WEBVTT - QLS Classic: George Johnson 0:00:00.640 --> 0:00:04.400 Quest Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. This classic 0:00:04.440 --> 0:00:07.200 episode was produced by the team at Pandora. 0:00:10.080 --> 0:00:11.520 Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome. 0:00:11.240 --> 0:00:16.880 To QLs classic George lighting Lys Johnson, formerly a legendary 0:00:16.880 --> 0:00:20.639 of Brothers Johnson Funk Unit. We talked to him about 0:00:20.680 --> 0:00:24.079 his days with Billy Preston, pairing up with Quincy Jones, 0:00:25.000 --> 0:00:28.560 eyewitnessing Sly Stone make the legendary album There's a Riot 0:00:28.640 --> 0:00:31.600 going On, and also his brother in the late Green 0:00:31.840 --> 0:00:37.240 Lewis thunder Thumbs Johnson from October twenty fourth, twenty eighteen. 0:00:37.880 --> 0:00:42.280 This is the George Johnson episode of Questlam. 0:00:41.880 --> 0:01:00.880 Supreme Suprema Supremo, Roll Call Supremo, Roll Call, Suprema Supremo, 0:01:01.080 --> 0:01:05.520 Roll Call, Suprema Sun Sun Supremo Roll Call. 0:01:05.680 --> 0:01:08.720 This is the show. Yeah, my name's Questlove. 0:01:09.240 --> 0:01:09.479 Yeah. 0:01:09.760 --> 0:01:12.640 I want to welcome you, yeah to the club. 0:01:14.200 --> 0:01:20.640 Supreme Supremo, Roll Call, Supremo Supremo. 0:01:20.840 --> 0:01:22.680 Roll My name is Fante. 0:01:23.040 --> 0:01:23.240 Yeah. 0:01:23.560 --> 0:01:28.880 Check out my flow. Yeah. One of my favorite jams. Yeah, Tokyo. 0:01:30.120 --> 0:01:37.399 Suprema Son Supremo, Roll Call, Supremo Supreme, Roll Call. 0:01:37.560 --> 0:01:40.639 My name is Sugar. Yeah, I get my kicks. 0:01:41.080 --> 0:01:41.319 Yeah. 0:01:41.560 --> 0:01:45.000 From thunder Thumbs Yeah, and light lips. 0:01:47.040 --> 0:01:53.000 Son Supremo, Roll Call Supreme So Supreme. 0:01:52.760 --> 0:01:57.280 Roll still is riding. Yeah in the new Mercedes. Yeah, 0:01:57.720 --> 0:02:00.680 down the highway. Yeah to the ladies. 0:02:02.000 --> 0:02:09.079 Suprema Suck souprem Suprema Son Son Supremo. 0:02:08.680 --> 0:02:10.440 Roll calls em. 0:02:10.880 --> 0:02:12.160 Yeah, you know the deal. 0:02:12.880 --> 0:02:15.480 Yeah, And I want to know, George, Yeah, is what 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:16.519 you feel really real? 0:02:16.840 --> 0:02:23.120 Roll call Suprema Son Son Supremo, Roll car Suprema Son 0:02:23.360 --> 0:02:25.240 Son Suprema roll Call. 0:02:25.440 --> 0:02:29.560 My name is Troy, Yeah, pop Sisdom Man. Yeah, are 0:02:29.639 --> 0:02:32.519 y'all already Yeah for a little bit of blame. 0:02:32.800 --> 0:02:40.480 Roll Supremo Sun Sun Supremo, Roll Call Suprema Son Son Supremo, 0:02:40.720 --> 0:02:41.360 Roll called. 0:02:41.440 --> 0:02:42.200 This is GJ. 0:02:42.919 --> 0:02:43.160 Yeah. 0:02:43.320 --> 0:02:46.000 I'd like to say, yeah, get the funk out in 0:02:46.040 --> 0:02:47.960 my face. Yeah, I'm doing my. 0:02:48.800 --> 0:02:56.480 Roll Suprema So Supremo, Roll car Suprema So Soun Supremo, 0:02:56.720 --> 0:03:03.080 Roll Call Suprema Son Son So Frema roll call SA. 0:03:06.919 --> 0:03:08.080 Way better. That was it. 0:03:10.600 --> 0:03:10.639 Is? 0:03:11.680 --> 0:03:15.360 Uh. Many people have asked, but I gotta be honest 0:03:15.400 --> 0:03:18.880 with you. We've had our first role call train wreck 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:22.919 and to never ever do a role call twice with 0:03:23.000 --> 0:03:25.760 the guests, but we actually that was our second take. 0:03:25.840 --> 0:03:28.480 Maybe at the fate of the of this episode, we 0:03:28.520 --> 0:03:33.360 can play the wreck. This is hilarious because once again 0:03:33.480 --> 0:03:42.800 Fonte has drink Steve's milk. Wow, man, that's crazy. Is 0:03:42.880 --> 0:03:45.480 this our This is our first father son edition of 0:03:45.840 --> 0:03:49.280 It is cost love supreme? This is compliment. We are 0:03:49.400 --> 0:03:54.320 live at the illustrious Capitol Records building. Uh, the house 0:03:54.400 --> 0:03:59.320 that Nat built in the Beatless, the Beach Boys and 0:04:00.320 --> 0:04:04.320 Gillian Frank What what the studio we're in right now? 0:04:04.360 --> 0:04:06.800 What studio is the studio A? Is the studio A? 0:04:07.280 --> 0:04:10.560 And Neck and Cole is really the headliner in here? 0:04:10.680 --> 0:04:13.600 And I guess Frank Sinatra as well. Okay, all right, 0:04:13.760 --> 0:04:17.080 so we're in a room with history. I will say 0:04:17.120 --> 0:04:20.839 that our special guest today, one of our two guests today, 0:04:22.680 --> 0:04:25.840 is probably one of the most legendary guitarists in funk 0:04:25.920 --> 0:04:33.520 soul history, having contributed to projects for Billy Preston, Liningless Smith, 0:04:33.640 --> 0:04:37.200 Bill Withers, Quincy Jones, Steve Arrington. That I didn't know 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:43.560 George Duke, David Williams, the legendary guitarist David Williams. You 0:04:43.640 --> 0:04:44.440 gotta tell me about that. 0:04:44.560 --> 0:04:46.200 He used to come over my house. I will teach 0:04:46.240 --> 0:04:46.919 him some things. 0:04:48.720 --> 0:04:51.719 It's going to be so good. Renee and Joyce Kennedy, 0:04:51.800 --> 0:04:55.960 formerly of a Mother's Finest The Silvers, but of course 0:04:56.000 --> 0:05:00.560 he's better known by his his non de plume UH 0:05:01.279 --> 0:05:04.440 Lightning Licks who along with his brother, the late Great 0:05:04.560 --> 0:05:08.320 Lewis Johnson, UH, he's one half of the legendary monster 0:05:08.480 --> 0:05:13.200 duo the Brothers Johnson. Also not not not not to 0:05:13.279 --> 0:05:18.800 be outdone. His offspring is as an impressive uh resume 0:05:19.000 --> 0:05:23.120 as well. You can name it from j Lo to solangdo. 0:05:24.200 --> 0:05:26.800 Yes, yeah, a lot of a bunch of stuff. Work 0:05:26.880 --> 0:05:28.360 with a few people, yes. 0:05:29.000 --> 0:05:32.080 Shory Radio Johnson also, but please welcome the legendary George 0:05:32.120 --> 0:05:32.640 Johnson and. 0:05:34.000 --> 0:05:35.799 Right Quest of Supreme. 0:05:36.400 --> 0:05:39.240 Thank you, thank you for coming man, thank you, thanks 0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:44.720 for having us the stunt like my Daddy edition. So 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:46.040 how are you to do? 0:05:46.760 --> 0:05:47.600 Oh? I'm doing good. 0:05:47.839 --> 0:05:48.040 You know. 0:05:49.160 --> 0:05:52.120 I don't come out to many interviews. I'm actually working 0:05:52.200 --> 0:05:55.000 on a book and thinking about doing some new music 0:05:55.080 --> 0:05:58.360 with my son. So when I heard that you came 0:05:58.400 --> 0:06:01.200 through and want to interview, I had the Okay, I'm 0:06:01.240 --> 0:06:01.800 going to do this. 0:06:03.360 --> 0:06:06.440 Thank you so much. Yes, thank you. We're excited about this. 0:06:06.560 --> 0:06:10.080 We're excited. Okay, So I want to get right into it. Okay, 0:06:10.760 --> 0:06:11.919 where were you born? 0:06:12.560 --> 0:06:16.080 I was born in Los Angeles, California, in nineteen fifty three. 0:06:17.360 --> 0:06:23.760 I'm currently sixty five years old. Just turned May seventeenth graduation. Yeah, 0:06:24.200 --> 0:06:29.760 still kicking up. Basically, have been enjoying the aftermath of 0:06:29.920 --> 0:06:35.800 where God took me through the whole livelihood of learning music. 0:06:35.880 --> 0:06:39.240 I started playing at five years old bb King, but 0:06:39.440 --> 0:06:41.800 he wound up covering one of my songs that I 0:06:41.880 --> 0:06:45.719 wrote for Billy Preston, a song called I Wonder Why, 0:06:45.920 --> 0:06:48.040 and I had a chance to meet him. And it's 0:06:48.160 --> 0:06:55.159 funny because every artist who I've met was seen abound 0:06:55.200 --> 0:06:59.320 a meeting from the Beatles, James Brown, you know, through 0:06:59.440 --> 0:07:05.560 my track in my career, really slid Stone, Larry Graham, 0:07:06.279 --> 0:07:09.800 you know, these were people who personally hands on taught 0:07:09.880 --> 0:07:14.680 me or everything about funk. But I knew as far 0:07:14.760 --> 0:07:19.360 as guitar. That was probably about eleven. I had a 0:07:19.520 --> 0:07:21.600 choice to whether I to play bass or if I 0:07:21.680 --> 0:07:23.960 wanted to play guitar. But I was already playing guitar, 0:07:24.200 --> 0:07:26.800 and I knew its playing guitar had the six strings 0:07:26.840 --> 0:07:29.560 and you could play chords as opposed to notes. I 0:07:29.680 --> 0:07:33.680 was actually teaching my brother Lewis, when I play a 0:07:33.760 --> 0:07:37.360 C chord, you should play a C note. So actually 0:07:37.360 --> 0:07:40.320 I knew I could get further in writing and watching 0:07:40.600 --> 0:07:43.840 the Beatles performers three guitars and drums, which is the 0:07:43.920 --> 0:07:48.760 same instrumentation we had as kids. The Johnson three plus one, 0:07:49.880 --> 0:07:52.960 and you know, I just loved it. You know, the 0:07:53.040 --> 0:07:56.360 motown thing that hit, what you do, the things you do, 0:07:56.640 --> 0:07:59.679 all the Smokey Robinson and it was the Funk Brothers 0:07:59.760 --> 0:08:05.000 who I really learned a lot because at one time 0:08:05.040 --> 0:08:07.760 I thought it was different bands. I didn't think it. 0:08:07.840 --> 0:08:08.720 Was one band. 0:08:10.000 --> 0:08:14.680 Exactly, so you know, these were legends. Unfortunately they didn't 0:08:14.680 --> 0:08:18.960 get stock in the company, but you know, these were 0:08:19.840 --> 0:08:23.680 people who I most admired. You know, sixth seventh grade, 0:08:23.680 --> 0:08:27.200 I'm going to school humming hits and you know I can't. 0:08:27.920 --> 0:08:28.240 I would. 0:08:28.320 --> 0:08:31.120 I was really creative, so I got good grades. I'm 0:08:31.200 --> 0:08:36.839 sitting there writing lyrics and history and you know, or 0:08:37.280 --> 0:08:40.719 or geography, and I pulled that into I wanted to 0:08:41.040 --> 0:08:45.240 pull all that into my world through through history. I 0:08:45.360 --> 0:08:47.160 wanted to know a lot of things, which is a 0:08:47.200 --> 0:08:49.199 lot of things I know on a black issue that 0:08:49.280 --> 0:08:53.200 you guys would never know from doctor Francis Creswell saying 0:08:54.120 --> 0:08:59.199 to ny Mock Barr, you know, travel the world, and 0:08:59.360 --> 0:09:03.200 you know, dove into being a Christian into Islam at 0:09:03.200 --> 0:09:06.559 a very early age, and had chanced to meet Minnesulta's 0:09:06.559 --> 0:09:10.600 fery Khan and Mustafa Muhammad who's a very close friend 0:09:10.640 --> 0:09:15.599 of mine and kind of balanced the unbalanced for me. 0:09:16.840 --> 0:09:21.000 What kept the focus going and in the right direction 0:09:21.440 --> 0:09:25.600 was the music, because the music could teach me the most. 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:28.920 And we had prejudices and all that stuff back in 0:09:29.000 --> 0:09:31.959 the early sixties and backing up into the fifties, so 0:09:32.760 --> 0:09:38.800 as kids, we weren't really given the right to have 0:09:38.880 --> 0:09:42.760 an opinion. It was up to the parents, you know, 0:09:43.040 --> 0:09:47.199 and they came from old school, like my family came 0:09:47.280 --> 0:09:53.920 from Mississippi, New Orleans, you know, down south. They were 0:09:54.000 --> 0:09:57.560 never taught the right things, you know, even as far 0:09:57.679 --> 0:10:01.280 as we were when we grew up, you know, nons 0:10:01.360 --> 0:10:03.719 wouldn't teach us the truth. We'd gone to church and 0:10:03.800 --> 0:10:09.680 see all these pictures of white folks, you know, which 0:10:09.760 --> 0:10:13.200 there were black saints. Later on after find Saint Peter, 0:10:13.320 --> 0:10:17.560 who's supposed to hold the keys to heaven. Okay, he's 0:10:17.640 --> 0:10:20.360 in the mill. He's at the Vatican as a statue 0:10:20.559 --> 0:10:23.800 which the Pope gets up, and you have the Quran, 0:10:24.880 --> 0:10:28.839 I mean the Bible, the Quran and the Torah, and 0:10:28.920 --> 0:10:31.079 in front of all that is a black statue of 0:10:31.200 --> 0:10:33.400 Saint Peter, which he gets up at five o'clock in 0:10:33.440 --> 0:10:37.120 the morning kiss his feet. Had we had known that 0:10:37.960 --> 0:10:42.800 it would inspire us more as the as youth to 0:10:42.920 --> 0:10:46.280 feel better about ourselves as far as being, you know, 0:10:46.840 --> 0:10:48.960 sitting in the back of the classroom, which I always 0:10:49.000 --> 0:10:52.000 wanted to be, first row, second rope. I need glasses. 0:10:52.000 --> 0:10:56.400 I can't see the board. So in my travels it's 0:10:56.480 --> 0:10:58.959 like I used all of that, you know, in geography. 0:11:00.160 --> 0:11:02.400 I want to go everywhere I see on this map. 0:11:03.400 --> 0:11:05.079 You know, they have the big old picture, you know. 0:11:05.960 --> 0:11:08.720 And we never went out of la and I wound 0:11:08.800 --> 0:11:11.800 up traveling the world probably about over a dozen times. 0:11:13.080 --> 0:11:15.719 And I'd get on the plane read Okay Idaho with 0:11:15.800 --> 0:11:19.160 their famous for potatoes. This, you know, it would really 0:11:19.320 --> 0:11:21.880 prepare myself to know and ask questions. And went over 0:11:22.000 --> 0:11:28.439 to Africa in eighty four, checked into the lobby, and 0:11:28.600 --> 0:11:32.800 this African king and a prince which was his son, 0:11:33.520 --> 0:11:36.760 were there. I had no idea, so he looked at 0:11:36.840 --> 0:11:39.400 me and said, oh, my brother. He said, when you 0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:41.360 get through, could you come over and have a drink 0:11:41.400 --> 0:11:42.719 with it? And I'm like, who the hell is this? 0:11:44.320 --> 0:11:44.480 You know? 0:11:44.600 --> 0:11:47.439 So I went upstairs and came back down and he 0:11:47.559 --> 0:11:51.079 told me he was a king and he had seventeen 0:11:51.200 --> 0:11:54.000 wives and thirty five kids. 0:11:55.200 --> 0:11:55.760 Busy king. 0:11:55.880 --> 0:11:58.640 I said, how do you do that? Very slowly? 0:12:00.920 --> 0:12:04.120 What a part of la were you born in? 0:12:04.440 --> 0:12:08.120 Well, actually we went to Okay, I went to Catholic school. 0:12:08.880 --> 0:12:15.360 It was called Transfiguration. It was right off of Vernon 0:12:16.320 --> 0:12:18.760 and we lived on Samarron. That's where we grew up. 0:12:18.800 --> 0:12:25.000 Street called Samarron and Transfiguration was off of which King 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:29.719 now it was on King and Fourth Avenue. Did eight 0:12:29.880 --> 0:12:34.959 years there learn to speak Latin? I wasn't all to 0:12:35.080 --> 0:12:38.120 boy sally, Yeah, I mean, I was like all over 0:12:38.200 --> 0:12:40.480 the place, but I figured that it would be a 0:12:40.559 --> 0:12:44.760 great opportunity to get out of school when I wanted. Okay, 0:12:45.400 --> 0:12:48.360 So they always would leave the doors open in the front. 0:12:49.200 --> 0:12:50.600 Would you come in through the church? 0:12:51.800 --> 0:12:52.079 Okay? 0:12:52.160 --> 0:12:55.720 If I'm like, would go over to where the priests 0:12:56.000 --> 0:13:00.400 were or where they dressed and all that. Directory I 0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:02.000 had reason to be in the area because I was 0:13:02.040 --> 0:13:05.040 an ultim boy. So I'd go creep through the church, 0:13:05.240 --> 0:13:07.800 go through the front doors, go down to Taketo place 0:13:08.480 --> 0:13:14.120 you have lunch, and coming back through the doors. A 0:13:14.200 --> 0:13:17.040 couple of times I got caught. So there was a 0:13:17.160 --> 0:13:21.240 middle light and uh, the confession. So if I jumped 0:13:21.280 --> 0:13:22.959 in that, like the priests are doing that, all the 0:13:23.040 --> 0:13:25.240 moves down so if you step in it, they figured 0:13:25.280 --> 0:13:27.760 the priest was in there. So I was hearing confessions 0:13:27.840 --> 0:13:36.839 and all that. Your father helped me my daughters, this 0:13:37.040 --> 0:13:40.920 is pregnant, and oh yeah. I was like, hey, you know, 0:13:41.080 --> 0:13:44.760 say three our fathers three held marriages when our father 0:13:44.880 --> 0:13:46.520 acting contrition and you good. 0:13:48.559 --> 0:13:53.840 The original, so we're your were your parents into music? 0:13:54.720 --> 0:13:59.160 My mom played uh keyboards. She wasn't really you know, 0:13:59.320 --> 0:14:02.680 she'd learned little music and would play. I never saw 0:14:02.760 --> 0:14:04.959 her play. Well it was having around the piano. She 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:06.800 can just get on it and play a little bit. 0:14:07.760 --> 0:14:10.760 My dad was a hell of a whistler. He could 0:14:10.800 --> 0:14:12.320 out whistle to tell me. 0:14:15.720 --> 0:14:17.040 We get the car on. 0:14:18.559 --> 0:14:23.240 Yeah, well you know right right. My dad could whistle 0:14:23.480 --> 0:14:27.480 like that really yeah, So it was he would whistle 0:14:27.600 --> 0:14:30.120 melodies if he couldn't sing. I know, all the lyrics. 0:14:30.200 --> 0:14:32.480 He's showing that he could whistle it. He'd whistle out 0:14:32.560 --> 0:14:35.600 a song. Well, he cutting a lawn whatever, cutting the hair, 0:14:36.560 --> 0:14:40.160 you know, helping us with the stuff. But we got 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:42.840 music from both sides, you know, and we had some 0:14:43.040 --> 0:14:47.880 aunts and uncles that could play, you know, damn anything. 0:14:47.960 --> 0:14:50.320 They wanted to just go to the keyboard, from gospel 0:14:50.440 --> 0:14:53.720 music to rock and roll. You know, they can just improvise. 0:14:53.960 --> 0:14:57.040 How old were you when you got your first guitar? Well, 0:14:57.160 --> 0:15:01.960 this is a very good story because this Okay, I 0:15:02.120 --> 0:15:04.920 was watching at some of it, and I was watching 0:15:06.960 --> 0:15:10.920 Elvis Presley Joe House Rock came out. I probably was 0:15:11.000 --> 0:15:14.840 about five six, and we had a couch and us 0:15:14.880 --> 0:15:18.880 sitting on the floor between my dad's legs, just watching. 0:15:18.960 --> 0:15:21.120 They had about eight of the grand kids running around. 