Johnson, who lost his brother, the acclaimed bluesman Jimmy Johnson, just six days before his own death, made some stellar sides, first in Chicago and then in Memphis at Hi Records. Syl's emotive singing and guitar playing eluded the accolades he deserved.
It was Bonnie Raitt's version of " 'Bout to Make Me Leave Home" in 1977 that hipped me to Johnson. His remake of Al Green's "Take Me to the River" (1975, well before Talking Heads in 1978) was his biggest chart smash, but he's best known for the songs "Different Strokes" (1967) and the searing "Is It Because I'm Black?" in 1969. Those two tracks have been sampled by hip hop artists many times, often without compensation, so Johnson had been through his share of litigation over royalties.
In 2010, the Numero Group put together a four disc retrospective, Complete Mythology, and sent a copy to KAOS radio. I was so excited that the DJs there gave it some serious airplay, as it covered such a wide range of styles: rhythmic stuff influenced by James Brown and Wilson Pickett, ballads, hard driving rock-soul, and both of the '60s songs I've mentioned. Complete Mythology turned out to be a treasure trove; Syl was the man!
Betty Davis (born Betty Mabry, 1944 in Durham, NC) is gone, too. Moving to New York and finding musical compatriots in Hugh Masekela, Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone in the '60s, she eventually married Miles Davis, becoming his second wife.
Davis released two tough, abrasive and downright kinky albums in 1973-1974 on the Just Sunshine label: Betty Davis and They Say I'm Different. If you've not heard those acerbic blasts of funk, they are undeniably sexual, though hardly profane compared to what's happening in music today. (Then again, Americans in 2022 are hardly behaving recklessly if they're following Covid-19 protocols; with the pandemic only letting up a little recently, one can't sing near another person these days, let alone kiss them.)
Nasty Gal followed in 1975, and a fourth record, Is It Love or Desire, (sometimes titled Crashin' from Passion) was waxed in 1976 but not issued until 2009--one track includes violin from Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. Seattle's Light In the Attic label helped to rekindle interest in Betty Davis through 2007 reissues of her initial two LPs, which include the riveting "If I'm In Luck I Might Get Picked Up" and "He Was a Big Freak"--so out there and great.
Betty Davis and Syl Johnson have left their mark. Damn! We're supposed to be honoring black performers this month, not eulogizing them.