The Brothers Johnson

While still students in Los Angeles, guitarist and vocalist George Johnson joined his brother, bassist and vocalist Louis Johnson, along with older sibling Tommy and cousin Alex Weir to establish the group Johnson Three Plus One. As professionals the quartet supported touring R&B performers including Bobby Womack and the Supremes. George and Louis subsequently became members of Billy Preston’s ensemble, supplying him with the compositions “Music in My Life” and “The Kids and Me” prior to departing in 1973.

Quincy Jones enlisted the pair for his album Mellow Madness and included four of their numbers, among them “Is It Love That We’re Missing?” and “Just a Taste of Me.” He took them on a tour of Japan and, after they signed with A&M Records—his own label at the time—produced their first LP, Look Out for Number 1, released in 1976. The Brothers reached the top of the R&B chart and number three on the pop chart with “I’ll Be Good to You,” followed by further R&B number-one singles in 1977 and 1980 with “Strawberry Letter 23” and “Stomp!” respectively, while maintaining chart visibility through tracks such as “Get the Funk Out Ma Face” and “Runnin’ for Your Lovin’.” In 1989 Jones re-recorded “I’ll Be Good to You” with Ray Charles and Chaka Khan for his own album Back on the Block.

Look Out for Number 1 and Right on Time both earned platinum certification, the first four Brothers albums—Look Out for Number 1, Right on Time, Blam, and Light Up the Night—being produced by Jones. The group itself produced the 1981 single “The Real Thing,” which peaked at number eleven on the R&B chart, and scored another hit in 1982 with “Welcome to the Club.” The siblings then pursued individual projects: Louis played bass on Michael Jackson’s Thriller and cut a gospel album, while George collaborated with Steve Arrington. Leon Sylvers helmed the mid-1980s release Out of Control, which yielded the 1984 R&B hit “You Keep Coming Back” although it failed to match earlier commercial levels. The Brothers issued Kickin’ in 1988 and, the following year, co-wrote “Tomorrow” with Siedah Garrett for Jones’s Back on the Block. Louis Johnson passed away at his Las Vegas home in May 2015 at the age of sixty.