0:15:21.160 --> 0:15:23.240 I'm trying to get to the move out the way. 0:15:23.400 --> 0:15:27.840 He saw my interest in this man who was playing 0:15:27.920 --> 0:15:30.400 this box guitar and shaking his legs, and all the 0:15:30.520 --> 0:15:33.280 girls were fighting their nails and crying, which is the 0:15:33.480 --> 0:15:38.560 only thing I could not interpretate why there were crying, okay, 0:15:39.280 --> 0:15:42.240 but they were just excited. There was an emotion, you know. 0:15:43.480 --> 0:15:48.040 So he gets up during the commercial goes into the 0:15:48.400 --> 0:15:51.680 kitchen and it was like a half gallon of milk, 0:15:53.000 --> 0:15:55.920 pours what was left out, washes it out, cuts a 0:15:56.000 --> 0:15:59.320 hole in the middle, takes a stick, staple it to 0:15:59.440 --> 0:16:03.160 it where the pouring part was. He takes four rubber 0:16:03.240 --> 0:16:06.000 bands and put the pins at the bottom. So he 0:16:06.120 --> 0:16:09.800 made a simulated guitar. By the time they say came 0:16:09.880 --> 0:16:12.200 back on, he stepped back over me and he waited 0:16:12.240 --> 0:16:16.040 to and he just handed me the milk cart. Yeah, 0:16:16.120 --> 0:16:19.720 simulated guitar. That was like the most important thing in 0:16:19.880 --> 0:16:26.360 my life. He saw me actually just focusing in on 0:16:26.800 --> 0:16:30.840 this person, you know, more so than any of all 0:16:30.920 --> 0:16:33.480 the other grandkids. So it's like he just knew, So 0:16:33.560 --> 0:16:35.800 I'm gonna get put this in this boy's hand. She 0:16:36.000 --> 0:16:40.640 gonna become that and from you know, he couldn't. Later on, 0:16:40.840 --> 0:16:46.040 he and his brother because his brother Buster, my dad's 0:16:46.160 --> 0:16:53.440 name was Joseph. He they're both so creative and two 0:16:53.640 --> 0:16:57.840 black men from Mississippi who have the original blueprints for 0:16:59.440 --> 0:17:03.400 the airplanean's landing. When first the parachute would come out, 0:17:04.119 --> 0:17:08.720 they had reverse reverse whatever it is that reverse thrust. 0:17:09.800 --> 0:17:12.879 That was their idea. But it was two Yeah, they 0:17:12.920 --> 0:17:15.400 have the original blueprint we should have on the airline. 0:17:17.040 --> 0:17:20.240 But because yeah, they had the original blueprints of turning 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:23.480 one engine on going this way because they only had 0:17:23.560 --> 0:17:26.399 one engine going that way. So that's why when planes 0:17:26.520 --> 0:17:30.320 landing kind of makes you know, and it helps planes 0:17:30.400 --> 0:17:32.600 lands and next time y'all going back to New York. 0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:43.479 Exactly two black men. So those two black men who 0:17:43.560 --> 0:17:48.560 came up with that built our first guitar. Wow, that's 0:17:48.600 --> 0:17:51.520 how my dad's brother came over. You got a busted 0:17:51.720 --> 0:17:54.240 water heater. I can make that. He was a welder, 0:17:55.280 --> 0:17:58.240 you know, and he got some sheep metal Bennett round. 0:17:58.280 --> 0:18:01.080 He had all the two he made that and that 0:18:01.320 --> 0:18:07.040 lasted until we moved. So we had we had great 0:18:07.359 --> 0:18:12.200 black men in our family. Everywhere we would look outside 0:18:12.200 --> 0:18:16.159 of music, somebody knew something about that. Also had an 0:18:16.240 --> 0:18:19.360 uncle who used to come by and check. His name 0:18:19.480 --> 0:18:22.800 was Arthur and he played a three thirty five guitar 0:18:23.160 --> 0:18:28.640 and he used to play backup guitar for West Montgomery Man. 0:18:28.880 --> 0:18:29.800 Okay, you know. 0:18:30.560 --> 0:18:33.880 So and then we have an uncle who actually played 0:18:33.920 --> 0:18:36.840 saxophone and he come over and check on us how 0:18:36.840 --> 0:18:39.800 the boys doing it. We had basically the same story 0:18:39.920 --> 0:18:42.639 like the Jackson you know, my mom was, don't buy it. 0:18:42.720 --> 0:18:44.520 Why are you buying all? They said, these boys are 0:18:44.560 --> 0:18:47.680 gonna be bad. They let him. Let me just do 0:18:47.760 --> 0:18:50.080 what I'm gonna do. And he brought us all instruments. Oh, 0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:52.840 we should be paying bills and blood, which you know, 0:18:53.080 --> 0:18:55.879 it worked out. I'm thankful he went that way. He 0:18:56.000 --> 0:18:58.800 had more faith than my mom. She wanted us to 0:18:58.840 --> 0:19:03.040 be scholars like she was and getting master's degrees and 0:19:03.119 --> 0:19:06.000 all that kind of stuff, and that wasn't I got 0:19:06.119 --> 0:19:11.080 my master master's degree through Quincy eight years. Takes four 0:19:11.160 --> 0:19:13.040 years to get your degree and another four to get 0:19:13.080 --> 0:19:16.919 your masters. I did eight years with Clincy Jones. 0:19:18.000 --> 0:19:20.639 In your family, is it just as far as your 0:19:20.640 --> 0:19:21.480 siblings are concerned. 0:19:21.720 --> 0:19:24.040 Now, we have an older brother, Tommy, who played drums. 0:19:24.080 --> 0:19:27.400 He was like Buddy Miles. He played drums and sang. 0:19:28.560 --> 0:19:31.760 His path was too. Well say, we had our group. 0:19:31.840 --> 0:19:34.680 We had two guitars, me and Alex Swear who wanted 0:19:34.680 --> 0:19:35.960 to play with talking Heads. 0:19:36.720 --> 0:19:42.280 Well, Alex, he also played with that's my cousin. Yes, okay, okay, okay, okay. 0:19:42.920 --> 0:19:45.040 He was the plus one. It was a Johnson three 0:19:45.240 --> 0:19:54.480 plus one and exactly. So you know, I was like 0:19:54.520 --> 0:19:59.199 the Quincy Jones then back then being the Arrangers. Since well, 0:19:59.240 --> 0:20:01.000 I knew I had to be brilliant in the school 0:20:01.560 --> 0:20:05.320 because my parents didn't want us to do anything until 0:20:05.440 --> 0:20:07.720 after if we had good grades, and after you do 0:20:07.840 --> 0:20:11.399 your homework then you could chill. So I would do 0:20:11.520 --> 0:20:17.240 my homework by the time school was out home the 0:20:17.600 --> 0:20:22.000 right and leave to go to forgot the name of 0:20:22.040 --> 0:20:24.560 the record store and that of Normandy and pick up 0:20:24.640 --> 0:20:27.880 new singles. So you know, it could have been four 0:20:28.000 --> 0:20:33.320 top songs standing in the Shadow, Loves or Temptations or Smoky. 0:20:34.000 --> 0:20:35.840 The first thing I'd do is go home. I'd buy 0:20:35.960 --> 0:20:38.800 five singles out of my pocket because we was doing gigs, 0:20:38.880 --> 0:20:44.040 making about two hundred bucks for one, you know, set 0:20:44.119 --> 0:20:47.720 of three hours and it was only four of us. So, 0:20:47.880 --> 0:20:53.920 I mean, from sixth grade on, you know, I had money. 0:20:54.000 --> 0:20:56.800 I didn't have a bank. I put my money under 0:20:56.840 --> 0:21:01.440 the mattress. Anybody who needs money. 0:21:01.680 --> 0:21:03.560 Go, you know, go under here and pick it up 0:21:04.119 --> 0:21:05.840 the mattress of the crown. 0:21:08.920 --> 0:21:11.320 Well, I never had a bank account, and I didn't 0:21:11.320 --> 0:21:12.719 know if I wanted to trust banks. 0:21:13.480 --> 0:21:20.040 Okay, you're giving you my money and then what so 0:21:21.840 --> 0:21:23.520 in all your years of playing. Did you ever take 0:21:23.560 --> 0:21:25.280 formal lessons or was it all just kind of self? 0:21:25.440 --> 0:21:28.639 Yeah. Once I got into high school and my guitarist 0:21:29.000 --> 0:21:32.200 teacher got in touch with my parents and told them 0:21:32.280 --> 0:21:35.240 that they're wasting their money because I'm teaching them motown ship. 0:21:36.600 --> 0:21:38.640 You know, he's teaching us one that we're teaching them. 0:21:39.040 --> 0:21:41.199 You know, because I would pick up really quick. They 0:21:41.280 --> 0:21:43.840 showed me the basics of C chord and you know 0:21:44.560 --> 0:21:47.520 minor chord, and you know one, three, five, and then 0:21:47.600 --> 0:21:49.320 take out the third and you get a minor and 0:21:49.840 --> 0:21:52.800 which a lot of stuff and people don't realize and 0:21:52.920 --> 0:21:55.280 the sound and rappers later got it mixed up and 0:21:55.320 --> 0:21:59.280 they added the third with a note that don't match 0:22:00.119 --> 0:22:04.120 text your record, you know, things like that. But I would, 0:22:04.160 --> 0:22:08.000 as a child pick up singles, and I was the 0:22:08.160 --> 0:22:11.240 only one out of the group who would put on 0:22:11.359 --> 0:22:14.040 the record. The first thing I would do is write 0:22:14.560 --> 0:22:15.160 the lyrics. 0:22:16.640 --> 0:22:17.200 Oh okay. 0:22:17.280 --> 0:22:19.520 I was telling my son Troy this probably about a 0:22:19.560 --> 0:22:23.480 couple of months ago. I would write the lyrics and 0:22:23.560 --> 0:22:26.240 then I would pick out the part I wasn't gonna 0:22:26.280 --> 0:22:28.119 play and sang first of all, to pick out the 0:22:28.240 --> 0:22:30.000 hit I want so all we played is hits. We 0:22:30.040 --> 0:22:32.280 had a catalog of about two hundred songs that we 0:22:32.320 --> 0:22:36.160 could play and where jazz to R and B. Because 0:22:36.200 --> 0:22:44.920 we also came from Led Zeppelin, Deep, Purple three Dollar Night, Chicago, 0:22:45.600 --> 0:22:47.680 you know, a lot of those groups. We would play 0:22:48.200 --> 0:22:50.960 their music. So we was all over the place musically. 0:22:51.600 --> 0:22:57.400 That's why Quincy loved the style of where I came from. 0:22:58.200 --> 0:23:00.359 I always want to turn my brother Lewis on the 0:23:00.440 --> 0:23:05.840 funk with sliding the family stone. He later didn't got 0:23:05.960 --> 0:23:06.639 me watch it. 0:23:06.720 --> 0:23:07.240 I'm going to do. 0:23:13.280 --> 0:23:16.119 Like watch what I'm gonna do later, you know. And 0:23:16.560 --> 0:23:18.680 it was cool. And that's the only problem I would 0:23:18.760 --> 0:23:23.600 have because sometimes he would kind of lie being honest, Well, 0:23:23.640 --> 0:23:25.160 who taught you to do that? I didn't had nothing. 0:23:25.200 --> 0:23:26.600 I was going to touch you how to put the 0:23:26.720 --> 0:23:29.440 bass in your hand? Hey dad, we needed the bass. 0:23:30.200 --> 0:23:32.800 And he did learn on his own and James Jamieson 0:23:32.800 --> 0:23:35.440 and Automotile, he picked it up. He was as bad 0:23:35.520 --> 0:23:37.639 as I was, but he just wouldn't do more than that. 0:23:38.560 --> 0:23:40.520 Like Quincy said, he's a hell of a bass player, 0:23:40.720 --> 0:23:42.119 you know, and he was that. 0:23:43.119 --> 0:23:44.920 So he didn't have the ability to play guitar, but 0:23:44.960 --> 0:23:45.640 you could play guitar. 0:23:45.800 --> 0:23:47.960 No, he could play, but he couldn't play play guitar. 0:23:48.320 --> 0:23:51.920 He'd played guitars on some of our records. Okay, his style. 0:23:52.000 --> 0:23:54.280 He just played, as you know, and a lot of 0:23:54.359 --> 0:23:56.520 things that I would play. George, you play bass. You 0:23:56.560 --> 0:23:59.160 could play bass because I was using his bass upside 0:23:59.240 --> 0:24:02.960 down and he'd get pissed from writing something too funky, 0:24:03.040 --> 0:24:05.239 and we go to the studio and Larryot's I mean 0:24:08.840 --> 0:24:11.680 and Quincy play it like George, I'm like, oh ship 0:24:12.240 --> 0:24:16.560 say that. Because on the demo I would play the bass, 0:24:16.720 --> 0:24:19.640 the guitars. I used to lay about seven eight guitars, 0:24:20.160 --> 0:24:21.639 like when you first got I'd be good to you. 0:24:22.640 --> 0:24:26.480 That was all guitars bassed, and the drum machine asked, 0:24:26.680 --> 0:24:30.520 still have still have that? I'm gonna give the trouble 0:24:30.600 --> 0:24:36.800 I heard those. I have all of it. Plus so 0:24:36.960 --> 0:24:40.520 Quincy would listen to everything we had and he would pick, 0:24:41.440 --> 0:24:43.800 so he's like picking all these songs could out more 0:24:43.920 --> 0:24:46.760 or less complete mind more so my brother and he'd 0:24:46.800 --> 0:24:49.760 have like grooves. So we're like on two different levels. 0:24:49.800 --> 0:24:52.520 But it's like I was saying earlier, because I would 0:24:52.560 --> 0:24:55.720 write and there's something to think about to go with 0:24:55.840 --> 0:24:59.840 your history animals. Okay, when you have a person who 0:25:00.560 --> 0:25:04.600 comes I'm young like I was, and I would write 0:25:05.119 --> 0:25:08.080 lyrics to like BB King's Thrillers, you know, and then 0:25:08.280 --> 0:25:12.120 noticed the difference just not a major chord, the third 0:25:12.280 --> 0:25:14.600 is out as a minor, Okay, so that's that to 0:25:14.720 --> 0:25:18.040 put that there for every song in lyric, I would write, 0:25:18.160 --> 0:25:21.720 whether it was a Smokey Robinson song, you're actually going 0:25:21.800 --> 0:25:26.480 through the emotions of that writer for you to write 0:25:26.520 --> 0:25:29.440 the lyrics down, and you're reading it, it's like wow, 0:25:29.520 --> 0:25:31.680 and he made it to perfection. So I'm writing some 0:25:31.880 --> 0:25:37.160 finished perfection of how someone felt. And I'm writing over 0:25:37.359 --> 0:25:40.639 two hundred some songs. So it's like I got bits 0:25:40.720 --> 0:25:45.720 and pieces of everybody from Chicago, Zeppelin, the Motown, you know. 0:25:46.280 --> 0:25:49.440 It all became the cake with the candles lit. 0:25:50.280 --> 0:25:52.320 So it was part of your writing, DNA, and it 0:25:52.400 --> 0:25:52.760 helped you. 0:25:53.119 --> 0:25:54.679 Yes, I mean a lot of people wouldn't look at 0:25:54.680 --> 0:25:57.040 it because they just stay in one area of one song. 0:25:57.960 --> 0:26:01.280 But if you're writing all these different songs, including Supremes, 0:26:02.560 --> 0:26:06.720 you know, all the other Motown acts, David Ruffin songs, 0:26:06.760 --> 0:26:08.760 and even I had to find on later they weren't 0:26:08.760 --> 0:26:10.359 writing in Smoker Robinson. 0:26:10.640 --> 0:26:11.000 Robinson. 0:26:11.800 --> 0:26:14.879 So I'm going through a lot of emotions and oh baby, baby, 0:26:14.920 --> 0:26:16.879 and it's like some of this stuff down and make 0:26:17.000 --> 0:26:18.240 me cry just reading it. 0:26:19.440 --> 0:26:21.320 So that's a good that's a good exercise. I never 0:26:21.440 --> 0:26:23.400 thought that you actually internalize. 0:26:23.960 --> 0:26:26.720 Yeah, what if you write? If you write the lyrics 0:26:26.760 --> 0:26:29.159 and get all the lyrics correct, then pick out the 0:26:29.240 --> 0:26:31.959 guitar part. Who's gonna play this? Play the bass? Now 0:26:31.960 --> 0:26:35.680 I'm getting into James Jamieson's head, you know what I'm saying. 0:26:35.760 --> 0:26:38.600 Then you get the drummer's head and you and you're 0:26:38.680 --> 0:26:42.119 listening and giving the parts out, you know what, And 0:26:42.280 --> 0:26:42.680 you're young. 0:26:43.920 --> 0:26:46.240 Here's something that's actually kind of sort of connected to you. 0:26:47.400 --> 0:26:52.520 This explains that Prince poster, oh the Star is Born poster. Yeah, 0:26:52.640 --> 0:26:55.879 well no, no, no, the dude so oh yeah. For 0:26:56.040 --> 0:27:02.480 some reason, Okay, so in light of Princess passing, they 0:27:02.680 --> 0:27:10.560 found a concert poster in which Prince wrote the lyrics 0:27:10.640 --> 0:27:15.879 to to Quincy's The Dude the Rat And for some 0:27:16.040 --> 0:27:18.560 reason I was trying to they gave some back history 0:27:18.640 --> 0:27:21.399 to it, and I guess like that intrigued them, and 0:27:21.480 --> 0:27:26.639 I guess writing it out physically helped. What you were explaining, well, you. 0:27:26.680 --> 0:27:29.000 Can look up in the archives, because Prince was a 0:27:29.040 --> 0:27:33.960 fan of ours. The first interview he's done ever did well, 0:27:34.040 --> 0:27:35.760 you know where'd you get your music from? And he 0:27:35.880 --> 0:27:39.480 mentioned brothers Johnson's Slide and family Stone, which I had 0:27:39.560 --> 0:27:41.960 Me and Sly wound up getting very close. As far 0:27:42.000 --> 0:27:47.119 as Larry Graham too. After that interview, he never mentioned anything. 0:27:47.160 --> 0:27:53.240 Everything was Prince and I went. I went to Vegas 0:27:53.359 --> 0:27:56.200 to see him perform, and he called my room. Had 0:27:56.240 --> 0:27:58.920 this guy called it room and they did there like 0:27:59.240 --> 0:28:03.520 two o'clock in the morning, sound check. Have George come down, 0:28:03.560 --> 0:28:05.320 and I had a guest with me. I brought my guest. 0:28:05.440 --> 0:28:06.680 I didn't tell her where we're going. 0:28:06.800 --> 0:28:07.680 We just went in. 0:28:08.359 --> 0:28:11.960 We had the whole MGN. We were sitting on the side. 0:28:12.760 --> 0:28:14.840 Larry Graham was supposed to do a sound check. He 0:28:14.920 --> 0:28:17.280 bumped Larry off and did his sound check because he 0:28:17.320 --> 0:28:22.480 wanted to, you know, meet me and see me. He 0:28:22.600 --> 0:28:26.240 played for us for about two hours straight. It was 0:28:26.320 --> 0:28:28.879 better than the kind of you know check. You know, 0:28:28.960 --> 0:28:31.040 he played songs that wasn't his repertoire. 0:28:31.400 --> 0:28:35.639 Yeah, and he came yeah yeah, and you know he 0:28:36.119 --> 0:28:37.720 used to do that with some of his fan club members, 0:28:37.760 --> 0:28:39.240 like in the early two thousands, he would invite them 0:28:39.280 --> 0:28:41.080 into the sound check right and would just play for 0:28:41.160 --> 0:28:41.600 them and talk. 0:28:41.680 --> 0:28:43.840 And then we played Club fifty four. He asked me 0:28:43.920 --> 0:28:45.680 to come on stage, and I played with him and 0:28:45.760 --> 0:28:49.320 Lry Graham, but I actually went played on the wrong songs. 0:28:50.120 --> 0:28:52.200 They did a whole slide thing. I was still up 0:28:52.240 --> 0:28:54.719 in the top with my girl was checking him out. 0:28:54.720 --> 0:28:56.240 I said I should be down there for that, but 0:28:56.320 --> 0:28:58.640 I guess he thought I'd come down when I heard 0:28:58.720 --> 0:29:01.440 something I liked. So when he called me on stage, 0:29:01.480 --> 0:29:04.000 they got to this Elvis little groove. But I mean 0:29:04.080 --> 0:29:06.040 it was cool, but it wasn't what IU to prefer. 0:29:06.800 --> 0:29:08.479 But you know, we walked in the club. They were 0:29:08.480 --> 0:29:11.280 playing Get the Funk out of My Face, Strawberry Letter, 0:29:11.440 --> 0:29:16.000 Get to You. I told, I said, man, they handed 0:29:16.040 --> 0:29:18.000 me this guitar. They were so fucked up and out 0:29:18.040 --> 0:29:21.720 of turn. Who did Let's go get on? Let's go 0:29:21.800 --> 0:29:24.320 get on, Jordan, And I was like, don't ask me that, 0:29:24.360 --> 0:29:26.320 because the fans are going getting people. 0:29:33.520 --> 0:29:36.600 What is the age difference between you and your brother. 0:29:36.520 --> 0:29:39.720 Lewis two years? Okay, we were all two years apart. 0:29:40.400 --> 0:29:43.360 It was Lewis's two years apart from me was two 0:29:43.440 --> 0:29:44.400 years and my older brother. 