1967. Johnson created songs on African-American identity and societal challenges, such as Is It Because I’m Black, which peaked at number 11 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1969. In 1971, he and Willie Mitchell made three albums for Hi Records. They had multiple successes, including Take Me to the River, which peaked at number seven on the R&B chart in 1975.
After two years of collaboration with Hi, Johnson released two LPs on his Shama label, the second of which, Ms. Fine Brown Frame, was picked up by Broadwalk Records for distribution. Johnson stopped playing in the mid-1980s and only made sporadic appearances at blues clubs. He also founded a seafood restaurant franchise and began investing in real estate.
Johnson later realized in 1992 that his song, Different Strokes, had been sampled by rappers such as Kool G Rap, Wu-Tang Clan, Geto Boys, and others. This prompted him to return to the music business and release the album Back in the Game in 1994. Johnson was fiercely protective of his work, suing Jay-Z and Kanye West in 2011 for utilizing elements of his song in The Joy without his consent. He has also sued musicians such as Michael Jackson and Cypress Hill for exploiting his songs without his permission.