Alfred Orlando Johnson (February 11, 1948 – October 26, 2013) was an American R&B singer, writer, arranger and producer. He co-wrote the song "We Have Love for You" with

Deniece Williams Deniece Williams (born June Deniece Chandler; June 3, 1951) is an American singer. She has been described as "one of the great soul voices" by the BBC. She is best known for the songs " Free", " Silly", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" and two ''Bil ...

from her 1977 album ''Songbird''.

Biography

Born in Newport News, Virginia in 1948, Johnson attended

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and while there, co-founded the

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

group, the Unifics. The group, with Johnson as lead singer, scored three hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1968 and 1969 for the

Kapp Records Kapp Records was an independent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of Jack Kapp (who set up American Decca Records in 1934). David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca and RCA Victor. Kapp licensed its records to L ...

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed ...

. The first, "Court of Love" climbed to #25, but reached #3 on the US '' Billboard'' R&B chart. The follow-up, "The Beginning of My End" got to #36 on the Hot 100 and #9 R&B. Two further releases in 1969 reached the R&B chart. Johnson continued to write songs for other artists throughout the 70s including ''

Sparkle Sparkle may refer to: * Sparkle (catamaran), a catamaran designed by Angus Primrose * Sparkle (drink), a lemon-flavored soft drink * Sparkle, a brand of paper towels owned by Georgia-Pacific * Sparkle Plenty, a character in the ''Dick Tracy'' c ...

'' star Lonette McKee,

Tata Vega Tata or TATA may refer to: Places * Jamshedpur, a city in Jharkhand, India also known as Tatanagar or Tata * Tata, Hungary, a town in Hungary * Tata Islands, a pair of small islands off the coast of New Zealand * Tata, Morocco, a city in Tata ...

and

. In 1978 he recorded his debut solo album, ''Peaceful'' which he co-produced, as well as arranging and co-writing, for a small label, Marina, part-owned by former singer, Lloyd Price. In 1980, Johnson collaborated with jazz/soul producer

Norman Connors Norman Connors (born March 1, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, composer, arranger, and producer who has led a number of influential jazz and R&B groups. He also achieved several big R&B hits of the day, especially with love ballads. He is pos ...

for his second solo album, ''Back For More'', on Columbia Records. This came after he had sung on Norman Connors' album, ''Invitation'' for Arista Records in 1979, singing the lead track, "Your Love". ''Back for More'' peaked at #48 on the Billboard Black Albums chart. The lead single from the album, "I'm Back for More", a duet with

Jean Carn Jean Carn, also spelled Jean Carne (born Sarah Jean Perkins; March 15, 1947) is an American jazz and pop singer. In mid career, she added a final ''e'' to her name. Carn is a vocalist credited with a five octave vocal range. Biography Carn was ...

, reached #26 on the R&B chart, whilst the follow-up, "I've Got My Second Wind", hit #58, both in 1980. That same year, "Second Wind" was covered in an up-tempo groove by Tata Vega featuring G. C. Cameron on Motown Records. Around this time, Johnson was writing, arranging and also playing keyboards on recording sessions, including for the Willie Lester-Rodney Brown production team that released several successful disco/soul albums on Prelude in the early 1980s, with acts such as Sharon Redd, Bobby Thurston and

Gayle Adams Gayle Adams is an American urban contemporary and house music musician, who is best known for her hit singles " Love Fever", "Stretch'in Out" and "Your Love Is a Lifesaver." She recorded two albums for the dance-oriented Prelude record label ...

. In the 1990s, Johnson worked with

The Whispers The Whispers is an American band (music), group from Los Angeles, California, who have scored hit records since the late 1960s. They are best known for their two number one R&B singles, "And the Beat Goes On (The Whispers song), And the Beat G ...

on several albums and, in 1998, released his final solo album ''My Heart Is an Open Book'' for independent label, Committee Records. Johnson re-formed the Unifics with original group member Tom Fauntleroy, and also toured with a solo gospel show. The group issued a new album, ''Unifics Return'' in 2005. Johnson, aged 65, died on October 26, 2013.

Discography

Albums

*''Peaceful'' (Marina Records, 1978) *''Back for More'' ( Columbia Records, 1980) *''My Heart Is an Open Book'' (Committee Records, 1998)

Singles

References

External links

AllMusic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Al 1948 births 2013 deaths American soul singers American male singers Columbia Records artists Northern soul musicians Howard University alumni Musicians from Newport News, Virginia Place of death missing