0:29:45.600 --> 0:29:50.120 So your first professional gig outside of the Johnson Brothers 0:29:50.160 --> 0:29:52.640 plus one or the Johnson three plus one. 0:29:52.760 --> 0:29:57.440 Right, I got tired of that. We did win the 0:29:57.560 --> 0:30:00.240 contest and all that in nineteen sixty eight k f 0:30:00.320 --> 0:30:05.120 j's concert. We won everything. We won box instruments like 0:30:05.200 --> 0:30:08.840 the Beatles, box guitars, and we got a record contract 0:30:08.960 --> 0:30:14.920 with I just did a documentary portion with Gina Gena 0:30:15.040 --> 0:30:17.680 Ray Mac Bobby Dog. 0:30:17.720 --> 0:30:18.040 Oh yeah. 0:30:19.640 --> 0:30:22.880 She he produced our first record as John's three plus. 0:30:22.920 --> 0:30:25.600 I wanted to testify it will sounded just like tighten 0:30:25.760 --> 0:30:28.520 up with the maked mellow part, but it's like make 0:30:28.560 --> 0:30:29.560 it sweeter, make it. 0:30:29.560 --> 0:30:34.800 Sweeter, right, another breakdown exactly. 0:30:35.480 --> 0:30:37.720 So that was the first time we had, you know, 0:30:38.040 --> 0:30:42.600 met Bobby wo Max Label Venture Records, this guy named 0:30:42.680 --> 0:30:43.680 Mickey Stevenson. 0:30:43.760 --> 0:30:46.040 I think, are you looking at it right now? Yeah? 0:30:46.080 --> 0:30:48.160 Of course, I'm like, are you looking at it right now? 0:30:48.200 --> 0:30:50.000 How much is it goes? Y? 0:30:50.080 --> 0:30:53.280 Well, they only made a thousand records. They sold about 0:30:56.840 --> 0:30:59.600 I don't think it's around. I'm googled and all that stuff, 0:31:00.040 --> 0:31:04.080 but uh, they saw just a single. It was just 0:31:04.200 --> 0:31:07.200 a single. Before that, we did our own demo. We 0:31:07.320 --> 0:31:10.480 used to go up to Rachel's enterprise and we would 0:31:10.560 --> 0:31:13.280 cut demos, which I met a lot of people. Actually, 0:31:13.360 --> 0:31:19.040 my girl friend now she used to work for Rachel's enterprise. Okay, 0:31:19.080 --> 0:31:22.760 and and uh her name is Joy Randall. She also 0:31:23.080 --> 0:31:24.520 she works for Disney now. 0:31:25.760 --> 0:31:30.120 And is this how you started interacting with Billy Preston, 0:31:30.200 --> 0:31:31.720 because I know that no, no, no no. 0:31:32.240 --> 0:31:36.760 With Billy Preston. We were looking for a keyboard player. 0:31:37.760 --> 0:31:43.720 Oh okay, And you mentioned earlier Renee and Angela. Renee 0:31:44.760 --> 0:31:48.840 was the same class with Lewis my younger brother. Oh okay, 0:31:49.600 --> 0:31:52.360 age Renee used to come over quite a bit and 0:31:52.400 --> 0:31:54.520 I met him, and you know, he's a he's a 0:31:54.600 --> 0:31:56.720 hell of a keyboard player. And I thought if we 0:31:56.840 --> 0:31:59.280 had a keyboard player to the group, he would be 0:31:59.560 --> 0:32:02.200 the one because he was, you know, two years young. 0:32:02.280 --> 0:32:05.040 He was bad and like he played me some of 0:32:05.040 --> 0:32:11.120 the stuff he had written and he but only where 0:32:11.120 --> 0:32:14.840 the keyboard was was at Billy Preston's duplex he had 0:32:16.320 --> 0:32:20.960 up off of Olympic. So we took the group and 0:32:21.040 --> 0:32:23.479 we went over to Billy's house where he had an 0:32:23.640 --> 0:32:27.040 organ and a Fender Road downstairs at his mother's place. 0:32:28.720 --> 0:32:32.120 He happened to just come off the road. I think 0:32:32.160 --> 0:32:35.360 he did some work with the Beatles. He's always hanging 0:32:35.360 --> 0:32:38.600 with the Beatles and make Jagger, you know. And he 0:32:38.720 --> 0:32:41.440 came in and I had on this flag shirt like 0:32:41.600 --> 0:32:45.160 I took with my high school picture at Prinshall High. 0:32:45.320 --> 0:32:49.000 By the way, they putting me the fiftieth anniversary of 0:32:49.040 --> 0:32:50.560 Princeville High. And they put me in the Hall of 0:32:50.680 --> 0:32:56.680 Fame October fourteenth. Yeah, Jersey, So I walk in, he 0:32:56.840 --> 0:32:59.720 walks in, See limo pulls up and his Billy he 0:32:59.760 --> 0:33:01.960 gets that was this big wig looking like sly. 0:33:03.320 --> 0:33:03.480 Well. 0:33:03.480 --> 0:33:06.240 I met Slye through him too, because they used to 0:33:06.320 --> 0:33:09.920 come over. Billy Preston was one of the baddest motherfucking 0:33:10.040 --> 0:33:13.200 keyboard players on Earth period. 0:33:13.360 --> 0:33:16.280 What is it about his technic is people always speak 0:33:16.280 --> 0:33:19.360 of But since you played with them? What made him 0:33:19.560 --> 0:33:22.240 such so in demand with all these groups? 0:33:22.280 --> 0:33:25.440 And well number one groups would call him for him 0:33:25.560 --> 0:33:28.920 to make them. Yeah, like the Beatles, you know. I 0:33:29.000 --> 0:33:32.080 went over there well finishing that story, I mean I 0:33:32.160 --> 0:33:34.920 met the Beatles through Billy. I met sly and family 0:33:35.000 --> 0:33:40.680 Stone through Billy Preston. He was connected which one I 0:33:40.840 --> 0:33:44.000 was when you when you met sly Oh, I was like, 0:33:44.200 --> 0:33:45.480 so goddamn nervous. 0:33:47.800 --> 0:33:48.400 What year was? 0:33:48.480 --> 0:33:52.360 This just had to be in around seventy because he did. 0:33:54.720 --> 0:33:57.320 I was there when Poet went down. 0:33:57.520 --> 0:34:03.640 Wow, I was there. 0:34:04.520 --> 0:34:09.279 But I'll tell this pre story real quick, okay. And 0:34:10.760 --> 0:34:14.120 Billy had asked me to join the group. He walked 0:34:14.160 --> 0:34:16.120 in and saw a big afro and I was in 0:34:16.280 --> 0:34:19.480 my I was like, I was like Jimmy Hendrix and 0:34:19.640 --> 0:34:25.320 Freddy Stone combined and having more time. Things back. So 0:34:25.360 --> 0:34:31.439 I was playing some guitar you would have been probably, yeah, 0:34:31.960 --> 0:34:38.640 I would prefer to be Barry Gordy's the original one. 0:34:39.520 --> 0:34:42.719 So when Billy asked me, and it's like I was 0:34:42.800 --> 0:34:45.520 kind of getting tired of just like we ran our 0:34:45.600 --> 0:34:48.440 gambit as a johnst One and I kept telling my 0:34:48.560 --> 0:34:51.759 brothers that, you know, it's like somebody got to leave. 0:34:51.840 --> 0:34:54.439 We had to go do something else. They didn't want 0:34:54.480 --> 0:34:56.400 me to go, but they wasn't telling me not to go. 0:34:57.640 --> 0:35:00.359 So I went to audition a keyboard player. He comes 0:35:00.440 --> 0:35:02.719 Billy and he's gonna pull me out of our group. 0:35:03.160 --> 0:35:06.640 I want you to play with me. So that was 0:35:06.680 --> 0:35:09.759 a decision I had to make sure we continue on 0:35:09.920 --> 0:35:11.680 with this new keyboard pro, which he probably would have 0:35:11.719 --> 0:35:18.359 been bad. It probably could have worked out. And as 0:35:18.480 --> 0:35:20.520 he pulled me aside and he asked me, how long 0:35:20.600 --> 0:35:22.680 have you been playing? He said, love the way you play? 0:35:23.120 --> 0:35:24.960 Who were some people that you love? And I was 0:35:24.960 --> 0:35:27.680 telling him sly and he just start smiling. He knew them. 0:35:27.920 --> 0:35:31.440 That was his best friends. I like Freddie Stone, I 0:35:31.560 --> 0:35:35.239 like Jimmy Hendrix. Is he needed that ingredient he did 0:35:35.360 --> 0:35:39.800 not have me before? He asked me. He did have 0:35:39.920 --> 0:35:46.879 some other great people, Tony Maid and Bobby Watson. Yes, 0:35:47.080 --> 0:35:53.520 right right, yeah, I mean they were before us, and uh, 0:35:54.320 --> 0:35:56.440 I was also listening to them because we are on 0:35:56.520 --> 0:36:00.480 the same We had played clubs and we'd see Rufus 0:36:00.480 --> 0:36:03.600 and Shack Account. That's how I new about them, and 0:36:04.160 --> 0:36:06.000 as far as a lot of other groups too, but 0:36:06.120 --> 0:36:10.200 they kind of stood out. We wound up having some history, 0:36:10.960 --> 0:36:18.920 uh later in life, touring together. So I decided to myself, 0:36:19.320 --> 0:36:21.920 I'm gonna go out with Billy. So Billy called. He said, man, 0:36:22.640 --> 0:36:25.399 we're getting ready to do what like six months old 0:36:25.400 --> 0:36:30.239 in Europe. So I said, well, I said I'll go. 0:36:31.840 --> 0:36:34.480 So it's having dinner and to mention to my mom. 0:36:35.920 --> 0:36:40.120 I said, well, by the way, by the way, I'm 0:36:40.239 --> 0:36:47.040 leaving in the morning, just like that. I'm that's how it. 0:36:47.080 --> 0:36:49.960 What said, I'm leaving in the morning to go to Europe. 0:36:51.080 --> 0:36:52.080 I've been going to Germany. 0:36:52.239 --> 0:36:56.320 You ain't going, No, damn Johnny you. 0:36:56.440 --> 0:36:58.200 I asked to getting up and going to school because 0:36:58.239 --> 0:37:01.640 I was in junior high school, junior college and West 0:37:01.800 --> 0:37:04.160 l A's Junior College, and I had set up all 0:37:04.200 --> 0:37:06.560 these musical courses. And I asked my teacher. He was 0:37:06.560 --> 0:37:08.960 the only one I respected. So if you had the 0:37:09.080 --> 0:37:10.600 chance to go out with Billy Preston and go to 0:37:10.719 --> 0:37:12.960 Europe and you know, do music. But I had like 0:37:13.080 --> 0:37:16.560 harmony theory. I had like a handful of different types 0:37:16.600 --> 0:37:18.839 of music because I wanted to finish do to learn 0:37:18.920 --> 0:37:22.440 the music. And he said, what yours. Let me tell 0:37:22.440 --> 0:37:24.760 you this, you only have one chance to go to Europe. 0:37:25.239 --> 0:37:27.040 You can always come back to school. So I would 0:37:27.120 --> 0:37:31.919 clean out your lock her. So I just went took 0:37:31.920 --> 0:37:34.920 all my shit out, cleaned it up, put it in 0:37:35.040 --> 0:37:39.759 my bag, went home and decided to I was going 0:37:39.840 --> 0:37:42.120 to Europe. So I called my girlfriend. 0:37:44.320 --> 0:37:46.400 I served my mom right now, boy, you ain't decide not. 0:37:48.800 --> 0:37:52.919 I'm your decision making. So I told her to come. 0:37:53.560 --> 0:37:56.840 I was goa come get her and go to the airport. 0:37:56.960 --> 0:37:59.360 I was leaving the cars to my low riding Malibu 0:38:00.640 --> 0:38:04.840 about sixty five Malabou Orange with GJ on the side 0:38:04.840 --> 0:38:08.320 of white in terrier. And it wasn't dropped. I just 0:38:08.400 --> 0:38:14.040 cut the strings. So the hell it had a rock 0:38:14.160 --> 0:38:19.479 to it, you know. So and I left. My mom 0:38:19.600 --> 0:38:21.359 came down, but she had told me get up, it's 0:38:21.400 --> 0:38:24.120 time to go to school. I said, all I said, well, 0:38:24.280 --> 0:38:29.200 I told you I am going to Gymany. So she 0:38:29.320 --> 0:38:34.280 didn't believe me. All right, So I leave and probably 0:38:34.400 --> 0:38:37.080 was gone for about a good month because I was 0:38:37.200 --> 0:38:40.720 known for getting up leaving because you know, the girlfriend 0:38:40.840 --> 0:38:44.399 at least I had called checked. I didn't call because 0:38:44.440 --> 0:38:49.440 I didn't want to hear right. 0:38:49.560 --> 0:38:50.080 Oh man. 0:38:50.520 --> 0:38:54.319 So we were in London and I decided to call. 0:38:55.480 --> 0:38:59.719 And this is in seventy one. So I said, look, 0:39:00.840 --> 0:39:03.319 I'm in London, England, and we're leaving here. We're going 0:39:03.360 --> 0:39:06.520 to Paris. And you know, I'm fine, I'm good. I'm 0:39:06.560 --> 0:39:10.080 making some good money making like probably about seven hundred 0:39:10.120 --> 0:39:16.600 per gig, which wasn't bad. Yeah, And I told her 0:39:16.640 --> 0:39:19.319 I will send money. So then she kind of chilled out. 0:39:21.680 --> 0:39:25.000 Then I want I sent money, and even though I 0:39:25.120 --> 0:39:28.279 had no bills, I just sent money and she didn't 0:39:28.280 --> 0:39:31.520 said another you know, she's like knew. And I was 0:39:31.600 --> 0:39:37.640 the only son who would do anything like that, including 0:39:37.760 --> 0:39:41.919 when his bass player Grady quit and Billy he quit 0:39:42.040 --> 0:39:45.040 at the airport. I used to go home and teach 0:39:45.320 --> 0:39:47.759 Lewis the show. We'd sit on the side of the 0:39:47.840 --> 0:39:51.280 bed he had. We had double beds, and my guitar 0:39:51.840 --> 0:39:56.760 this way and his guitar that way. Easy to follow, 0:39:57.680 --> 0:40:00.759 so I taught him every song he had done. So 0:40:01.080 --> 0:40:03.879 my brother Lewis literally new Billy show after the first 0:40:03.960 --> 0:40:08.160 tour after the year, goes by at the airport and 0:40:08.840 --> 0:40:12.800 I think they had red Devils available, yellow jackets, Kwai ludes, 0:40:12.880 --> 0:40:24.560 all that ship was out his bass players. These are pills. 0:40:24.920 --> 0:40:26.960 I never really got into them. I had girls, they 0:40:27.040 --> 0:40:28.719 come over and they bring it to the parties and 0:40:28.840 --> 0:40:30.960 whole bag of yellow jackets, and what the hell are 0:40:30.960 --> 0:40:33.000 you gonna do with this? You know, there was no 0:40:33.200 --> 0:40:36.520 sealem you know, I don't know. People at the party 0:40:36.719 --> 0:40:39.439 they'd take one, and you know, my dad would find 0:40:39.480 --> 0:40:48.240 what was this ship. He always was taken. He flushed 0:40:48.320 --> 0:40:50.560 down the toilet and it was funny. I'm gonna tell 0:40:50.560 --> 0:40:52.760 you this story. This is kind of my personal business. 0:40:53.040 --> 0:40:56.680 But you know, I had sampled, uh some lines of cocaine. 0:40:56.760 --> 0:40:59.120 I had a friend of mine who always had it, 0:40:59.440 --> 0:41:02.719 and he kind of I'd tell that other people I knew, 0:41:02.760 --> 0:41:05.160 I'm not gonna mention they were doing it. So he 0:41:05.320 --> 0:41:07.719 brought it and he had like a whole mountain of 0:41:07.760 --> 0:41:11.520 cocaine out in the bedroom. My dad saw the weed 0:41:12.000 --> 0:41:15.759 experiment with weed cocaine, but in that pills. He said, 0:41:15.760 --> 0:41:17.960 I'll tell you one thing, you better flush that down 0:41:18.000 --> 0:41:20.280 a toilet. About the weed. 0:41:23.120 --> 0:41:24.040 Was the biggest concern. 0:41:24.360 --> 0:41:26.279 Yeah, he he didn't know what blow was. 0:41:28.680 --> 0:41:29.120 I don't know. 0:41:35.040 --> 0:41:40.200 Right now, so you know, he he couldn't He didn't. 0:41:40.280 --> 0:41:43.279 He couldn't say anything about that because he didn't know 0:41:43.360 --> 0:41:45.799 what it was. So I'm looking at my boy who 0:41:45.840 --> 0:41:49.120 brought it, and We're both like glad he said flush 0:41:49.160 --> 0:41:52.839 the weed, and I was both. I mean, I had 0:41:52.960 --> 0:41:56.680 just got into too cocaine and I didn't really know 0:41:56.800 --> 0:41:59.440 how I was supposed to feel, you know. And UH 0:41:59.760 --> 0:42:02.399 got around a few huge people that they were known 0:42:02.480 --> 0:42:03.320 for that ship. 0:42:03.840 --> 0:42:12.040 Speaking of which, can you tell that police went? All? Right? 0:42:12.040 --> 0:42:14.439 So I get back home from the trip. I didn't 0:42:14.440 --> 0:42:21.959 mean to go off. Please, like Troy would say, we talked. 0:42:23.480 --> 0:42:24.480 That's what this show is for. 0:42:27.440 --> 0:42:30.000 Just bring me back to Okay. So anyway, I go 0:42:30.120 --> 0:42:35.360 back to Billy Preston and it's so ironic and I 0:42:36.000 --> 0:42:38.479 don't know if I should mention this, but I probably will. 0:42:39.160 --> 0:42:39.520 I will. 0:42:41.040 --> 0:42:44.400 A friend of mine who was Billy's engineer, took me 0:42:44.719 --> 0:42:49.800 over to this girl he was dating, and it was 0:42:50.160 --> 0:42:54.480 April and her sister happened to be Kathy, who was 0:42:55.560 --> 0:43:06.080 married Kathy Silver. Yeah, okay, So he goes into the 0:43:06.160 --> 0:43:11.560 bedroom with with April and he leaves me with Kathy. 0:43:12.520 --> 0:43:14.200 So we're down. So this first time I met her, 0:43:14.520 --> 0:43:17.080 and you know, I wasn't married, and everything was cool, 0:43:17.200 --> 0:43:20.440 and I thought she was so beautiful and nice and sweet. 0:43:21.360 --> 0:43:23.880 But back then, I mean, I had so much experience 0:43:23.920 --> 0:43:25.960 with a bunch of different gorgeous women. I had three 0:43:26.000 --> 0:43:28.960 of them living with me at one time. Three they 0:43:29.000 --> 0:43:31.520 were all girlfriends and they never left. So I had 0:43:31.560 --> 0:43:33.480 to put him to work. All right, You comed up 0:43:33.520 --> 0:43:38.440 the kitchen and you cut clean. All I know is 0:43:38.560 --> 0:43:39.680 I'm writing good. 0:43:39.560 --> 0:43:44.400 To you, legends. 0:43:46.760 --> 0:43:48.640 Are you listening to this episode. 0:43:50.880 --> 0:43:51.280 Special? 0:43:54.760 --> 0:43:56.560 I'm me to tell the truth. Like I mentioned, it 0:43:56.640 --> 0:44:00.399 was probably be the most truthful interview, and it's gonna 0:44:00.440 --> 0:44:03.320 take you in a lot of different areas y'all have 0:44:03.440 --> 0:44:05.640 done because I'm just being me. A lot of this 0:44:05.719 --> 0:44:07.759 stuff I'm putting in my book, which is gonna be 0:44:07.920 --> 0:44:12.320 off the change, incredible, and it'll be more informative that 0:44:12.440 --> 0:44:16.399 I can dig into right now. But this year, well 0:44:16.520 --> 0:44:20.120 I got it seventy percent done, so I left off 0:44:20.680 --> 0:44:23.399 actually sixty percent. I left off twenty percent off the back, 0:44:23.560 --> 0:44:26.880 twenty off the front, so and nobody could do it. Okay, 0:44:27.480 --> 0:44:29.440 it goes back when I was like a baby. 0:44:30.360 --> 0:44:30.800 That stuff. 0:44:30.840 --> 0:44:32.440 I remember the first time it rained. 0:44:32.880 --> 0:44:33.120 Wow. 0:44:36.440 --> 0:44:39.000 But me hooking up with Kathy was like he put 0:44:39.080 --> 0:44:41.319 me with Kathy because he was with April. And then 0:44:41.400 --> 0:44:43.800 they disappeared and left us in the room. So we 0:44:43.960 --> 0:44:46.160 laid by the fireplace, and you know, I had no 0:44:46.400 --> 0:44:52.400 idea that was gonna be sliced on wife, So you know, 0:44:52.719 --> 0:44:54.880 the most furthest I went with her. We kissed a 0:44:54.960 --> 0:44:57.560 little bit, and you know it's like, shit, I'm not 0:44:57.640 --> 0:44:59.839 gonna lay out here and let him walk into us. 0:45:00.120 --> 0:45:01.319 We can't walk into him. 0:45:06.200 --> 0:45:08.520 So and we were there for probably for a couple 0:45:08.560 --> 0:45:13.480 of hours, and her older sister, April wanted us to 0:45:13.560 --> 0:45:15.440 hook up because Michael and I kind of had a 0:45:15.600 --> 0:45:19.560 look alike with big afros, light skin, very cool, you know, 0:45:19.719 --> 0:45:25.280 on chill. You know, I never really wanted for anything 0:45:25.360 --> 0:45:28.640 as far as out of a woman than that my 0:45:28.840 --> 0:45:33.239 grandmother or mother aunts could give. So I've been used 0:45:33.320 --> 0:45:35.040 to that, so I wasn't used to a lot of 0:45:35.120 --> 0:45:38.000 the benefits of a woman. Just like we wing not 0:45:38.160 --> 0:45:40.080 have my guitar. I said, this is the only thing 0:45:40.160 --> 0:45:43.480 you can't come in between me and my guitar, or 0:45:43.600 --> 0:45:47.600 my guitar or my music. And it kind of rolled 0:45:47.680 --> 0:45:49.800 from that. That's why the woman who I picked was 0:45:49.920 --> 0:45:55.360 Troy's mom. You know, she was my soulmate and nobody 0:45:55.560 --> 0:45:58.200 comes close to that. She passed in two thousand, but 0:45:58.960 --> 0:46:00.600 you know she was the only one I let into 0:46:00.680 --> 0:46:08.239 my world and inspired me to continue writing. Okay, So anyway, afterwards, 0:46:08.440 --> 0:46:10.680 you know, Sly played the Palladium and I took my 0:46:11.080 --> 0:46:15.400 wife to be there and we went backstage and I 0:46:15.480 --> 0:46:19.160 saw Kathy and Sly coming down the hallway. They're getting 0:46:19.160 --> 0:46:20.840 ready to go on because I said I want to go. 0:46:21.719 --> 0:46:24.880 You know, see Sly. I didn't know him yet, so 0:46:25.040 --> 0:46:25.920 I see him walking. 