CHICAGO (AP) — Syl Johnson, a soul singer and blues artist whose work was sampled by top hip-hop artists, has died at age 85.
Johnson was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi and began his music career in Chicago before moving to Hi Records in Memphis in the 1970s, where he performed alongside Al Green.
Johnson was known for his hits in the 1960s including “Come On Sock It To Me.” But it was his 1967 song “Different Strokes” that was sampled in the following decades by artists including Jay-Z, Kanye West, Tupac Shakur and Public Enemy.
Willie Mitchell recruited him to his Hi Records label, where he made cuts including “Is It Because I’m Black” and his biggest hit at the time, a cover version of “Take Me To The River.”
Johnson was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in Memphis in 2020.
A statement Sunday from his family calls him a “fiery, fierce fighter” and says his musical work is a “historical blueprint to all who experience it.” Family members did not say when he died or give a cause of death.
