Brothers Johnson
The Brothers Johnson first exposure to A&M Records was that George toured with Billy Preston in 1971. In 1972, Louis joined Billy's touring band and contributed song's to Preston's A&M albums Music Is My Life and The Kids and Me. In February 1975 the brothers were invited to a recording session for Quincy Jones' Mellow Madness album on A&M. Louis said, "George and I had dug Quincy's music for along time and really wanted to meet him, so when we had the opportunity we jumped. During a break in the recording we rapped to him and told him that were musicians and writers. He told use to play for him...and we played hi a couple of our songs. His reaction was awesome--we couldn't believe it!....Quincy used four of our songs." The brothers toured with Quincy who got them their contract with A&M.
Q remembered meeting the brothers in A&M's Compendium. "We had just begun the initial sessions for [my album] Mellow Madness... One day Joe Greene brought the Johnson bothers down to the studio just to hang out, and Louis picked up the bass and blew my mind. I had never heard anybody play like that in my life, I was amazed. Then while I was still in shock over Louis, his brother George took out his guitar and played his behind off. Later they showed me some of the tunes that they had written--tat put the icing on the cake. To make a long story short, four of the Johnson brothers' songs appear on Mellow Madness. We just signed them to A&M."
The Brothers Johnson were hired by A&M recording artist and producer Quincy Jones for sessions and tours. Jones got the Brothers Johnson signed to A&M Records in 1976 then produced and arranged their first four albums.
Light Up the Night was a top 10 album within weeks of its release.
The Brothers Johnson and L.T.D. concert in December 1977 at the L.A. Forum was the first national satellite broadcast of R&B artists.
In 1978 Blam by the Brothers Johnson was the first picture disc geared to the black audience.
Re-signed with A&M Records on September 13, 1980.
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Brothers Johnson biography 1980
Brothers Johnson biography 1981
Official website: https://www.facebook.com/Brothers-Johnson-Band-809429009071409/
- Billboard
- Brothers Johnson a World-Class Club Band. David Fricke. Rolling Stone, July 10, 1980.
- Quincy Brings Us Up to Date. Quincy Jones. A&M Records Compendium, October 1975.
| Name | Member Years | Instruments |
|---|---|---|
| George Johnson | 1976-1989 | guitar, vocal |
| Louis Johnson | 1976-1989 | guitars, bass, vocals |
| Name | Birth | Death |
|---|---|---|
| George Johnson | 1953-05-17 | |
| Louis Johnson | 1955-04-13 | 2015-05-21 |
| Name | See associated acts |
|---|---|
| Louis Johnson | Passage |
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