0:46:26.000 --> 0:46:26.760 This is when. 0:46:28.800 --> 0:46:31.279 He was they were doing if you want me to stay? 0:46:31.680 --> 0:46:35.239 It came out. Yeah, but I had met him before. 0:46:35.280 --> 0:46:38.680 We'll get back to that. But I saw her coming 0:46:38.719 --> 0:46:40.200 and he turned his head and he end on his 0:46:40.280 --> 0:46:42.680 big hat and a selver outfit, and she like looked 0:46:42.719 --> 0:46:49.960 at me and her and she said, so I totally 0:46:50.200 --> 0:46:52.480 got it. I understood it. There's like a lot of 0:46:52.640 --> 0:46:59.360 Sly attitude personality. It just came into me just from watching, listening, 0:47:00.080 --> 0:47:02.920 telling stories. Because Troy will tell you it's not to me. 0:47:03.000 --> 0:47:06.480 People he'd trust to this day except for me. And 0:47:06.600 --> 0:47:09.239 I can truly say that, Oh will sit down and 0:47:09.440 --> 0:47:12.359 you know slides man, I mean Troy's mane. 0:47:12.480 --> 0:47:16.200 Then email will be encrypted though they got a special 0:47:16.280 --> 0:47:19.000 funk language that the emails Emil. 0:47:20.800 --> 0:47:25.960 Yeah, this is probably about four years ago and we 0:47:26.080 --> 0:47:32.239 still talk. He'd send me like eighty five emails. 0:47:33.760 --> 0:47:39.080 In a day, Sylvester. No, he does. 0:47:39.120 --> 0:47:41.120 He has a laptop and you know he'd learn and 0:47:41.160 --> 0:47:45.160 when he'd get bored, he would text people that he trusts, 0:47:45.239 --> 0:47:48.480 not everybody. So we would when I wasn't around him, 0:47:48.520 --> 0:47:50.840 and I don't go around him a lot, he'd have 0:47:50.920 --> 0:47:53.239 a questions, a g I got some songs. I got 0:47:53.320 --> 0:47:57.640 some new songs because he would give me songs. He'd 0:47:57.640 --> 0:47:59.080 come over to my house and I was out to 0:47:59.120 --> 0:48:02.120 Dina when I was with Patrise. That's why Patrice come by. 0:48:05.120 --> 0:48:07.040 They all would love to meet him, but he wouldn't 0:48:07.080 --> 0:48:08.880 let a lot of people meet him period. 0:48:09.680 --> 0:48:12.120 Why was he such a recluse because I know that 0:48:12.239 --> 0:48:15.000 once he well, that's because people that he trusted and 0:48:15.120 --> 0:48:17.000 he opens up and he's regular and that sort of thing. 0:48:17.560 --> 0:48:22.520 Because he's a prophet, and a prophet is one who 0:48:22.880 --> 0:48:28.120 only God is spoken to. Wow, you know, yeah, then 0:48:28.200 --> 0:48:32.480 that's the true fact. Like Abraham was a prophet. Those 0:48:32.560 --> 0:48:35.800 are who God speaks to somebody who's been on the 0:48:35.880 --> 0:48:38.480 journey and who accepts themselves and who could still do 0:48:38.600 --> 0:48:41.760 what they want to do regardless. And he has leadership, 0:48:41.840 --> 0:48:43.800 and all of a sudden he doesn't have any leadership, 0:48:44.239 --> 0:48:46.279 then he has someone he wants to trust. The two 0:48:46.480 --> 0:48:49.320 it's like a God speaking to Jesus. And you know 0:48:49.560 --> 0:48:52.840 it gets so deep as far he don't doesn't spread 0:48:52.880 --> 0:48:55.400 himself out. If you want no slide. Just listen to 0:48:55.480 --> 0:49:00.279 all of his songs. You caught me smiling all that 0:49:00.360 --> 0:49:04.000 and listened stand because he politically in the sixties was 0:49:04.160 --> 0:49:08.800 like the only Malcolm X that would bring truth and 0:49:08.880 --> 0:49:09.879 put it in your face. 0:49:10.760 --> 0:49:12.560 So with poet, like when you were there of him, 0:49:12.600 --> 0:49:12.960 what was that? 0:49:13.600 --> 0:49:16.320 Well when we after I met him, and this is 0:49:16.360 --> 0:49:18.640 the scary part for me because I heard him before 0:49:18.680 --> 0:49:23.479 I met him. He Kathy was in the house with Billy, okay, 0:49:23.480 --> 0:49:26.920 because Billy's sisters knew her or something, and that's how 0:49:27.000 --> 0:49:29.680 that hooked up. I'm trying to look at her. This 0:49:29.760 --> 0:49:32.719 is before we hooked up, checking her out. Then he 0:49:32.800 --> 0:49:38.000 said slides here. I'm like what I looked out the window. 0:49:38.000 --> 0:49:40.760 I knew he had a mobile home that he record 0:49:40.880 --> 0:49:46.560 with and he would he came to Billy had wooden stairs, 0:49:47.840 --> 0:49:54.360 so I'm hearing Sly's voice her and just walk Sevesters here, Sevester. 0:49:55.280 --> 0:49:58.120 So I'm like sitting by the on the seat of 0:49:58.200 --> 0:50:01.279 the keyboard player right where the doorway, getting ready to 0:50:01.280 --> 0:50:03.719 see this man for the first time in my life. 0:50:03.800 --> 0:50:06.279 But I knew him, like you know, and they see 0:50:06.360 --> 0:50:09.680 him he walks in. Then they had this thing with 0:50:09.760 --> 0:50:11.800 that like stomp and laugh. 0:50:12.000 --> 0:50:12.880 Which you know how to do. 0:50:13.320 --> 0:50:19.680 They're talking right exactly, and I looked at him. It 0:50:19.719 --> 0:50:22.680 was like my mouth dropped because it was like seeing 0:50:22.840 --> 0:50:26.400 Jimmy Hendrix. But I was concerned, and you know, we 0:50:26.480 --> 0:50:28.520 got a chance to talk about all that kind of 0:50:28.520 --> 0:50:31.200 stuff because we became very close and Billy pointed at 0:50:31.280 --> 0:50:36.680 me first said this is George Johnson, this is my 0:50:36.800 --> 0:50:40.160 new guitarist. And Billy was so proud of me. Sly 0:50:40.400 --> 0:50:43.919 knew what that meant. He knew exactly what that meant. 0:50:44.000 --> 0:50:46.640 So Sly out of Billy's whole band, I was the 0:50:46.760 --> 0:50:50.239 only one who opened up that He opened up too, 0:50:51.239 --> 0:50:54.560 And that's how I got to get into bell Air 0:50:55.480 --> 0:50:58.759 with Poet and uh. Well, after he visited, he went 0:50:58.880 --> 0:51:01.920 to the room with Suet Billy, and I'm like sitting 0:51:02.000 --> 0:51:04.800 in the in the living room kind of shaking thinking 0:51:04.880 --> 0:51:07.000 what I wanted to ask him, or if I should 0:51:07.040 --> 0:51:09.200 ask him anything at all, because he had that vibe 0:51:09.280 --> 0:51:11.239 first of all, and held get out. He always want 0:51:11.280 --> 0:51:13.960 a leather he had this way he was sliced out. 0:51:14.160 --> 0:51:15.080 You have his dog with him? 0:51:15.880 --> 0:51:18.520 Gun? Yeah, no he didn't, he told me shot gun 0:51:18.640 --> 0:51:19.040 in the head. 0:51:19.160 --> 0:51:25.360 Oh, Okay, I'm sorry. 0:51:26.280 --> 0:51:28.239 No, he said, this is how that happened. He was 0:51:28.600 --> 0:51:32.960 Kathy was at home. He was in the studio. This 0:51:33.080 --> 0:51:35.120 is right before I started kind of following to the 0:51:35.160 --> 0:51:38.680 studios and he'd let me come in and uh, same 0:51:38.760 --> 0:51:41.920 thing like with Stevie Wonder and out there when he 0:51:42.000 --> 0:51:48.080 did creeping on Oh wow wow. Uh Billy got a 0:51:48.160 --> 0:51:51.840 call Kathy and she said, she said, Sylvester, you have 0:51:51.920 --> 0:51:54.759 to come home. Gun just bit your son. 0:51:55.120 --> 0:51:57.920 Yeah wait, Gun, just what bit the baby? 0:51:58.920 --> 0:52:01.759 So, just like I told me this story, I said, 0:52:01.800 --> 0:52:03.960 so what did you do and how did you do it? 0:52:04.600 --> 0:52:08.719 He said, Man, he said, I went went home and 0:52:08.840 --> 0:52:11.080 I went outside and sat down because he had a 0:52:11.200 --> 0:52:13.359 baboon and a pit bull. 0:52:14.000 --> 0:52:15.480 What I didn't know about the baboon. 0:52:19.520 --> 0:52:21.279 He had a baboon. I can't tell you what the 0:52:21.320 --> 0:52:24.920 pit did to the baboon, but he'd have him in 0:52:25.000 --> 0:52:27.879 the cage and he'd always stick. It's all my trying 0:52:27.920 --> 0:52:30.680 to get the pit. But he said, I went outside 0:52:30.719 --> 0:52:35.239 and I looked at Gun and uh Sly was like, 0:52:35.360 --> 0:52:36.360 this is the personality. 0:52:36.360 --> 0:52:36.600 He said. 0:52:36.640 --> 0:52:39.799 I just asked him one time, he said, Gun said, 0:52:39.840 --> 0:52:44.280 did you bite little Sylvester? So the dog he didn't 0:52:44.320 --> 0:52:47.239 put his head down, and he knew Sly Slide had 0:52:47.320 --> 0:52:51.120 him train really well, and he had his gun for gun, 0:52:52.440 --> 0:52:55.000 his tail didn't go down. I said, don't tell me. 0:52:55.160 --> 0:52:58.319 He said no, he didn't submit when I asked him 0:52:58.360 --> 0:53:01.080 that question. So he took the gun and me had 0:53:01.160 --> 0:53:04.840 just shot him in the head. That told me a 0:53:04.920 --> 0:53:09.560 whole lot about it. Jesus, Christ shot the damn dog 0:53:09.680 --> 0:53:12.479 in the head because he didn't at least he didn't 0:53:12.480 --> 0:53:14.760 submit to what he did. Is that what happened? 0:53:15.480 --> 0:53:15.680 Yeah? 0:53:17.880 --> 0:53:20.440 That was That was Sly hunt. These are things that 0:53:20.480 --> 0:53:22.719 I never really told in public. This is one reason 0:53:22.760 --> 0:53:25.520 why him and I are so. I can't tell you 0:53:25.680 --> 0:53:28.680 too too much about him because but he wouldn't be 0:53:28.760 --> 0:53:35.000 listening though, right, somebody, somebody could somebody, Man, you hit 0:53:35.040 --> 0:53:36.959 that great story, George Johnson. 0:53:37.880 --> 0:53:41.680 You're out there listening. We would love, would love to 0:53:41.719 --> 0:53:42.640 have you on the show. Slide. 0:53:42.920 --> 0:53:44.600 This is I can get him on the show. 0:53:45.280 --> 0:53:51.680 Jesus, that was. Does he still I had running with 0:53:51.840 --> 0:53:55.200 him maybe five six years ago? Does he still have this? 0:53:55.480 --> 0:54:00.359 It looks like the speed racer kind of audio death bike. 0:54:01.120 --> 0:54:05.000 Oh yeah, I heard it just like after. 0:54:05.080 --> 0:54:07.280 It looks like it looks like the Adams family. 0:54:09.320 --> 0:54:12.080 It was so hot, and it was like it was me. 0:54:12.880 --> 0:54:17.279 Chappelle and I were headed to the Grammys in the 0:54:17.360 --> 0:54:23.120 year that the Sliding family Stone reunited, and like just 0:54:23.280 --> 0:54:26.719 at our feet, Slide stopped and Dave and I just 0:54:26.800 --> 0:54:28.799 looked at each other and then he just went off, 0:54:28.880 --> 0:54:30.839 and it was like it was one of the things, 0:54:30.920 --> 0:54:33.760 like no one's ever going to believe what just happened. 0:54:34.800 --> 0:54:36.760 Well, I had a lot of those kind of stories, 0:54:36.800 --> 0:54:39.040 and I just kept to myself, and what is that 0:54:39.200 --> 0:54:43.239 vehicle called? Well, it actually was a tricycle because they 0:54:43.280 --> 0:54:45.640 had one wheel and the motorized and it was two 0:54:45.719 --> 0:54:47.799 in the back. But it was built like if somebody 0:54:47.880 --> 0:54:50.040 tried to build a Harley and extended it. And they 0:54:50.080 --> 0:54:51.640 had the two wheels in the back, and they had 0:54:51.680 --> 0:54:55.279 almost like a seat for two. One of them had 0:54:55.320 --> 0:54:56.800 a seat for two, and one of them just just 0:54:56.880 --> 0:54:59.520 a seat for one. And I would always touch a 0:54:59.640 --> 0:55:02.120 man too scared because I'd call it the death trap. 0:55:03.800 --> 0:55:07.200 Take it on the highway, right onto one on one freeway. 0:55:08.040 --> 0:55:10.080 He had a friend of mine who lived up north 0:55:10.280 --> 0:55:12.920 drive it down to him, and he had about two 0:55:13.000 --> 0:55:16.280 or three of them, but he was you know, Slide 0:55:16.400 --> 0:55:18.759 was so into everything right and left and was and 0:55:19.080 --> 0:55:21.879 who was that group that had the motorcycles, the gang 0:55:21.960 --> 0:55:26.000 group Angel, Well, yeah, he knew them, you know, And 0:55:26.200 --> 0:55:29.480 I think that's when he started biking back back then. 0:55:29.719 --> 0:55:33.040 But you know, he come over to the house. He 0:55:33.120 --> 0:55:35.800 came over for two three years straight. Troy was little, 0:55:35.880 --> 0:55:36.279 and you know. 0:55:36.360 --> 0:55:38.279 He used to call the house before cell phones at 0:55:38.320 --> 0:55:39.919 like three in the morning, and me and my sister 0:55:39.960 --> 0:55:43.000 would be sleep ready to go to school. My mom 0:55:43.120 --> 0:55:45.040 answered the phone and it was not. 0:55:45.920 --> 0:55:50.040 It wasn't too pleasant. He was he was gangster. 0:55:50.120 --> 0:55:51.800 He was gangster as all hell. But he was definitely 0:55:51.800 --> 0:55:54.960 scared of my mom. You call it the damn house 0:55:55.000 --> 0:55:56.640 at three in the morning. My kids got school in 0:55:56.719 --> 0:55:57.040 the morning. 0:55:59.280 --> 0:55:59.799 A song. 0:55:59.880 --> 0:56:06.000 I don't give a fuck about sly Stone. 0:56:06.160 --> 0:56:07.480 I don't about the song. 0:56:09.600 --> 0:56:14.160 That I tell you to anything ideas he had just 0:56:14.239 --> 0:56:16.520 when the answer phone would come on to just put it, 0:56:17.640 --> 0:56:20.239 yeah and leave it and I'll listen to it, you know, 0:56:20.719 --> 0:56:25.200 later on. But we're gonna get back the poet. But anyway, we. 0:56:25.280 --> 0:56:26.960 Kind of jumping in front of it and back and 0:56:27.040 --> 0:56:27.399 in front. 0:56:27.480 --> 0:56:30.160 But like I was saying, a lot of his personality 0:56:30.520 --> 0:56:33.480 and you know, that's how I wound up going out 0:56:33.520 --> 0:56:36.879 to him. You know, because Sly was as brilliant as 0:56:36.920 --> 0:56:41.280 a motherfucker period. He could deal with anybody on any level, 0:56:41.840 --> 0:56:44.320 and if you weren't chosen to be spoken to, you 0:56:44.520 --> 0:56:48.320 just won't never get it. That's the kind of person 0:56:48.440 --> 0:56:51.279 he was, you know. So when he did call, he 0:56:51.280 --> 0:56:53.920 would call it four or five in the morning, and 0:56:54.040 --> 0:56:55.960 he thought it was okay, and then he told me, 0:56:56.560 --> 0:57:00.520 he said, man, he said, I'm scared of DeBie, your wife. 0:57:01.680 --> 0:57:04.400 I'll be laying right there. I just left the studio 0:57:04.520 --> 0:57:06.759 with him, you know, because we worked for like two 0:57:06.880 --> 0:57:09.600 years straight just cutting stuff and I seeing what he had. 0:57:10.239 --> 0:57:10.719 He had me. 0:57:11.360 --> 0:57:14.680 He gave me all of his quarter and a half 0:57:14.760 --> 0:57:19.040 inch eight track reels, which was probably about a dozen 0:57:20.360 --> 0:57:22.560 that he wanted me to go through and pick out 0:57:22.640 --> 0:57:28.880 what was good and what was not good. That was 0:57:29.000 --> 0:57:35.200 my job for probably about four years, because I mean, 0:57:35.280 --> 0:57:38.080 that's what I'm saying, the trust he would never give nobody. 0:57:38.200 --> 0:57:41.400 That last thing he did ask me to do, which 0:57:41.480 --> 0:57:43.120 was a couple of years ago, was to go up 0:57:43.160 --> 0:57:45.120 to the Frisco house and go up to the attic 0:57:45.240 --> 0:57:51.600 and get all of his ship including the songs, you know, pictures, clothes, 0:57:52.360 --> 0:57:54.000 and I said, that's kind of a too big of 0:57:54.080 --> 0:57:56.040 a risk. And I had one guy who would do it. 0:57:56.160 --> 0:57:59.400 But if you ask anybody, he probably know what was missing. 0:58:00.240 --> 0:58:00.880 You want me to get. 0:58:02.600 --> 0:58:06.840 Right exactly, So I wasn't trying to putting into that. 0:58:07.120 --> 0:58:08.600 You know, that's crazy. 0:58:09.120 --> 0:58:11.800 When we went to his house the first time is 0:58:11.880 --> 0:58:13.520 after he came up the stairs and I met him, 0:58:13.760 --> 0:58:17.440 Billy and man, we're gonna go with sales house incurse. 0:58:17.520 --> 0:58:20.920 I knew all the name slides, sevest seals. I wouldn't 0:58:21.600 --> 0:58:24.280 you know what I mean. I would adapt to nicknames 0:58:24.360 --> 0:58:29.840 and stuff like that and would never say no because 0:58:29.840 --> 0:58:31.280 I knew whatever it was gonna be, it was gonna 0:58:31.280 --> 0:58:34.440 be crazy. Just how I met little Richard one night 0:58:34.480 --> 0:58:36.480 he came into the studios for and I was scared 0:58:36.520 --> 0:58:39.840 of death of him because it's like a pass gate. 0:58:40.000 --> 0:58:40.920 But he was big. 0:58:43.840 --> 0:58:49.800 Gate at Billy and he's looking, man, I said, what's 0:58:49.880 --> 0:58:52.160 up with your boy or your Billy said you leave 0:58:52.240 --> 0:58:58.280 on the law, you will get his ass kicked. I 0:58:58.400 --> 0:59:01.000 had to. I had to jout Billy in the neck 0:59:01.120 --> 0:59:03.600 a couple of times, you know, knocking him back and 0:59:03.760 --> 0:59:05.840 don't mess with my brother when he gets on the set. 0:59:06.080 --> 0:59:11.040 You know. But how how long was your duration with 0:59:11.120 --> 0:59:12.680 Billy before? Three years? 0:59:13.280 --> 0:59:15.040 Well those three years, Well I get to the poet 0:59:15.080 --> 0:59:15.760 thing real quickly. 0:59:15.800 --> 0:59:16.320 This is before. 0:59:20.080 --> 0:59:22.200 So anyway we go. We get to the bel Air House. 0:59:22.320 --> 0:59:25.920 It was like this cold blooded, sinking sunken stone house. 0:59:26.440 --> 0:59:28.560 Which across the street from that was the Beverly Hill 0:59:28.600 --> 0:59:33.080 Billy's mansion that they on TV. So I'm like looking 0:59:33.160 --> 0:59:35.360 at that, looking at Slides house. And then next door 0:59:35.440 --> 0:59:40.040 to him, Doris Date lived, which people thought he right. 0:59:40.320 --> 0:59:44.560 So we going to the crib and we're all sitting 0:59:45.560 --> 0:59:48.320 you know, and uh now this is another time. The 0:59:48.400 --> 0:59:52.880 first time he did the palladium out here, and and 0:59:53.200 --> 0:59:56.760 he got into the mobile home. We beat him there 0:59:56.880 --> 0:59:57.960 because bullying him new. 0:59:58.720 --> 1:00:00.919 You know, he traveled in a mobile home. 1:00:01.160 --> 1:00:04.760 No, he's like he always had a mobile home because 1:00:04.760 --> 1:00:06.440 he would have cats. Like I'm gonna get ready to 1:00:06.440 --> 1:00:10.240 get to move the studio from upstairs into the mobile 1:00:10.280 --> 1:00:13.680 home so he could drive and keep recording then or 1:00:13.800 --> 1:00:16.560 change his mind, He's like, okay, mobile all the stuff 1:00:16.600 --> 1:00:19.480 into the mobile. He did like three guys and they 1:00:19.480 --> 1:00:23.120 would take everything from up in the studio that's recordable 1:00:23.400 --> 1:00:25.480 down into the mobile home and he hook it all up, 1:00:25.480 --> 1:00:28.480 which could have it took three hours to do. Then 1:00:28.560 --> 1:00:30.160 the one time I was over there and I see 1:00:30.200 --> 1:00:31.360 he just told him to do it and then he 1:00:31.440 --> 1:00:32.960 didn't never mind put it all back. 1:00:35.680 --> 1:00:36.400 That's what I'm saying. 