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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Ben Beaumont-Thomas

Syl Johnson, much-sampled blues, funk and soul singer, dies aged 85

Syl Johnson posing in 1972.
‘More soul than Marvin Gaye, more funk than James Brown’ … Syl Johnson in 1972. Photograph: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Syl Johnson, the blues, funk and soul singer whose work was much sampled in US hip-hop, has died aged 85.

No cause of death was announced by his family, who said of Johnson: “He lived his life as a singer, musician and entrepreneur who loved black music … A fiery, fierce, fighter, always standing for the pursuit of justice as it related to his music and sound, he will truly be missed by all who crossed his path.”

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