The Brothers Johnson

[singing]

We got the Brothers Johnson, we got the Brothers Reuben.

Nailed it.

There we go.

Yes, totally.

And, you know, when you, the music with a lot of people are dancing to right now is like a lot of 80s music, you know, from the Michael Jacksons to Brothers Johnson, to Earth, Wind and Fire, to Cooling the Gang.

And it's all live music, you know, some of the, had a few sequence, sequence drums, but you'd always get real players playing on stuff.

So I think that will never go away.

And I was I was a junior journalist.

Really? Yes.

I was working for the Caribbean Times and we had a summer break and we went around interviewing loads of artists that we really loved, you know, from the Brothers Johnson that I mentioned, Ramsey Lewis.

Denise Williams.

Dave Lee and John Morales on the mix of, uh, the tunes.

This is, uh, The Brothers Johnson's The Real Thing, mixed up by Dave Lee.

[upbeat music] So glad we got a good thing.

So glad we got a real thing.

[laughing] [upbeat music] Good mix set.

As I said, on the, uh, new Remix for the Max album from, uh, John Morales and Dave Lee.

The Brothers Johnson and The Real Thing, into John Williams.

[singing] So glad we got it good.

Joseph Toss says Two Steps Behind by Def Leppard.

Karen Schupp lists Strawberry Letter 23 by The Brothers Johnson.

Mark Hutchinson added it was originally by Shuggie Otis six years earlier.

That song is actually on our countdown.

Jakes" Goldfine, lifelong funkateer, DJ, music journalist, author of Everything Is on the One: The First Guide to Funk, and producer of The Truth in Rhythm, Where'd You Get Your Funk From?, and Jam Fans Forum podcasts.

In this episode, we're gonna turn our attention to one of the slickest, funkiest, and smoothest soul, funk, and pop acts of all time, George and Louis Johnson, better known as The Brothers Johnson.

For this outing, we're embarking on a double dip of two of their hippiest and hardest hitting tracks; 1975's Get the Funk Out My Face, and 1980s Stomp.

We'll check out a live version from DC's Capitol Theater recorded in April 1980, so we can see this pair famously nicknamed Thunder Thumbs & Lightning Licks at the peak of their power and fame.

So forgive me.

Just one person said that, so hopefully he's a anomaly.

But, uh, Brothers Johnson, they first cut their teeth with Bobby Womack, The Supremes and Billy Preston.

At that time, George and his younger brother Luis Johnson became proteges of Quincy Jones contributing several standout tracks to his 1975 album called Mellow Madness.

The band has released seven albums, including Revolutionary Soldiers and Crystal Vision, both of which received regular rotation on Sirius XM.

Bravo! Revolutionary Soldiers charted 11 on the Relics radio chart, and Hannisfield has opened for national acts including Derek Trucks, Mihaly, Donna Jean of the Grateful Dead, the Soundtribe Sector 9, the Average White Band, and the Brothers Johnson classic, and the samples.

You may see the group perform as a duo with Bliss on drums and bass and Hannah on guitar and vocals, or as a full band with members John Pitobaldo, On bass, Chris Anador on a variety of instruments and Aiden Moore on lead guitar.

Beyond the stage, Hannah is a certified life coach who empowers people to clarify their vision and tap into their inner power and find their true voice.