1:00:36.440 --> 1:00:39.560 It's worked exactly. But you know, he when we were 1:00:39.640 --> 1:00:42.200 there the second time, I saw him and he walked 1:00:42.240 --> 1:00:44.800 in and he had these little bells on and red leather, 1:00:45.360 --> 1:00:47.080 so you can hear him coming up to the door. 1:00:47.680 --> 1:00:49.439 So he came up to the door because he knew 1:00:49.480 --> 1:00:51.280 Billy was there. People could have been in the house, 1:00:52.160 --> 1:00:54.920 like if he just walked off stage. So he was 1:00:55.000 --> 1:00:59.000 like you just said percussion and ship and bloom, that's 1:00:59.000 --> 1:01:01.560 the kind of stuff he'd say, kicked the door, bloom, 1:01:09.360 --> 1:01:11.600 make his own sound effect like Batman. 1:01:14.280 --> 1:01:14.720 Bloom. 1:01:15.480 --> 1:01:18.120 And then he come and look, he had a certain thing. 1:01:19.000 --> 1:01:20.880 I guess when you got your wig on and your 1:01:20.960 --> 1:01:24.520 leather suit and you slide stone, you know, you the king. 1:01:25.120 --> 1:01:28.120 You know, ain't nobody as funky as you are. He 1:01:28.280 --> 1:01:32.240 had an aura, you know, and that's where Prince got 1:01:32.360 --> 1:01:35.000 his thing from, whichly made him tell me where did 1:01:35.040 --> 1:01:38.080 he get his vibe from a lot of people don't know. 1:01:38.160 --> 1:01:42.160 He got his walk from Bob Dylan. And that's a slide. 1:01:42.600 --> 1:01:46.479 Prince did that too. You walked your shoulders side to side, 1:01:47.080 --> 1:01:50.080 you know, as you walk in. Bob Dylan was the 1:01:50.320 --> 1:01:52.040 coolest white boy I was in. I used to look 1:01:52.080 --> 1:01:54.840 at videotapes. You go back and see videotapes of Bob Dylan, 1:01:55.760 --> 1:01:58.080 you know, slide and he told me, he tell me shit. 1:01:58.120 --> 1:02:01.400 He wouldn't tell people like that. Man you crack up 1:02:01.400 --> 1:02:03.400 with and you find out. So I got there from 1:02:03.440 --> 1:02:06.080 Bob Dylan, and that's of course you came up through 1:02:06.120 --> 1:02:08.800 the same era. And then I noticed, I say, well, 1:02:08.840 --> 1:02:11.360 Prince got that from you. He didn't like Prince at all. 1:02:12.160 --> 1:02:14.040 Prince ain't as funky as you. I was on to 1:02:14.080 --> 1:02:16.560 tell him to go to Prince. I said, man, I 1:02:16.600 --> 1:02:19.360 ain't got to. I had to leverage Prince had. 1:02:19.720 --> 1:02:23.840 George George Clinton once said that his favorite slid quote 1:02:23.840 --> 1:02:27.440 about Prince was its sly used to tell George that 1:02:27.640 --> 1:02:33.640 man he should he tastes like spinach when he needed 1:02:33.640 --> 1:02:35.040 to be tasting like Cola greens. 1:02:39.200 --> 1:02:41.320 I'm gonna tell you something. And George Clinton and I 1:02:41.360 --> 1:02:45.160 are very close George Clinton well with his band and 1:02:45.280 --> 1:02:48.360 everybody who was involved with including Born and Burning War, 1:02:49.400 --> 1:02:52.120 all the other cats. They was like the funkest cats 1:02:52.160 --> 1:02:54.560 on the planet because they had more funk than anybody 1:02:54.680 --> 1:03:00.880 had on stage, you know, Bob Gun and we was 1:03:00.920 --> 1:03:02.600 out there on touring them with him. So it's like 1:03:02.720 --> 1:03:05.520 a lot of them had the equal it was more 1:03:05.680 --> 1:03:08.080 more equal. When I was in the Slide in the 1:03:08.120 --> 1:03:12.120 family Stone, of course I loved the drummer and Greg Erica. 1:03:12.240 --> 1:03:14.880 Of course I loved Larry Graham and Larry Graham and 1:03:14.920 --> 1:03:17.160 I got very close and then there was a competition 1:03:17.440 --> 1:03:19.840 or Slide knew I was hanging with Larry. Larry know 1:03:19.920 --> 1:03:22.640 I was hanging with Slide. You know, they wanted to 1:03:23.800 --> 1:03:26.200 They wanted to deceive me to make a decision. 1:03:29.520 --> 1:03:30.160 Bring together. 1:03:32.800 --> 1:03:35.280 We just wouldn't hang out. We just you know, from touring. 1:03:36.000 --> 1:03:39.200 Larry Graham was like my older brother and he taught 1:03:39.240 --> 1:03:41.520 me a lot about He taught me more about funk 1:03:41.680 --> 1:03:46.160 than Slide could on base. Larry didn't because Larry could 1:03:46.320 --> 1:03:49.840 execute that stuff. Slide we could execute it. But he 1:03:49.920 --> 1:03:55.120 played with a pick a pick and there was more 1:03:55.240 --> 1:03:58.200 melody until rus Day Allen came on the scene and 1:03:58.320 --> 1:04:01.760 turned it out within time. I'm yeah, and Rusty and 1:04:01.840 --> 1:04:03.840 I met, and well, you know, we're clos It's like 1:04:04.720 --> 1:04:07.560 I had to know everybody who was in the House 1:04:07.600 --> 1:04:10.400 of Funk, you know, and we all kind of knew 1:04:11.240 --> 1:04:15.520 and you know a lot of people. That's why even 1:04:15.640 --> 1:04:19.360 nowadays you hear rappers and singers, it's like not enough, Okay, 1:04:19.480 --> 1:04:22.920 somebody produced you, somebody wrote the record, so it's not 1:04:23.840 --> 1:04:27.480 it's not coming out of you. Somebody helped develop, you know, 1:04:27.840 --> 1:04:32.120 that kind of thing. But when I was there and 1:04:32.200 --> 1:04:34.320 I went up, he went, let nobody come up. And 1:04:34.440 --> 1:04:37.440 I went upstairs, and they had eight monitors on the 1:04:37.520 --> 1:04:40.919 bed for all the rooms in certain areas of the house. 1:04:41.560 --> 1:04:43.640 So I'm like, what are y'all doing? They were having fun, 1:04:43.840 --> 1:04:54.440 having their little milk and cookies. Yeah, and I'm like, 1:04:54.520 --> 1:04:57.040 what are y'all doing? He said, all were looking at everybody, 1:04:57.200 --> 1:05:02.520 but Sly was looking at Billy's girlfriend's breast and she 1:05:02.640 --> 1:05:04.840 had this little cut thus looking at her Cleaveland, and 1:05:05.000 --> 1:05:07.400 he just said that I'm looking at what's the names? 1:05:07.480 --> 1:05:07.600 You know? 1:05:09.480 --> 1:05:11.040 He said, you could tell her to come up because 1:05:11.040 --> 1:05:13.840 the waistly is if you don't make your way there. 1:05:14.480 --> 1:05:17.760 You ain't coming up. Well, the whole band was a 1:05:17.800 --> 1:05:21.080 Billy was sitting downstairs. I got tired of waiting. He 1:05:21.160 --> 1:05:24.280 had this bodyguard named Jay R who had a cut 1:05:24.360 --> 1:05:28.480 across his knife cut and he was like looking at 1:05:28.560 --> 1:05:30.360 all of this, like beating on his chair and just 1:05:30.440 --> 1:05:31.040 waiting for him. 1:05:31.320 --> 1:05:35.920 Damn you motherfucker to get up. Sit there now, you 1:05:36.120 --> 1:05:36.640 can't leave. 1:05:37.360 --> 1:05:40.480 Yeah, So I mean, people were stuck. So I decided 1:05:40.520 --> 1:05:42.960 I said, look, Billy's upstairs, it's my friend. I'm gonna 1:05:42.960 --> 1:05:45.440 go see what's up. He didn't say a word. He'd 1:05:45.520 --> 1:05:48.680 let me go up when I opened the door, and 1:05:48.760 --> 1:05:50.840 he had this egg chairs you could sit in. They 1:05:50.920 --> 1:05:54.120 had the music come through. You could sit down and 1:05:54.240 --> 1:05:57.720 listen to music. Sly looked over at me and he 1:05:57.840 --> 1:06:00.919 remembered Billy said, Man, this is George. They don't fuck 1:06:01.000 --> 1:06:03.880 with him, this motherfucker. Because we had in our family, 1:06:04.080 --> 1:06:09.480 to be honest, some inside on some brutal kind of 1:06:09.520 --> 1:06:12.360 shit with motherfuckers been in prison. So we had our 1:06:12.440 --> 1:06:17.680 own mafia thing that runs in the family, and including 1:06:17.840 --> 1:06:22.760 certain people that came to assistance of FOI who who 1:06:22.880 --> 1:06:26.520 they worked and went and got some of them in 1:06:26.600 --> 1:06:32.320 an organization, So I never really talked about that. And 1:06:32.600 --> 1:06:36.080 you know, we grew up with gangsters living in our block. 1:06:36.440 --> 1:06:39.200 The leader of the Slossons, leader the Gladiators back then 1:06:39.640 --> 1:06:42.120 the next door to us and down the street, so 1:06:42.920 --> 1:06:45.360 and we had all to find his babysitters. So they came, 1:06:48.920 --> 1:06:50.520 so they were trying to get with them, and then 1:06:50.560 --> 1:06:53.160 they protected us. And since we had just three puzzling 1:06:53.240 --> 1:06:55.600 and played music and went around to all the high 1:06:55.640 --> 1:07:00.320 schools and colleges, we brought people together. And if it 1:07:00.360 --> 1:07:02.320 wasn't for you and your group, me and my wife 1:07:02.360 --> 1:07:04.720 wouldn't have got you know, it was it was. 1:07:04.920 --> 1:07:05.480 It was like that. 1:07:05.800 --> 1:07:09.200 So I kind of felt every move of emotions that 1:07:09.360 --> 1:07:14.360 people would describe, and you know, I didn't take anything 1:07:14.440 --> 1:07:16.720 for granted. That just kept my ears open wide, knowing 1:07:16.760 --> 1:07:19.960 that'd be a great opportunity to jump or go to 1:07:20.080 --> 1:07:23.600 different places that no one else could take me. Everywhere 1:07:23.600 --> 1:07:26.240 I have been, no one else but the next great 1:07:26.280 --> 1:07:30.680 person took me to, like Billy Preston, you know, And 1:07:30.920 --> 1:07:33.440 when after after I was up in the bedroom and 1:07:33.600 --> 1:07:36.800 there were Billy was on the cloud and that and 1:07:36.880 --> 1:07:39.919 Sli was on the Fender Roads playing on Billy payed 1:07:39.920 --> 1:07:41.720 a lot of backwards stuff, just. 1:07:41.880 --> 1:07:45.600 Like in so do. 1:07:48.040 --> 1:07:56.439 Wow, you know, I think, but I can't yeh. Billy 1:07:56.440 --> 1:07:58.560 would here would slively playing and he'd just do a 1:07:59.040 --> 1:08:02.680 he he knew where his place would be. And I 1:08:02.800 --> 1:08:07.880 heard poet and I'm like, it gets no funky, you know? 1:08:11.080 --> 1:08:15.160 Can I ask you something? So because normally I talk 1:08:15.200 --> 1:08:18.360 to people about their reaction to there's a ride going 1:08:18.400 --> 1:08:22.400 on once it's the finished product, but what they're creating 1:08:23.760 --> 1:08:28.880 it's nothing like the raw ra cheer leader vibe of 1:08:29.040 --> 1:08:33.720 what Stand represented or the dance of the music album. 1:08:33.640 --> 1:08:36.200 Every day people, You're totally right, like. 1:08:36.400 --> 1:08:38.880 Was this not a foreign thing to you? For you 1:08:39.000 --> 1:08:42.840 to be hearing like this is literally the first funk I. 1:08:43.000 --> 1:08:47.840 Was in to the original stuff that you're talking about. 1:08:48.320 --> 1:08:50.760 And I was all in a political movement, so for 1:08:50.920 --> 1:08:53.240 us to see a black man just how we had 1:08:53.320 --> 1:08:56.200 other people knocking, like Muhammad Ali. But he has his 1:08:56.320 --> 1:08:59.320 wig on a long collar looking like a clown. But 1:08:59.400 --> 1:09:00.479 that was just his look. 1:09:01.640 --> 1:09:01.920 Okay. 1:09:02.040 --> 1:09:05.520 At the same time, he's like, you know, how black. 1:09:05.360 --> 1:09:05.840 Can you be? 1:09:06.080 --> 1:09:10.080 And you're gonna go there and disgrace Islam wearing a wig? 1:09:10.600 --> 1:09:12.600 He was on one David caviage show or something like. 1:09:12.920 --> 1:09:16.559 You know, he talked about it, and I could see 1:09:16.720 --> 1:09:19.160 Muhammad at Lee's point and I could see Sly's point. 1:09:20.120 --> 1:09:23.240 He told me how he made the band. You know, 1:09:23.360 --> 1:09:27.679 we have different colors, different textures, a whole bunch of colors, 1:09:27.680 --> 1:09:30.519 and that's where George Clinton got his whole idea from, 1:09:31.560 --> 1:09:35.559 and you know, different sounds, and he even was different, 1:09:35.600 --> 1:09:40.240 but he was the leader of the group. So he said, 1:09:40.280 --> 1:09:43.360 you have all that, all those colors, all that creativity 1:09:43.479 --> 1:09:46.360 of all that sound. So he didn't admit to so 1:09:49.439 --> 1:09:52.439 after hearing Dance to the Music was the first one 1:09:52.960 --> 1:09:55.320 that I heard, even though we heard I was down 1:09:55.400 --> 1:09:58.479 with them when they were in contests with the Chambers 1:09:58.560 --> 1:10:01.519 brothers who time was up other than Chaga's brothers too. 1:10:01.560 --> 1:10:07.360 But the line that we're gonna win, and all his 1:10:07.520 --> 1:10:12.080 greatest hits, like you had mentioned, even from Don't Call 1:10:12.200 --> 1:10:15.639 Me Nigger Whitey, you know, he made statements that were 1:10:16.880 --> 1:10:20.960 vital for those times, and he spoke his mind. I 1:10:21.040 --> 1:10:24.639 think he was probably one of ten groups that were 1:10:24.720 --> 1:10:27.920 just you know, he wasn't afraid of it, putting it 1:10:28.040 --> 1:10:31.400 on the record that the record states that boom. This 1:10:31.560 --> 1:10:34.120 is how I feel this is where we're coming from. 1:10:34.600 --> 1:10:38.759 So he was like the warrior gangster on record. 1:10:39.479 --> 1:10:43.519 But did it not feel or foreign to you? Like 1:10:43.800 --> 1:10:44.240 very un. 1:10:45.840 --> 1:10:48.320 It was because he was in his world with the 1:10:48.439 --> 1:10:51.080 Riot album. He didn't have a lot of input with 1:10:51.200 --> 1:10:54.720 the group okay, and or the Fresh album. He might 1:10:54.760 --> 1:10:58.160 would pull Freddie in, Larry in, you know, he might 1:10:58.200 --> 1:11:02.840 would call in uh, Cynthia or Rose you know. Rolls 1:11:02.880 --> 1:11:05.840 and I became very close because she was like, I 1:11:05.960 --> 1:11:08.559 told her, letting me know anytime there was a problem. 1:11:08.720 --> 1:11:12.080 So she was watching My Watchman and I was telling 1:11:12.120 --> 1:11:14.880 him everything from what he ate, well, he likes a 1:11:14.920 --> 1:11:16.960 couple of newdles, said that all. Doesn't y'all give him some. 1:11:19.640 --> 1:11:20.120 Vegetables. 1:11:21.320 --> 1:11:24.040 He liked cheese, which is you know, he told me 1:11:24.160 --> 1:11:31.200 that weird day. If you got a packet of cheese 1:11:31.320 --> 1:11:34.360 in the back of your pocket, then you got something 1:11:34.400 --> 1:11:36.880 else you don't need that goes with it, that it 1:11:37.040 --> 1:11:39.920 clogs you up. Yeah, because of lactose. 1:11:42.840 --> 1:11:43.440 Yeah. 1:11:43.520 --> 1:11:46.600 Yeah, so a lot of stuff like that. He I 1:11:46.680 --> 1:11:49.720 didn't know. He just tell me in the studio you 1:11:49.840 --> 1:11:50.439 got it now that. 1:11:52.640 --> 1:11:52.840 You know. 1:11:53.479 --> 1:11:57.800 Yeah, you told me stories about Hendrix, which he knew 1:11:58.320 --> 1:12:01.599 Hendrix was my know, which I did have a chance 1:12:01.680 --> 1:12:03.479 to meet Hendrik Sai or his dad. 1:12:04.200 --> 1:12:08.600 Can I ask a question? Was Betty Davis around at 1:12:08.760 --> 1:12:09.640 any part of this? 1:12:10.240 --> 1:12:13.360 I never saw her? Damn, I never saw her. But 1:12:13.600 --> 1:12:16.519 I liked this the baseline Larry did with with a 1:12:16.560 --> 1:12:22.640 lot of her stuff. Oh for yeah, oh yeah, that 1:12:22.840 --> 1:12:25.439 was that was the ship. But it was you know, 1:12:25.800 --> 1:12:29.960 when you talk about funk, there was really no other 1:12:30.080 --> 1:12:34.160 person that you can go to outside of when George 1:12:34.200 --> 1:12:38.280 Clinton came up. His funk was different. So everybody had 1:12:38.320 --> 1:12:41.000 that little different type of funk. And that's why him 1:12:41.000 --> 1:12:42.920 and George won. I knew they were gonna hook up. 1:12:43.360 --> 1:12:46.080 First the egos came in, and once that settled down 1:12:46.160 --> 1:12:49.400 and they're both together, then George would call me up 1:12:49.880 --> 1:12:53.240 versus about ten years ago and man, you his slie 1:12:53.320 --> 1:12:55.120 new stuff. He's done so and now I really hadn't 1:12:55.120 --> 1:12:58.000 heard it because you know, I would be the one 1:12:58.080 --> 1:13:03.840 who would talk about him from his face, right, I said, Man, 1:13:04.520 --> 1:13:07.280 you know, first of all, you ain't gonna be doing 1:13:07.360 --> 1:13:10.880 that ship in my house. Second of all, maybe I 1:13:10.920 --> 1:13:14.479 think I'm gonna wait to after you die to little 1:13:14.560 --> 1:13:17.960 sell more records. His eyes got this, man ain't nobody 1:13:18.120 --> 1:13:24.679 told me no ship like that. I said, Jimmy Hendrix 1:13:24.800 --> 1:13:28.439 died and his record sales boost. You know, if you 1:13:28.520 --> 1:13:31.400 want to start acting ignorant, you know, I'm even going 1:13:31.479 --> 1:13:33.519 through all this music you letting me go through, and 1:13:33.560 --> 1:13:36.120 if you're gonna put something together, I just might wait 1:13:36.200 --> 1:13:40.160 till you're gone and it'll be worth more money. So 1:13:40.280 --> 1:13:44.160 he knew I would like talking to him like himself 1:13:44.240 --> 1:13:47.800 talking to himself. I said, you taught me everything about 1:13:47.880 --> 1:13:50.400 you that I know. When he first care said man 1:13:50.600 --> 1:13:54.200 gj Used called me, gedg. You got more on my 1:13:54.360 --> 1:13:59.639 records than I have thought existed. And I would cut 1:13:59.760 --> 1:14:02.000 some stuff, recut it, like singing a simple song and 1:14:02.040 --> 1:14:05.280 playing my version and like totally tweak it out. 1:14:05.400 --> 1:14:06.280 That'd be STEPHF. 1:14:06.360 --> 1:14:10.439 Troy would get, you know, add some stuff, and you know, 1:14:11.240 --> 1:14:13.840 he could tell things I was into and have it. 1:14:13.880 --> 1:14:16.479 Could I play and learned to play a lot like 1:14:16.640 --> 1:14:20.920 Larry Graham, But I also learned a lot and playing 1:14:21.040 --> 1:14:25.240 bass like Sly. Both of them knew that. And I 1:14:25.360 --> 1:14:27.760 played the guitars like he was unsynthesized, said, man, you 1:14:27.840 --> 1:14:30.800 got to get back to these telecaster guitars. Tankling. You 1:14:30.920 --> 1:14:33.800 know what I'm saying, like on the slow version of 1:14:33.880 --> 1:14:37.840 Thank You, you know that was a sound you're not 1:14:38.080 --> 1:14:41.519 doing that you're trying to incorporate, and you're putting three 1:14:41.640 --> 1:14:45.120 things on one track, which shouldn't be doing anyway, because 1:14:45.200 --> 1:14:49.280 you know that's how he would record play a certain 1:14:49.320 --> 1:14:51.479 amount of you know, guitar or something on there I was, 1:14:51.520 --> 1:14:53.840 and it switched to a loud mood bass to make 1:14:53.920 --> 1:14:54.880 the meters go up. 1:14:54.960 --> 1:14:57.400 And I said, was he his own engineer? 