Blues, funk and soul singer Cel Johnson dies at 85 | spirit

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Blues, funk and soul singer Seal Johnson has died at the age of 85.

His family did not announce a cause of death, which said of Johnson: “He lived his life as a singer, musician and businessman who loved black music…He was fiery, fierce, a fighter, always standing up for the pursuit of justice as it relates” His music and voice will truly be missed by all who crossed his path.”

Born in Mississippi in 1936, Johnson grew up in Chicago where he stayed all his life. He released his first solo material in 1959, and wrote a multi-genre work that made him describe himself as “the jack of all trades. More spirit than Marvin.” [Gaye]You are more than James [Brown]”.

He had his biggest hit in 1975 with Take Me To the River, the song written by fellow Al Green and also recorded by Talking Heads. It reached #7 on the US R&B chart and crossed into the top 50 on the pop chart.

Perhaps his most famous song, though, is the various hits, sampled by dozens of hip-hop artists: Wu-Tang Clan used her catchy brass line while Kanye West and Jay-Z used Johnson’s energetic exclamation on their track The Joy. She also appears in such classics as De La Soul’s The Magic Number, Public Enemy’s Fight the Power, and Eric B & Rakim’s I Know You Got Soul.

Johnson’s other major track was “Is It Because I’m Black?” It has also been sampled frequently, again by the Wu-Tang Clan and also by Snoop Dogg and Cypress Hill. Johnson attempted to sue the latter group, arguing that their sample had not been cleared, but lost in 2008 and on appeal in 2011. Johnson reached a settlement with West and Jay-Z over their use of different clots in 2012.

Show in Chicago 2015. Photo: Raymond Boyd/Getty Images

“I’m not Bill Gates,” he said in 2010, “but I’ll never have to worry about money again because of a rapper.”

After releasing 10 albums, Johnson retired in the late 1980s, but returned to music in the mid-1990s. He recorded with his daughter Selena Johnson, an R&B singer best known for her guest voice on Kanye West’s single All Falls Down.

His albums found new audiences after they were re-released by Numero Group in 2010 – and his box office collection of his work earned him two Grammy Award nominations. The label said in honor: “Try it wherever you end up, old friend.”

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