1:14:58.000 --> 1:15:03.640 Yep? Right, So you know when I hooked up with him, 1:15:03.680 --> 1:15:06.320 I was trying to teach him a couple of things 1:15:06.360 --> 1:15:10.040 that I learned from Bruce Woodine. So you know, certain 1:15:10.120 --> 1:15:14.160 things that you know, minus three dB for like a 1:15:14.280 --> 1:15:16.560 high hat or anything that bright comes back at you 1:15:16.640 --> 1:15:19.000 how has laid down. You know, I never would have 1:15:19.120 --> 1:15:22.400 known that I learned a lot from Bruce. 1:15:22.960 --> 1:15:25.880 Say, I forgot that Bruce Woodine actually engineered your records. 1:15:26.200 --> 1:15:29.200 Yes, we were the reasons why this is gonna trip 1:15:29.280 --> 1:15:33.920 you up off the wall happened thriller blooprint and bad 1:15:35.800 --> 1:15:39.160 Michael introduced I could show you a picture us at 1:15:39.240 --> 1:15:42.920 Carnegie Hall, and he was following seventy nine and he 1:15:43.080 --> 1:15:46.519 was following the brothers Johnson down to my little bow 1:15:46.640 --> 1:15:49.800 tie I had on when he did the covers for 1:15:50.160 --> 1:15:52.559 because yeah, I used to work, you know, I used 1:15:52.600 --> 1:15:56.280 to He was studying, studying me and my brother, and 1:15:56.400 --> 1:15:59.600 he loved the sound. He was complaining about whether you 1:15:59.600 --> 1:16:02.880 should go the qu at that time they had just 1:16:03.000 --> 1:16:06.280 started working on but had eight months into Off the Wall, 1:16:07.520 --> 1:16:11.000 and I knew then, you know, it was my job 1:16:11.120 --> 1:16:13.320 and it was nothing I could do to step back 1:16:14.400 --> 1:16:17.120 and just let them float as long as. 1:16:17.000 --> 1:16:24.439 They could go. How did you guys end up getting 1:16:24.479 --> 1:16:24.920 with Quincy? 1:16:26.120 --> 1:16:30.240 Well, with Quincy, I had hooked up actually with Stevie 1:16:30.320 --> 1:16:34.320 Wonder because I was going to join Wonderlove auditioning for 1:16:34.479 --> 1:16:36.240 me and my brother before that. 1:16:36.479 --> 1:16:42.479 Really, yeah, and I was on or like after like 1:16:42.560 --> 1:16:43.120 what period? 1:16:43.439 --> 1:16:49.759 This was around right before he recorded the song Creeping, 1:16:49.800 --> 1:16:56.960 because I was in the studio with them all night. Yeah, 1:16:57.240 --> 1:16:59.000 I had been kind of because we were at the 1:16:59.040 --> 1:17:02.840 record plant and he was a studio B okay okay, 1:17:03.680 --> 1:17:05.960 and we were in the Studio A or Studio C, 1:17:06.360 --> 1:17:09.640 which is the biggest studio where Quincy was. Yeah, and 1:17:09.760 --> 1:17:11.880 I think I was in the Chacuzie hanging out a 1:17:11.920 --> 1:17:12.759 couple of times. 1:17:12.680 --> 1:17:14.360 It was in the studio. 1:17:16.120 --> 1:17:18.920 Plan right when you walk in that door to the left, 1:17:19.240 --> 1:17:23.000 the left, they turned into a gym. It's a gym now. 1:17:23.040 --> 1:17:24.519 I think they got some exercise equipment. 1:17:25.600 --> 1:17:27.880 Initially it was a jacuzie, which is cool because if 1:17:27.880 --> 1:17:29.800 you work in one, just chill out and go on 1:17:30.000 --> 1:17:31.240 jaczie and get you. 1:17:31.320 --> 1:17:33.320 Some food and hang out, amongst other reasons. 1:17:36.640 --> 1:17:41.200 Yeah, I might want to man. 1:17:41.400 --> 1:17:44.960 Well, they was keeping it pretty clean. It was all 1:17:45.080 --> 1:17:46.439 It always has been pretty clean. 1:17:47.280 --> 1:17:47.800 But we. 1:17:49.720 --> 1:17:51.640 Was in there, and Quincy will tell you this, and 1:17:51.720 --> 1:17:54.640 he mentioned in his interviews too, that took me and 1:17:54.760 --> 1:17:58.759 Lewis and we were in the studio with with Stevie. 1:17:59.120 --> 1:18:01.719 It's like, okay, this now, this is my brother because 1:18:01.720 --> 1:18:04.559 I always initiate the initial hook up. Say I hung 1:18:04.680 --> 1:18:09.200 there without Lewis when I was caring creeping. Now, I 1:18:09.280 --> 1:18:11.040 don't know if it had a lot, because Stevie used 1:18:11.080 --> 1:18:13.960 to always call me Turan brother. This my Turian brother. 1:18:14.840 --> 1:18:17.919 I knew when he would record his birth My birthday 1:18:18.000 --> 1:18:20.560 is like seventeenth, think his was the fourteenth. 1:18:20.160 --> 1:18:22.040 Or fifteen, thirteenth, thirteenth. 1:18:22.360 --> 1:18:27.200 Yeah, So I would creep into the studio two three 1:18:27.200 --> 1:18:32.880 o'clock in the morning, and he knew my footsteps, he. 1:18:32.920 --> 1:18:34.200 Knew the rhythm in the pattern of it. 1:18:34.280 --> 1:18:37.559 He knew how he knew my walk. Just George Johnson, 1:18:37.840 --> 1:18:40.840 just George Johnson's it okay, was rocking his head, say 1:18:40.880 --> 1:18:44.040 what you doing man? He pressed the button. I'm gonna 1:18:44.040 --> 1:18:47.400 start this new track, finishing one thing, which was I 1:18:47.520 --> 1:18:49.599 forgot the last song. He did his song that too. 1:18:50.000 --> 1:18:51.680 It was so fun of him, Like, man, he had 1:18:51.840 --> 1:18:56.400 too much funky things in the can. Now this is 1:18:56.439 --> 1:18:59.760 after I met Sly, So it's like now all was 1:19:00.040 --> 1:19:02.639 and I'm gravitating. I had Billy pressed in his slice. 1:19:02.720 --> 1:19:04.920 I'm gravitating just two keyboard players. 1:19:05.680 --> 1:19:06.040 M hm. 1:19:07.080 --> 1:19:09.840 So I spent all night with his mom and first 1:19:09.880 --> 1:19:13.880 time she met Stevie and creeping unfolded from the tambourine 1:19:14.080 --> 1:19:15.240 the first thing he later. 1:19:16.920 --> 1:19:17.640 That was the first thing. 1:19:17.920 --> 1:19:24.080 The first thing on the track was the tambourine, right right, 1:19:24.320 --> 1:19:27.040 and then that's all you heard. Then he added everything 1:19:27.080 --> 1:19:28.880 else and we were there till about eight in the morning, 1:19:29.520 --> 1:19:32.479 and the whole damn song was done. And I'm like, 1:19:32.600 --> 1:19:39.080 you see how bad this matterfuck is without a that's crazy, yeah, 1:19:39.120 --> 1:19:39.800 without the click. 1:19:40.200 --> 1:19:43.000 He just be the last night. 1:19:45.040 --> 1:19:48.080 And he did that, you know, probably maybe as a 1:19:48.200 --> 1:19:51.320 test store because we're sitting up there, I wonder what 1:19:51.400 --> 1:19:54.000 he's gonna do next, you know, And he did everything 1:19:54.120 --> 1:19:57.920 to the drums, synthesizes all the parts and you put 1:19:57.960 --> 1:20:00.800 a basic vocal and that that's why we were there 1:20:01.200 --> 1:20:04.840 from like two in the morning, probably about ten thirty 1:20:04.880 --> 1:20:08.200 in the morning. But a couple of my close friends 1:20:08.320 --> 1:20:10.040 knew because I'd be up at a and them in 1:20:10.080 --> 1:20:13.759 the studio late at night between him and Line of Richie, 1:20:13.760 --> 1:20:15.880 and we passed it. Hey, Line was up. He was 1:20:15.960 --> 1:20:18.560 a night out too. Some of them don't make a 1:20:18.680 --> 1:20:21.840 move until after twelve, and you can't call them before 1:20:21.880 --> 1:20:25.479 three in the afternoon because they're sleep right, so you know, 1:20:25.600 --> 1:20:27.920 then they'd call me. Steve would give me a heads up. 1:20:28.000 --> 1:20:30.400 I bet studio, George, okay, I'll be at the studio. 1:20:30.400 --> 1:20:33.519 I said, all right, I might come down. Well, you know, 1:20:33.640 --> 1:20:35.880 to look up in line. On one time, I called 1:20:35.920 --> 1:20:42.240 it two thirty s it's not three o'clock yet, I said, 1:20:42.240 --> 1:20:44.439 all right, all right now, but Tommy back coming back, 1:20:44.479 --> 1:20:50.680 Man coming back. And you know, just they knew who 1:20:50.800 --> 1:20:52.640 I had hung over and who I've been hanging out with, 1:20:52.680 --> 1:20:58.600 because after that I went to George Duke, so it 1:20:58.680 --> 1:21:03.080 was Billy Preston, Stevie Wonder, George Duke's the Education. 1:21:02.960 --> 1:21:03.559 Yeah for real. 1:21:03.840 --> 1:21:09.920 And then I went to uh, George Duke, Bill Withers. 1:21:12.120 --> 1:21:13.960 This was before Billy Preston. 1:21:14.080 --> 1:21:17.200 I forgot because you're on the back cover. 1:21:17.280 --> 1:21:19.639 Of Bill right. Yeah. 1:21:19.760 --> 1:21:22.879 Yeah, me and my wife and my dad who was sitting. 1:21:22.720 --> 1:21:23.240 On the ground. 1:21:24.240 --> 1:21:25.000 So was that a real? 1:21:25.120 --> 1:21:27.360 Like what was the concept behind Ray Parker Jr. 1:21:28.720 --> 1:21:31.680 Was that a real because he on Sultan. 1:21:34.600 --> 1:21:36.760 He was to the left with his wife. Yeah, it 1:21:36.880 --> 1:21:39.000 was like it was a whole. It was on Bill's property, 1:21:39.080 --> 1:21:41.160 in his backyard. We just took like we was over 1:21:41.200 --> 1:21:45.719 there for barbecue and hanging out. Just took a musician 1:21:46.320 --> 1:21:50.960 family picture. And you know it's like heavy hitters are there. 1:21:51.080 --> 1:21:53.800 They were, they were on set. And even back then, 1:21:55.400 --> 1:21:58.000 somebody like maybe Ray Parker is like he just recently 1:21:58.080 --> 1:22:00.320 hooked up with Sly. A lot of people wanted they 1:22:00.400 --> 1:22:02.680 knew I was there. I could easily invite him to 1:22:02.800 --> 1:22:05.760 but I never take anybody. Oh this The only person 1:22:05.840 --> 1:22:09.240 that took over his place was Irene care because she 1:22:09.880 --> 1:22:13.519 was my neighbor and Patrise Russian and to be honest 1:22:13.560 --> 1:22:15.280 with you, I think she was a little bit envious. 1:22:15.320 --> 1:22:17.519 So I know she was a Michael Jackson because she 1:22:17.920 --> 1:22:22.559 she wanted me to be just the only one. She didn't, 1:22:22.560 --> 1:22:25.040 you know, want too particular about said to Garrett would 1:22:25.040 --> 1:22:28.360 come over right, you know, and you remember side, so 1:22:28.439 --> 1:22:31.160 you two were next door neighbors. That next door she 1:22:31.280 --> 1:22:35.760 lived the street that explains to the curve, right. That's how, yeah, 1:22:35.800 --> 1:22:36.360 we hooked up. 1:22:36.400 --> 1:22:39.800 And that was the weirdest. Whenever I saw the credits 1:22:39.840 --> 1:22:41.599 on the album, I'm like, I didn't care. 1:22:42.320 --> 1:22:44.479 And she was a great right and she wor lyrics. 1:22:44.520 --> 1:22:47.760 She really had nothing to do with the music. Uh. 1:22:48.360 --> 1:22:53.080 Back then, I was experimenting with basslines on keyboards and 1:22:53.120 --> 1:22:57.280 it's like a Bobby Brown thing. Don't don't down, don't 1:22:58.120 --> 1:23:01.080 don't don't you know. 1:23:01.760 --> 1:23:04.599 And that was way before then. We are the ticket 1:23:04.680 --> 1:23:04.840 to the. 1:23:07.680 --> 1:23:12.280 Irene lived probably like three blocks away Patrise. Russian lived 1:23:12.320 --> 1:23:14.400 about four blocks away and around the corner. 1:23:15.400 --> 1:23:15.960 So I used to. 1:23:16.120 --> 1:23:19.479 I used to always before Irene moved out to where 1:23:19.520 --> 1:23:24.320 I am, and she moved twice near me. You know, 1:23:24.840 --> 1:23:26.400 I guess a lot of people's like if you hang 1:23:26.439 --> 1:23:29.160 out with somebody, because I always wanted to meet her. 1:23:29.320 --> 1:23:33.479 That's how Fame tour manager said, so I want to 1:23:33.479 --> 1:23:35.200 meet her, said you're gonna work with her one day, 1:23:35.800 --> 1:23:40.879 and that happened without his help. We just gravitated. Actually 1:23:41.800 --> 1:23:44.240 the fifth member of Toto who did a lot of 1:23:44.400 --> 1:23:45.160 movie scores. 1:23:45.280 --> 1:23:48.439 DA. No, it's never total. 1:23:51.320 --> 1:23:55.320 No, they're all members of the group, James Newton, Howard 1:23:57.720 --> 1:24:00.000 Howard and I because we was working in the studio 1:24:00.400 --> 1:24:02.879 and he's the one to introduce me to Irene. 1:24:03.600 --> 1:24:04.920 Do you still speak to her? I was just I 1:24:05.040 --> 1:24:06.240 was like, I haven't heard from her in a while. 1:24:06.439 --> 1:24:09.960 Yeah, we talked, but it's you know, it's we're still cool. 1:24:10.320 --> 1:24:12.720 It's like I kind of let things lie where they lie. 1:24:13.040 --> 1:24:14.960 If you get pissed off about something I hurt. She 1:24:15.080 --> 1:24:16.880 was very hard to get along with the time. I 1:24:17.080 --> 1:24:20.479 wasn't like forcing anything, and it's like, if you are 1:24:20.520 --> 1:24:23.680 a true person who you are, you kind of let 1:24:23.840 --> 1:24:26.200 things go. But I think it boiled down too all 1:24:26.200 --> 1:24:29.080 of a sudden, we're together working and you saying, oh, 1:24:29.120 --> 1:24:31.479 I can't work with you today, Casid Garrett's coming over 1:24:32.160 --> 1:24:36.840 attitude or you know, I can't work digging Irene. I 1:24:36.920 --> 1:24:41.400 mean Patrese's coming over. Patrice came over and she heard 1:24:41.439 --> 1:24:44.320 this one song I did call I Fresh and sly 1:24:44.439 --> 1:24:46.960 I wanted to play on it too, and I didn't 1:24:47.000 --> 1:24:52.800 let him. But so if you pass some time to 1:24:52.880 --> 1:24:55.080 pull up, you pull up I Fresh, and you're gonna 1:24:55.080 --> 1:24:58.519 hear some similarity or sly Stone, which he was the 1:24:58.560 --> 1:25:03.400 one that got me playing keyboard. Okay, So Patrese came over. 1:25:03.520 --> 1:25:04.960 That was her favorite gen. She used to come over 1:25:05.120 --> 1:25:07.960 just to hear that. So when Irene Carrer would see 1:25:08.000 --> 1:25:11.320 her coming up, all ship's gonna get you know, it's 1:25:11.360 --> 1:25:13.720 over because he might be working with Irene. You know, 1:25:13.840 --> 1:25:15.880 he might be where it wasn't might be I was 1:25:16.040 --> 1:25:19.040 working with you know, side Garrett. We cut a lot 1:25:19.080 --> 1:25:20.000 of demos together. 1:25:20.880 --> 1:25:25.519 And how did you guys end up signing with? Like 1:25:26.040 --> 1:25:28.240 and M and story? 1:25:29.960 --> 1:25:33.640 Okay, okay. At when we're at the record plant and 1:25:33.800 --> 1:25:38.000 I was working with Q, I had told him the 1:25:38.160 --> 1:25:40.680 story because before and then I would go up to 1:25:40.760 --> 1:25:43.719 A and M because I was working with Billy Preston. 1:25:43.800 --> 1:25:46.400 He was on A and this would be the first 1:25:46.439 --> 1:25:49.559 good place to go on. I took and them basically 1:25:49.720 --> 1:25:52.479 the same kind of song that I took Quincy. 1:25:53.000 --> 1:25:54.640 Okay, you know, and. 1:25:57.240 --> 1:26:00.680 They basically, you know, didn't pay attention because you had 1:26:00.720 --> 1:26:04.920 a black door to go through a white door. And 1:26:05.080 --> 1:26:08.360 that was funny because we were the only group in 1:26:08.400 --> 1:26:11.639 the history of May and Them who covered all genres 1:26:11.680 --> 1:26:16.240 of music, not just funk, jazz, blues pop. 1:26:16.920 --> 1:26:17.080 You know. 1:26:17.240 --> 1:26:20.920 So Michael was paying attention to back then, and we 1:26:21.080 --> 1:26:25.120 started paying most of the bills, you know, from Styx. 1:26:25.520 --> 1:26:29.040 I was the one who had picked Human that was 1:26:29.120 --> 1:26:34.120 on the charts for twenty seven weeks, the song Human 1:26:34.400 --> 1:26:39.479 by Human Nature, Human League. Yeah. I did a lot 1:26:39.520 --> 1:26:42.160 of stuff, ghost stuff that a lot of people don't 1:26:42.280 --> 1:26:51.360 realize and wait, yeah, and it brought Jimmy jam and 1:26:51.439 --> 1:26:52.760 Terry Lewis on the scene. 1:26:53.560 --> 1:26:54.160 So how did. 1:26:55.800 --> 1:26:58.120 Well, John McLean and I are very close and I 1:26:58.320 --> 1:27:06.240 was like helping him out. Yes, everybody else, Yeah, well 1:27:06.280 --> 1:27:08.759 this is probably before a lot of other things that happened. 1:27:08.800 --> 1:27:11.120 But you know, we were just about ready to leave 1:27:11.360 --> 1:27:14.200 a and m and I was doing my job. I 1:27:14.320 --> 1:27:16.479 just kind of got bored and didn't have my parking 1:27:16.560 --> 1:27:18.720 space there, and I told him, I said, I help 1:27:18.760 --> 1:27:21.559 you out there. The guards and everybody knew what George 1:27:21.600 --> 1:27:24.760 Johnson's here, He's probably back there helping another motherfucker out. 1:27:28.080 --> 1:27:33.160 John McLean had given me first this cassette and told 1:27:33.200 --> 1:27:35.439 me to listen to it. Tell me what I thought. 1:27:36.000 --> 1:27:39.040 He was originally working in the mailroom, think making about 1:27:39.080 --> 1:27:42.439 five hundred bucks a week or something like that at 1:27:42.479 --> 1:27:45.160 a and him became before he came, so he went 1:27:45.240 --> 1:27:47.559 to the Power Moves. It's just how I got Sly 1:27:47.840 --> 1:27:50.519 on Jesse Johnson's record video. 1:27:50.680 --> 1:27:53.120 You did that? Yeah, wow, I was the only one 1:27:53.160 --> 1:27:56.519 that makes sense, the only one but never had sense. 1:27:56.640 --> 1:28:00.360 Yeah, never got credit for a lot of stuff. That's 1:28:00.360 --> 1:28:03.920 what I'm saying, a lot of truth. Crazy crazy, And 1:28:04.080 --> 1:28:06.840 Sly wasn't interested. You told me, man, I don't want 1:28:06.840 --> 1:28:08.479 to do this, and they give you some money, you 1:28:08.520 --> 1:28:10.000 could do what you like to do, all. 1:28:09.960 --> 1:28:15.200 Right, you can do what you like. Jesse. Jesse did 1:28:15.320 --> 1:28:18.200 our episode and he explained to us that, yeah, he 1:28:18.320 --> 1:28:20.240 just sent the two inches too. Yeah. They never met 1:28:20.400 --> 1:28:21.400 before the video. 1:28:21.439 --> 1:28:24.439 It's like he wasn't interested in meeting him. He said, 1:28:24.479 --> 1:28:28.799 you're the funcust why he want interested in meeting Prince? 1:28:29.200 --> 1:28:32.080 I said, man, you got to go hang with Prince, 1:28:32.400 --> 1:28:34.439 and he did. Prince came out to his place and 1:28:34.520 --> 1:28:37.439 he was in the Palisades, and Slide told me he 1:28:37.800 --> 1:28:39.720 knocked on the door, came out. I said, what did 1:28:39.720 --> 1:28:42.880 you do? Just looked at him on the monitor. I 1:28:42.920 --> 1:28:43.600 didn't let him in. 1:28:47.720 --> 1:28:49.840 Now why Prince gravitated to Larry. 1:28:49.960 --> 1:28:54.280 But Prince Prince had Larry and focus. He was trying 1:28:54.320 --> 1:28:58.400 to bring back Sly to him, and Slid and Sly 1:28:58.800 --> 1:29:01.799 and Freddy who at it not to go with Prince. 1:29:02.320 --> 1:29:05.120 They're the only two that held out. Slide told me, 1:29:05.200 --> 1:29:07.400 a prince just trying to be like me. I said, well, 1:29:07.479 --> 1:29:10.840 let him be like you and he the new you, 1:29:11.640 --> 1:29:13.640 you know, let him. You know, if he got all 1:29:13.680 --> 1:29:16.400 this money could help you. Prince Sly one out there 1:29:16.400 --> 1:29:19.200 and saw his complex and I think very you know, 1:29:20.320 --> 1:29:22.800 could be jealous or at least about it. And you 1:29:22.880 --> 1:29:24.400 know what I mean. But he's been to the right 1:29:24.439 --> 1:29:26.200 and he's been to the left, being up and down 1:29:26.280 --> 1:29:30.519 with his financial status. And you know, when you see 1:29:30.520 --> 1:29:32.839 another person coming and want to be you, they wouldn't 1:29:32.840 --> 1:29:36.040 even let him. Send At the Hard Rock, Rock and 1:29:36.160 --> 1:29:39.120 Roll Hall of Fame, Prince asked to sit at the table. 1:29:39.520 --> 1:29:41.599 They wouldn't want. They didn't let him come sit at 1:29:41.640 --> 1:29:44.519 the table. Would Sly in the family Stone, So, I 1:29:44.600 --> 1:29:47.760 mean he was trying to be you know. That's why 1:29:47.800 --> 1:29:50.880 he was very cordial to me, you know, and do 1:29:50.960 --> 1:29:53.200 you give me a private show. I could have probably 1:29:53.280 --> 1:29:57.200 went with them, but I wasn't too into their you know, 1:29:57.439 --> 1:30:01.680 I knew he was gonna be prince after that. You know, 1:30:01.760 --> 1:30:04.200 I wasn't gonna be too much more of you know, 1:30:04.840 --> 1:30:07.720 the time happened, like I said, when Jimmy, jam and 1:30:07.800 --> 1:30:10.439 Lewis because they did the drum tracks and all that 1:30:10.600 --> 1:30:14.200 on Human and that was bringing them in. But John 1:30:14.320 --> 1:30:16.720 McClean asked me to listen to this cassette and tell 1:30:16.760 --> 1:30:19.240 me what you think. So I probably would wait till 1:30:19.240 --> 1:30:21.040 along the way good to lunch for the next day, 1:30:21.040 --> 1:30:23.439 and I would listen to it when I leave my house. 1:30:24.320 --> 1:30:27.640 So I listened to it, turned it out, got the 1:30:27.760 --> 1:30:30.559 side too, and Human came up. 1:30:33.520 --> 1:30:33.680 You know. 1:30:34.680 --> 1:30:37.280 It's like I had to keep rewinding. I didn't even 1:30:37.280 --> 1:30:38.400 know it was Jimmy and Terry. 1:30:38.760 --> 1:30:39.240 Oh wow. 1:30:40.120 --> 1:30:42.519 So I said, okay, got to the I was gonna 1:30:42.600 --> 1:30:44.360 kept listening to us. I couldn't go no further than that. 1:30:44.439 --> 1:30:47.160 I said, you know what A and them, It just 1:30:47.280 --> 1:30:49.400 goes to show you show you about these companies, a 1:30:49.439 --> 1:30:51.320 lot of people that ain't got the right ears. I said, 1:30:52.040 --> 1:30:54.639 this is totally fucked up because they got this hit 1:30:54.760 --> 1:30:57.880 out of see Quince's side to second song on side too. 1:30:57.920 --> 1:31:01.400 It should be on side one the first record. Oh. 1:31:01.520 --> 1:31:04.320 Man said, that's cool. I'm bringing in my boys Jimmy 1:31:04.320 --> 1:31:07.639 and Terry. I said, who Jimmy, Jammy Taylor. I said, 1:31:08.640 --> 1:31:11.200 whoever did it needs to be I didn't even know 1:31:11.280 --> 1:31:14.720 that they were from the time, right, okay, okay? And 1:31:16.439 --> 1:31:18.760 I said, you need the next board, meaning because I 1:31:18.920 --> 1:31:21.200 was actually on the Board of Governors with the Grammys 1:31:21.479 --> 1:31:25.479 from the seventh ninety two ninety four. They wanted me 1:31:25.560 --> 1:31:30.040 to become the president of NARS and at that time 1:31:30.280 --> 1:31:32.320 I chose not to us. I said, I got an 1:31:32.439 --> 1:31:36.280 mc hammer came up. Oh wow, I got bored on 1:31:37.080 --> 1:31:37.960 board of the board. 1:31:44.360 --> 1:31:47.040 So it was a lot of things that sometimes I like, damn, 1:31:47.040 --> 1:31:47.800 I wish you would have did it. 1:31:49.320 --> 1:31:51.360 Well, you know, it was cool. I mean I was in. 1:31:51.560 --> 1:31:55.599 I was on the head of the producer committee because 1:31:55.680 --> 1:31:58.439 Irene Carry's husbands will encourage me to get on the board. 1:31:59.040 --> 1:32:00.920 He said, man, yeah, well all the stuff you know 1:32:01.080 --> 1:32:02.640 and have been through. He said, you need to be 1:32:03.320 --> 1:32:05.920 signing off on some stuff. And you know, I was 1:32:06.000 --> 1:32:09.200 on the producer committee for two years and picking up is. 1:32:09.200 --> 1:32:12.720 It like to be at that level because like right now, 1:32:12.840 --> 1:32:18.240 Jimmy jim is also Yeah, really I was on the he's. 1:32:18.120 --> 1:32:19.519 Like one of the heads of the producer committee. 1:32:20.640 --> 1:32:26.600 How important is it? Like what's the end games being at? 1:32:26.800 --> 1:32:29.400 Well, say number one was they all thought I was 1:32:29.479 --> 1:32:33.800 the plant of Quincy's. Ah Okay, they were scared, so 1:32:34.080 --> 1:32:37.439 they and this is after Thriller, Okay, I was there. 1:32:37.520 --> 1:32:40.439 That was in eighty four, I mean at eighty four. Yeah, 1:32:40.840 --> 1:32:42.600 so after that, I was there from ninety two to 1:32:42.800 --> 1:32:45.800 ninety four. So they thought I came with the master 1:32:46.000 --> 1:32:51.200 map of the plant, okay, and it was cool, and 1:32:51.280 --> 1:32:53.120 I just didn't want to be on the border ground 1:32:53.160 --> 1:32:53.680 and I wanted to go. 1:32:53.680 --> 1:32:54.400 To find out. 1:32:54.400 --> 1:32:57.360 Okay, what's the highest position, you said, producer committee. So 1:32:57.479 --> 1:33:01.240 I got on that like instantly. I was getting all 1:33:01.320 --> 1:33:04.799 free music. They'd send me the box and I wouldn't 1:33:04.800 --> 1:33:06.960 have to pass it on to nobody else that kept 1:33:07.080 --> 1:33:07.839 all the CDs. 1:33:08.240 --> 1:33:09.800 That was the first time I heard the chronic. 1:33:13.120 --> 1:33:13.960 For those committees. 1:33:14.080 --> 1:33:17.040 You just get everything, okay, Yeah, I mean, well, the 1:33:17.160 --> 1:33:21.200 other ones you share except for the producer committee, because 1:33:21.200 --> 1:33:24.680 you got these different categories of music. So you may 1:33:24.760 --> 1:33:27.240 have two and three people. Oafter you get through the box, 1:33:27.320 --> 1:33:29.640 send it to sell it. You know, sometime they may 1:33:29.720 --> 1:33:31.400 take out a few things, but you have to deliver 1:33:31.479 --> 1:33:32.040 the whole box. 1:33:32.160 --> 1:33:36.400 And what's the whole purpose of that committee to well? 1:33:36.479 --> 1:33:38.880 With that committee? You eventually before that, if you're just 1:33:38.920 --> 1:33:40.800 going to be a member of the board, they're going 1:33:40.880 --> 1:33:43.640 to get your briefcase and have a lot of applications 1:33:43.760 --> 1:33:47.920 that you sign people on to the Grammys from September. 1:33:48.400 --> 1:33:52.200 After September it is too late, okay, so you actually 1:33:52.240 --> 1:33:54.200 will see a group. There's a lot of people now 1:33:54.400 --> 1:33:58.120 say oh, would you like to get go for a nomination? 1:33:58.520 --> 1:34:02.160 I make sure for the Grammy their application. Right, you're 1:34:02.200 --> 1:34:05.599 not gonna say no. You know, you fill out the application. 1:34:05.800 --> 1:34:11.519 You have the right to submit to fruit. Yeah right, okay, 1:34:11.720 --> 1:34:13.200 so you know what I mean. I didn't get paid. 1:34:15.200 --> 1:34:20.320 I brought intellect and experience and what I know about music. 1:34:20.720 --> 1:34:22.759 Since I hooked up and had all these other people 1:34:22.840 --> 1:34:24.120 from Billy Preston. 1:34:24.000 --> 1:34:26.120 You brough an opportunity basically, right. 1:34:26.040 --> 1:34:28.240 I could hear something Now when it's a hit. Just 1:34:28.280 --> 1:34:32.479 how I picked the song Human When I told John McClean, 1:34:32.560 --> 1:34:34.639 I said, you go up to the board meeting next week. 1:34:34.800 --> 1:34:37.760 I know it was the second week of every month, 1:34:38.360 --> 1:34:42.160 and you tell her Bible and Jerry Moss because they 1:34:42.200 --> 1:34:44.720 had sticks out thing in Human League. I said, this 1:34:44.840 --> 1:34:47.920 is the hit that's on side too, and I don't 1:34:47.920 --> 1:34:50.280 think they ever changed it, but then they did try 1:34:50.360 --> 1:34:53.080 it and it wound up on charts number one for 1:34:53.280 --> 1:34:57.000 twenty seven weeks. That was the first time people at 1:34:57.040 --> 1:34:59.840 A and M news. I think John mintioned George told you. 1:35:00.160 --> 1:35:02.600 He said that that was the one. So I was 1:35:02.720 --> 1:35:08.639 like the ghost of music there picking hits. 1:35:09.320 --> 1:35:11.719 When did you guys first start recording your first album? 1:35:11.760 --> 1:35:15.280 Form with Quincy producing seventy five And that was on 1:35:15.520 --> 1:35:20.280 his album is It Love that We're Missing? Wrote four 1:35:20.400 --> 1:35:24.040 songs trying to find out about you just listening listen. 1:35:24.560 --> 1:35:27.080 And he has those writing sessions. He would like a 1:35:27.080 --> 1:35:30.360 little dictaphone, he would like record when he like play 1:35:30.400 --> 1:35:33.439 the songs, yeah with Quincy, like in the in his apartment. 1:35:33.520 --> 1:35:34.960 He like has all of that stuff. He used to 1:35:34.960 --> 1:35:36.400 play that stuff for me when I was on the 1:35:36.439 --> 1:35:39.479 way to school. I was like five years old listening 1:35:39.560 --> 1:35:42.720 to these like session tapes of them writing these growing. 1:35:42.560 --> 1:35:47.240 Up, Like, at what point do you realize, Okay, he's 1:35:47.400 --> 1:35:51.240 not just dad, but he's sort of might kind of 1:35:51.280 --> 1:35:52.479 be a big deal, A big deal. 1:35:52.680 --> 1:35:56.080 Well, I always knew he was like a superhero. 1:35:57.360 --> 1:35:59.559 And I was at two years old. 1:35:59.640 --> 1:36:00.879 My first word was tape. 1:36:02.760 --> 1:36:04.400 And it's funny he passed down the same so it 1:36:04.479 --> 1:36:07.200 was kind of like how how my grandfather gave hold on. 1:36:07.240 --> 1:36:09.760 He would also say, ready, cassette go. 1:36:15.880 --> 1:36:17.840 So yeah, he he did the same thing with me 1:36:17.920 --> 1:36:20.479 where he because I was like, I didn't know what 1:36:20.640 --> 1:36:23.080 capacity I was going to do, uh music, I just 1:36:23.200 --> 1:36:25.160 was into it and I was into the technology side 1:36:25.160 --> 1:36:26.840 of it, and so like I love the tape machine. 1:36:26.840 --> 1:36:29.200 Because I would see him in his studio and you know, 1:36:29.240 --> 1:36:31.240 he'd be laying down the guitar part. So he teached 1:36:31.280 --> 1:36:33.240 me how to punch him in because he didn't he 1:36:33.280 --> 1:36:36.240 couldn't punched men, and like you know certain things, and 1:36:36.360 --> 1:36:38.519 so I was all, you know, he'd bring me to 1:36:38.560 --> 1:36:41.000 the studio and I meet all these amazing great people. 1:36:41.280 --> 1:36:48.639 Wasn't paying attention to nobody Like this is Quincy Jones, uh. 1:36:49.400 --> 1:36:53.000 Who is on the cover or the inside of Blam. 1:36:53.560 --> 1:36:56.520 That's uh that Cody my cousin. 1:36:58.280 --> 1:36:58.479 Son. 1:36:58.680 --> 1:37:01.880 Yeah, yeah, they still hang out. He's trying to do music. 1:37:01.960 --> 1:37:03.240 But yeah, that's none of them. 1:37:03.320 --> 1:37:06.160 I like Troy Okay, Well. 1:37:09.760 --> 1:37:10.639 Sound pretty okay. 1:37:10.760 --> 1:37:15.040 So I have I have questions about the production techniques 1:37:15.360 --> 1:37:19.840 of the brother Johnson the Brothers Johnson sound, but I 1:37:20.120 --> 1:37:24.360 have to get this question out the way. Well, first 1:37:24.400 --> 1:37:28.080 of all, we look out for number one, right, uh, 1:37:28.360 --> 1:37:33.000 like many other uh songs done by black artists. Of course, 1:37:33.560 --> 1:37:38.040 that was always my exposure to the Beatles before. Yeah, 1:37:38.320 --> 1:37:40.080 I thought that I didn't know. Yeah, I didn't. That 1:37:40.160 --> 1:37:42.000 was my first time hearing that, right, And you know, 1:37:42.160 --> 1:37:44.599 my art teacher trying to tell me, like, no, that's 1:37:44.640 --> 1:37:47.680 not the Beatles did this verse. We did, but I'm 1:37:47.720 --> 1:37:49.720 in first grade, so I didn't know the. 1:37:49.760 --> 1:37:53.320 First Well, yeah, I got that was the crimination of 1:37:53.920 --> 1:37:56.360 the Funkadelic and Brothers Johnson and Beatles. 1:37:57.160 --> 1:38:06.240 I see, Well it worked because I always thought that 1:38:06.880 --> 1:38:07.559 that was your song. 1:38:07.760 --> 1:38:11.160 Yeah no, there wasn't. You know, everything I would approach 1:38:11.200 --> 1:38:14.000 it would have to have a signature on it. A 1:38:14.120 --> 1:38:16.280 lot of the first album that you were talking about 1:38:16.920 --> 1:38:21.320 mostly was one bass a drum machine and probably about 1:38:21.320 --> 1:38:26.080 eight guitars. That's how I learned about arrangement. Quincy would 1:38:26.120 --> 1:38:29.679 take all the guitar parts and put different and it's yeah, 1:38:29.680 --> 1:38:32.439 I mean we our keyboard players be like George Duke 1:38:32.520 --> 1:38:37.599 and Herbie Hancock, Harvey Mason on drums, so our band 1:38:38.280 --> 1:38:40.759 were people that he could get and come into the studio. 1:38:41.160 --> 1:38:45.000 Harvey Mason was playing with headphones on pull out the 1:38:45.080 --> 1:38:48.000 drum track on songs like trying to find out about 1:38:48.040 --> 1:38:50.920 you if you you know it would just go for 1:38:51.040 --> 1:38:54.000 it and we you know, so that was like the 1:38:54.479 --> 1:38:57.680 only the first band outside the little band we had 1:38:58.280 --> 1:39:01.880 and these are like you walking in you saying Herbie 1:39:01.920 --> 1:39:04.840 Hancock walking the floor, like playing notes on and tell 1:39:04.920 --> 1:39:09.080 me bedtime story now, uh you know all that kind 1:39:09.120 --> 1:39:11.639 of stuck in my head that Herbie wrote that they had. 1:39:12.160 --> 1:39:14.719 You guys with the rhythm section on sounds and stuff 1:39:14.760 --> 1:39:17.800 like that. I played on a few things. 1:39:17.840 --> 1:39:23.759 They took me out the mix purposely when Michael Jackson 1:39:24.000 --> 1:39:27.240 hit and Lewis had a lot to do with that. 1:39:27.400 --> 1:39:29.400 That's when we started. I was about to chew his 1:39:29.479 --> 1:39:29.840 head up. 1:39:30.080 --> 1:39:36.559 I was going to sort of come, I was going 1:39:36.600 --> 1:39:38.960 to get there wait wait, I have one specific question. 1:39:40.400 --> 1:39:44.800 The Devil that was my jam. It's okay, but I 1:39:45.080 --> 1:39:49.160 just want to know. Did y'all everythink like a seven 1:39:49.280 --> 1:39:51.599 year old with hear the songs? 1:39:53.439 --> 1:39:57.880 J well actually didn't work because I wrote that song 1:39:58.040 --> 1:39:59.439 after The Exorcist came up. 1:40:00.760 --> 1:40:05.240 Come on, man, it's like, okay with song, I would always. 1:40:05.000 --> 1:40:10.439 Skip it with Billy Preston and by him being Christian 1:40:10.520 --> 1:40:12.760 and all that, and they had the gospel music. It's 1:40:12.800 --> 1:40:14.600 certainly I would step out of the zone. And it 1:40:14.680 --> 1:40:18.560 makes songs like make the Devil man, you know, so 1:40:19.000 --> 1:40:20.519 I gotta make me a devil song? 1:40:21.439 --> 1:40:21.639 Yeah? 1:40:21.680 --> 1:40:22.639 You did? You did? 1:40:24.479 --> 1:40:28.360 And I used the stand and I took a pencil. 1:40:28.439 --> 1:40:36.000 That's when it starts. You got yeah yeah, And I 1:40:36.120 --> 1:40:42.479 used Hendricks. I got my watch Hendrix here. 1:40:47.960 --> 1:40:51.320 Okay, so this is what I'm telling you. Yeah, as 1:40:51.320 --> 1:40:53.719 an adult, let's see the technique. I see the technique. 1:40:53.760 --> 1:40:55.120 Let it get to the fun really quick. 1:40:56.960 --> 1:40:57.919 This ain't the fall. 1:41:00.600 --> 1:41:08.120 Slid No, no, no, no song o cakes. Wow, that's 1:41:08.200 --> 1:41:16.400 the suit. I said the stuff huddle, don't make hair 1:41:19.360 --> 1:41:20.920 like that's my bass line? 1:41:21.520 --> 1:41:23.519 And was that you singing on singing? 1:41:25.360 --> 1:41:31.960 They gonna be born guitars coming, all of the counterpoints like. 1:41:41.520 --> 1:41:43.599 All right, we're about to hitting the ass, burning party, 1:41:45.000 --> 1:41:46.960 run under the covers and from. 1:41:51.040 --> 1:41:55.320 You will take your down. You're going to be a snoop. 1:41:57.240 --> 1:42:04.200 He will have your ass. I think in nineteen seventy seven, 1:42:05.080 --> 1:42:07.080 I accept what Jesus questions. 1:42:09.439 --> 1:42:16.800 Like, and you know what, I probably wrote it because 1:42:16.840 --> 1:42:18.599 I was raised and wasn't ultimboy. 1:42:19.320 --> 1:42:24.599 They were like a mirror again, like that song, that song, 1:42:26.000 --> 1:42:29.320 It did it literally like I never saw you to 1:42:29.520 --> 1:42:33.640 the same ever again. And even with y'all, even the 1:42:34.080 --> 1:42:39.920 shutter open uh for the back cover of Right on Time, 1:42:40.800 --> 1:42:45.360 I was still thinking like, oh man, I would bury 1:42:45.479 --> 1:42:48.800 your albums like and then like bottom last of my 1:42:48.920 --> 1:42:50.880 dad's pole, I had to do that with my dad 1:42:51.560 --> 1:42:55.400 was just giving. Some covers were scarier, should you bury 1:42:55.520 --> 1:42:55.920 them under? 1:42:56.280 --> 1:42:59.200 I'd give. I would give acknowledgment to certain things that 1:42:59.640 --> 1:43:03.560 kids should know, an adult should know. The devil was 1:43:03.640 --> 1:43:05.479 like I wasn't scared of him. I even ran my 1:43:05.680 --> 1:43:07.600 vocal thing backwards. 1:43:09.040 --> 1:43:10.320 That's how I got that sound. 1:43:10.680 --> 1:43:11.960 And I used your. 1:43:11.920 --> 1:43:15.639 Mother sucks cocks and how yeah I did. 1:43:18.280 --> 1:43:19.080 Play and you hear it. 1:43:26.200 --> 1:43:37.680 That'd be a whole nother fung. I'm sorry, man, I 1:43:38.400 --> 1:43:38.960 wasn't listening to. 1:43:42.720 --> 1:43:43.160 And the thing. 1:43:43.840 --> 1:43:48.560 But but aside from that, Blake, Aside from that, I 1:43:48.720 --> 1:43:54.320 always wanted to know you guys had a very weird 1:43:56.040 --> 1:44:01.320 Greek course technique that I can only described as like 1:44:01.439 --> 1:44:05.919 this animated muppet sound like for yourself, be yourself right exactly, 1:44:06.400 --> 1:44:10.559 or even right on time, or even like very speeding 1:44:11.000 --> 1:44:13.680 Serena's voice on get the funk out of my face? Like, 1:44:13.920 --> 1:44:15.759 how come you guys never. 1:44:15.760 --> 1:44:17.599 Just did me get the funk out of my face? 1:44:19.800 --> 1:44:23.160 I've always thought that that was me. But how come 1:44:24.120 --> 1:44:28.400 none of the vocal techniques, besides your lead vocal, how 1:44:28.439 --> 1:44:31.080 come they were never just dry and natural like you 1:44:31.200 --> 1:44:39.400 guys were either, like even with Stump, It's like the 1:44:39.520 --> 1:44:42.040 muppets were singing. No. 1:44:42.280 --> 1:44:48.280 It basically came from things that were going on TV shows, 1:44:49.000 --> 1:44:50.760 you know. I mean you're walking in with Q. You 1:44:50.840 --> 1:44:54.360 got to have like various types of you know, uh, 1:44:55.600 --> 1:44:57.759 like characters. Yeah, they were like characters. 1:44:57.800 --> 1:44:58.320 It's just like. 1:45:00.240 --> 1:45:02.680 The brother who sang the parts you sounded like. I 1:45:03.280 --> 1:45:05.720 can't think of his name right now, but he got 1:45:05.800 --> 1:45:07.599 that stuff because he knew in the sly. 1:45:11.160 --> 1:45:14.479 Right, right, I get it. 1:45:14.560 --> 1:45:16.840 So he was a wonderful person coming in to do that. 1:45:17.000 --> 1:45:19.920 It's like I wanted to take No, I wasn't Richard, 1:45:19.960 --> 1:45:22.599 he was one. He did a high vocal too. Why 1:45:22.760 --> 1:45:24.240 in the hell can he came out and see that's 1:45:24.280 --> 1:45:28.280 when you get old Alex Bob. 1:45:29.920 --> 1:45:32.560 No, uh, I didn't know that Ricky was playing with 1:45:32.600 --> 1:45:33.479 you guys. Ricky Lawson. 1:45:33.840 --> 1:45:39.360 Yeah, I found him in Detroit in a basement. Really yep, 1:45:41.040 --> 1:45:44.080 just in Detroit in a basement that one of my 1:45:44.240 --> 1:45:49.519 musicians mentioned him and said he needed to be looked at. 1:45:49.760 --> 1:45:52.519 So I went and looked at him. You know, he 1:45:52.640 --> 1:45:57.720 went from there to heights, you know, and you know, 1:45:57.920 --> 1:46:00.400 that's what it's about. And that's what I love about 1:46:00.439 --> 1:46:04.840 Prince because he a lot of moneies he gave away 1:46:04.880 --> 1:46:07.240 and went to kids who you know, had to do 1:46:07.360 --> 1:46:10.439 with music or needed help. You know. He drop off 1:46:10.600 --> 1:46:14.840 monies to different schools and different communities. He only would 1:46:14.880 --> 1:46:16.920 take a certain amount and he'd leave the whole rest 1:46:16.960 --> 1:46:19.400 of it and wind them given to the mayor, which 1:46:19.439 --> 1:46:23.400 is something you know, It's kind of the attitude, the 1:46:23.520 --> 1:46:27.439 ultimate attitude Slide would have wanted. You know, I don't 1:46:27.479 --> 1:46:29.800 need any monthy monthy. 1:46:36.479 --> 1:46:41.120 People. Got in the Sugary Otis way later, yes, in life, 1:46:41.200 --> 1:46:43.720 but you were there for round one. Yeah. 1:46:43.920 --> 1:46:46.760 He was actually a neighbor to his parents lived around 1:46:46.800 --> 1:46:49.000 the corner. I used to go visit. I used to 1:46:49.120 --> 1:46:54.080 visit them before I met him because I remember seeing 1:46:54.120 --> 1:46:56.559 the Johnny Oda Show and Three Tons of Joy when 1:46:56.600 --> 1:46:59.200 I was a kid, and I mentioned to my mom 1:46:59.640 --> 1:47:04.040 and one of my cousins had me meet one of 1:47:04.160 --> 1:47:07.280 Sugary's cousins who I almost started to date. I did 1:47:07.439 --> 1:47:10.840 go over to her house. I think she passed away, 1:47:11.920 --> 1:47:14.680 but I saw this album and it looked like this 1:47:14.840 --> 1:47:19.160 Mexican dude on it, and I said, who's that. Oh, 1:47:19.240 --> 1:47:21.760 this is my cousin. This is Sugar Yoldison. Before I 1:47:21.840 --> 1:47:24.600 played that record run Across the Ice Cold Daydream and 1:47:25.880 --> 1:47:29.160 all that stuff on there and Strawberry Letter Letter, I 1:47:29.479 --> 1:47:32.320 went straight to Q and told him this is we 1:47:32.479 --> 1:47:35.519 need to cut this song. And it was never a single. 1:47:36.200 --> 1:47:40.160 Lewis used it at his wedding. Quin's the original one, 1:47:40.240 --> 1:47:42.960 Sugar Yoldis is and when we got to the vampa 1:47:43.040 --> 1:47:47.120 the guitar and yeah, it's it's all over and we. 1:47:47.280 --> 1:47:49.360 Have to do this this song. So it was your 1:47:49.400 --> 1:47:50.720 idea to cover Strawberry Letter. 1:47:50.840 --> 1:47:53.920 Yeah, I brought some ship to the picture. 1:47:54.120 --> 1:47:57.360 No, your version to me is all we did. 1:47:57.360 --> 1:48:00.559 Was added, Yeah, because you don't do nothing, he created. 1:48:00.640 --> 1:48:03.640 You do something and beef it up. Otherwise it's not 1:48:03.840 --> 1:48:06.360 worth doing all the time. You know, what do you 1:48:06.479 --> 1:48:10.200 think that song is about? I know what it's about. 1:48:10.360 --> 1:48:14.639 And that song basically is as shugy. He was almost 1:48:14.680 --> 1:48:17.480 had that slide like attitude, and he'd have a girlfriend 1:48:17.680 --> 1:48:23.360 who he never really respond to because he was a musician. 1:48:23.720 --> 1:48:26.120 He kind of reminded me of me too. Don't come 1:48:26.160 --> 1:48:30.880 between me right exactly. So she had written these Strawberry 1:48:30.960 --> 1:48:34.960 letter sent it letters to him, oh wow, and he 1:48:35.080 --> 1:48:37.960 never opened one, and he told me he went back 1:48:38.080 --> 1:48:39.320 he had a break, and all of a sudden he 1:48:39.400 --> 1:48:41.680 opened them and still had the scent. You know, I 1:48:41.800 --> 1:48:42.559 missed you, baby. 1:48:42.640 --> 1:48:43.640 When you're coming home, it. 1:48:43.720 --> 1:48:46.720 Be Strawberry Letter one, Strawberry two, all the way to 1:48:46.800 --> 1:48:52.120 twenty two. That's why a present from you, Strawberry Letter 1:48:52.160 --> 1:48:56.760 twenty three two twenty two. The music plays I said 1:48:56.920 --> 1:49:01.200 that a few so the song is actually twenty three, 1:49:02.360 --> 1:49:04.240 But the people say why is it twenty three? And 1:49:04.280 --> 1:49:07.599 you always say twenty two. All those letters A president 1:49:07.920 --> 1:49:12.439 from you Strawberry letter twenty two. Right, that's where it ends, 1:49:12.600 --> 1:49:20.160 and the song begins as twenty three The Mystery unlocked. Yeah, difficult. 1:49:20.240 --> 1:49:22.400 Did you ever get his initial reaction to it when 1:49:22.560 --> 1:49:23.160 when he heard it? 1:49:23.320 --> 1:49:26.120 Or Sugar and I was tight as me and fly 1:49:27.320 --> 1:49:30.639 because Sugar could sometimes be very hard to get along 1:49:30.720 --> 1:49:34.920 with and deal with. I knew his parents two years 1:49:34.960 --> 1:49:38.320 before I even met him. When I met him and 1:49:38.400 --> 1:49:40.960 then he heard, you know, because Quincy had got him 1:49:41.560 --> 1:49:43.559 to come into the studio. We were out of town 1:49:44.280 --> 1:49:47.400 to do the guitar solo, and he couldn't play it 1:49:47.479 --> 1:49:50.599 because it was in a different key. It's like I played, 1:49:51.120 --> 1:49:54.040 It's a whole different stretch. I didn't actually play on it. 1:49:54.080 --> 1:49:56.760 He got to leave Ris why and. 1:49:56.960 --> 1:50:00.400 That's the reason he plays because I wasn't available. I 1:50:00.520 --> 1:50:02.479 left the road to come home, did a little mix 1:50:02.600 --> 1:50:04.679 on it, and then pulled up the two guitar parts 1:50:04.720 --> 1:50:07.400 and showed my cousin the other part and went back 1:50:07.439 --> 1:50:09.280 out on the road till Quincy finished it. 1:50:09.360 --> 1:50:10.439 So and then could put it up. 1:50:12.439 --> 1:50:14.120 So a lot of things. I mean, they had my 1:50:14.200 --> 1:50:18.240 ass so busy that I should have got credit for 1:50:19.479 --> 1:50:22.679 even the way it went down with Michael Jackson, because 1:50:22.720 --> 1:50:26.640 he wanted both of us, and they told Quincy, you know, 1:50:26.800 --> 1:50:29.439 I want George and Lewis. Michael was filing the shit 1:50:29.840 --> 1:50:34.799 and he was very disappointed. My brother Lewis said, George 1:50:34.800 --> 1:50:37.280 doesn't write for anybody. He's working on Brothers Johnson's stuff. 1:50:37.320 --> 1:50:40.839 He doesn't do sessions. So you told him. My guitar 1:50:41.040 --> 1:50:43.920 person was in the room. He's the one that told 1:50:43.960 --> 1:50:46.720 me that. Lewis said that. I said, what did Quincy do? 1:50:46.840 --> 1:50:49.240 He said, he kind of looked up. He didn't have 1:50:49.320 --> 1:50:51.840 too much to say because and I said, Okay, I 1:50:51.960 --> 1:50:55.760 see the whole scenario. Because Quincy thow ahead A and 1:50:55.840 --> 1:50:57.800 them didn't want us to do shit. They was trying 1:50:57.800 --> 1:51:02.360 to keep me like locked because back then and even 1:51:02.439 --> 1:51:03.679 Quincy had done interviews. 1:51:04.880 --> 1:51:05.280 What is it? 1:51:05.479 --> 1:51:06.439 Is it Quincy Jones? 1:51:06.520 --> 1:51:07.439 Is it Michael Jackson? 1:51:08.000 --> 1:51:09.920 To me, it was all but at that time when 1:51:09.960 --> 1:51:13.000 he when Michael came out with Off the Wall, Stump 1:51:13.200 --> 1:51:16.800 was number one. So people would have gradued what we 1:51:16.840 --> 1:51:19.719 would have automatically went to, Okay, it's the Brothers Johnson 1:51:19.800 --> 1:51:23.000 who's making that shit happen. It ain't Quincy and you know, 1:51:23.200 --> 1:51:26.040 the music is the vibe is you know, so if 1:51:26.080 --> 1:51:29.040 they left me off, they what they didn't have to 1:51:29.120 --> 1:51:35.720 put brother john sony okay, and then they just took 1:51:35.880 --> 1:51:37.400 Lewis and he became, Uh. 1:51:37.760 --> 1:51:41.040 That's crazy though, So is that just him on Get 1:51:41.120 --> 1:51:41.559 on the Floor. 1:51:42.360 --> 1:51:44.639 Lewis played bass on Billy Jeans Everything. 1:51:45.160 --> 1:51:47.280 A lot of what Get on the Floor is initially 1:51:47.720 --> 1:51:48.639 the song he wrote. 1:51:49.280 --> 1:51:52.960 Yeah, no, no, no, I mean it could have been 1:51:53.080 --> 1:51:55.479 one that was developed that I didn't even put the 1:51:55.479 --> 1:51:59.599 guitar on yet because it wasn't approved by me, okay 1:52:00.840 --> 1:52:04.360 to be totally honest, So you know, I got left 1:52:04.400 --> 1:52:06.600 out the mix. And you know, Michael did call me. 1:52:06.840 --> 1:52:09.040 He took the kids out to Disneyland one day and 1:52:09.120 --> 1:52:12.360 I had three messages sound like he was crying or 1:52:12.439 --> 1:52:14.439 he was That's why him and Quincy was on the 1:52:14.479 --> 1:52:18.040 way out to divide. But he knew between me and 1:52:18.200 --> 1:52:21.439 James Ingram, we were the only two people that ever 1:52:21.720 --> 1:52:24.880 you know, went back on Q's face. And because I 1:52:24.880 --> 1:52:28.080 would look at him like a teacher and I also 1:52:28.320 --> 1:52:30.599 look at him as a dad, that I also look 1:52:30.600 --> 1:52:33.960 at him as a kid because I had to teach him. 1:52:33.960 --> 1:52:36.439 He said, okay, Jordan I had to hold Louis's hand. 1:52:36.479 --> 1:52:38.519 But you're going to be all right. I said, well, 1:52:38.600 --> 1:52:41.439 don't get too much any knowledge, and that Lewis boys 1:52:41.479 --> 1:52:44.800 shit because he's young, he's on the Divideuse to be 1:52:44.920 --> 1:52:49.040 totally honest. He you know, there's a lot of good 1:52:49.080 --> 1:52:50.880 things about him. There's a lot of things that he 1:52:51.640 --> 1:52:56.200 didn't play into correctly. He never really looked at himself 1:52:56.360 --> 1:52:59.759 as being a part of Brothers Johnson because the Brothers 1:53:00.040 --> 1:53:04.720 Incent was me and he'd picked nine or eight of 1:53:04.840 --> 1:53:07.280 my songs out of the eleven they got on the 1:53:07.360 --> 1:53:10.280 first album, Get the Funk Out in My Face. Lewis 1:53:10.320 --> 1:53:12.559 wrote the track, I laid the guitar, I wrote the lyrics. 1:53:13.680 --> 1:53:16.120 He did Land the Ladies and as all the rest 1:53:16.160 --> 1:53:19.040 of those songs were mine. Quincy just said in a 1:53:19.160 --> 1:53:21.439 meeting with George, you're gonna make all the money. I 1:53:21.600 --> 1:53:25.600 just said, we'll give Louis give my brother half without thinking. 1:53:25.560 --> 1:53:28.000 So for songs like love Is and Running for You 1:53:28.360 --> 1:53:31.240 and all that, well, the songs that he said. 1:53:31.080 --> 1:53:34.880 My signature running for eleven, I did that a lot 1:53:34.920 --> 1:53:36.639 of songs I would do, and I knew he would 1:53:36.640 --> 1:53:39.920 get pissed off because Quincy at first didn't know he 1:53:40.000 --> 1:53:43.600 had learned Lewis. It's like, play the accidental Who's that 1:53:43.720 --> 1:53:46.600 on bass? He says, George, play it like George. I'm like, 1:53:46.720 --> 1:53:47.800 why the fuck he said that? 1:53:49.760 --> 1:53:49.920 You know? 1:53:50.040 --> 1:53:52.840 I mean? And I could put myself in Lewis's shoes too. 1:53:53.560 --> 1:53:56.120 So a lot of my songs got favored and picked 1:53:56.920 --> 1:53:59.839 and had my signature guitar. That's why when I stepped 1:53:59.880 --> 1:54:03.120 up off on purpose on Blam, didn't write nothing in 1:54:03.280 --> 1:54:05.280 Quincy's Call, and I said, man, give me a song, 1:54:05.400 --> 1:54:09.320 Just give me one song, and I wrote Blam and uh, 1:54:09.880 --> 1:54:11.920 that was a tie of the album, never a single 1:54:12.560 --> 1:54:13.479 with all the other stuff. 1:54:13.520 --> 1:54:19.160 That's and they brought in Simpson, who wrote and ain't 1:54:19.200 --> 1:54:19.800 We Funking? Now? 1:54:20.320 --> 1:54:25.800 That was between me, probably Alex Lewis. You know a 1:54:25.880 --> 1:54:27.879 few people in the band, Ricky Heath. 1:54:28.240 --> 1:54:33.200 Okay, you know. I always wanted to know why on Treasure, Ricky, 1:54:33.840 --> 1:54:35.160 why did Ricky sing Treasure or not? 1:54:35.360 --> 1:54:37.560 Because I needed a break. I was singing too much, 1:54:40.160 --> 1:54:42.960 and I like and I liked all about the Heaven, 1:54:43.080 --> 1:54:46.480 which is typically that's my little He wrote both. But 1:54:46.600 --> 1:54:48.400 it's like, damn, you know, I'm up here, And I 1:54:48.520 --> 1:54:51.120 was like I'm the only one working, working, working. Lewis 1:54:51.520 --> 1:54:52.680 back played the bass chill. 1:54:53.080 --> 1:54:53.200 You know. 1:54:53.280 --> 1:54:55.720 I had to like make him sing because somebody please 1:54:55.920 --> 1:54:59.280 sing a song where I could just chill and this 1:54:59.440 --> 1:55:02.640 is funn come treasure, right, And I loved that because 1:55:02.640 --> 1:55:04.280 when he'd sing it, all that had to do the 1:55:04.320 --> 1:55:05.360 same background part. 1:55:05.480 --> 1:55:08.879 So I was like, so, I like, you're singing background 1:55:08.920 --> 1:55:11.560 in your own right, right. 1:55:11.800 --> 1:55:14.200 I mean I didn't sing lead. And I'm back there saying, 1:55:14.320 --> 1:55:16.000 you know, I felt like I'm hanging out with Aggie 1:55:16.080 --> 1:55:20.320 Johnson side effecting, you know, and the cleaners, yeah, and 1:55:20.480 --> 1:55:23.640 the cleaners on Crimp. We grew up together. Aggie knew 1:55:23.800 --> 1:55:26.440 so much about me than that anybody knew because he 1:55:26.560 --> 1:55:28.720 was coming to the house and he watched it firsthand. 1:55:29.080 --> 1:55:30.640 Is that cleaner still on Prinshaw? 1:55:31.200 --> 1:55:33.760 I think it is okay, okay, but he's like, this 1:55:33.920 --> 1:55:36.880 is Georgia's ship. And he would tell the band and 1:55:37.000 --> 1:55:41.000 he said from from Lewis he was there. He come 1:55:41.040 --> 1:55:43.400 over to the house. He said, you think that's something 1:55:43.440 --> 1:55:47.080 you ought to hit the original rass ship. Quincy polished 1:55:47.120 --> 1:55:50.640 it and taught me how to do it. But you know, 1:55:50.760 --> 1:55:53.360 you go with the white noise on four track and 1:55:53.600 --> 1:55:56.280 triple it to the eight track, and you know you 1:55:56.360 --> 1:56:00.440 get all these different type sounds and textures. Yeah, that's right. 1:56:00.640 --> 1:56:03.120 Then you record the bass again to keep that fatter. 1:56:03.880 --> 1:56:06.920 And I'm playing upside down bass left handed with a 1:56:07.000 --> 1:56:10.000 pick and with my thumbs. And you know, Lewis was 1:56:10.080 --> 1:56:13.400 good at he could take cany of my stuff. The 1:56:13.480 --> 1:56:17.520 difference was it would sound like Graham Central Station in 1:56:17.680 --> 1:56:22.920 me okay, because Larry Graham taught me how to play bass. 1:56:24.280 --> 1:56:26.800 Did Lewis actually have the ability to play like James 1:56:26.880 --> 1:56:28.920 Jafferson use his two fingers or would. 1:56:28.800 --> 1:56:31.720 Yeah, he would play and he got his come up 1:56:31.840 --> 1:56:33.880 and as they would say when he was in the 1:56:33.920 --> 1:56:39.280 studio with Stanley Clark and the engineer hit record and 1:56:39.440 --> 1:56:41.360 Louis was always like a warrior that saw he was 1:56:41.400 --> 1:56:44.120 in Japanese and all this stuff, and you know he 1:56:44.160 --> 1:56:47.160 would challenge and you know, everything was about a challenge. 1:56:47.200 --> 1:56:50.080 And don't let him get on stage and Larry call 1:56:50.200 --> 1:56:52.400 you up. He gonna come out there and fuck you up. 1:56:55.640 --> 1:56:59.280 But that's what he ultimately went to and stayed there 1:57:00.000 --> 1:57:02.240 because he really didn't have a lot of friends. Bass 1:57:02.360 --> 1:57:04.760 players like Stanley Clark, they got stuff on tape with 1:57:04.840 --> 1:57:07.640 him at George Duke when Stanley would get ready to 1:57:07.680 --> 1:57:09.600 come out and he turned back on Now I ain't 1:57:09.640 --> 1:57:12.160 gonna start that ship, and he'd go back in this spot. 1:57:12.880 --> 1:57:14.960 But he was when I first saw them. It's like 1:57:15.680 --> 1:57:19.600 I actually liked it because I saw Louis got his 1:57:19.720 --> 1:57:24.880 ass whooped so bad. I'm gonna tell you how and why, 1:57:25.280 --> 1:57:27.040 because they were in the studio one't a lot of 1:57:27.080 --> 1:57:29.400 people around. But then you know, after he kind of 1:57:29.480 --> 1:57:32.720 got established and you know, Quincy had called both of 1:57:32.800 --> 1:57:38.720 them in. Louis couldn't read as fluent as Stanley Lewis, 1:57:38.760 --> 1:57:42.360 couldn't two fingers fluent as Stanley Lewis is doing that 1:57:43.320 --> 1:57:46.160 that stuff with thumping and all that, and then all Stanley, 1:57:49.200 --> 1:57:53.440 you know, I'm like, second, here, good, somebody showed his ass, 1:57:53.720 --> 1:57:57.600 you know, without saying nothing. He needed to be to 1:57:58.240 --> 1:57:59.919 be put down, knockdown. 1:58:00.160 --> 1:58:01.080 You know. 1:58:01.320 --> 1:58:05.360 So how did you guys work together on the Winners album, 1:58:06.320 --> 1:58:09.800 which was the first album without Quincy? Like what was? 1:58:10.080 --> 1:58:12.160 It was very hard? I mean I worked more. It's 1:58:12.280 --> 1:58:14.880 like you from the very first album. I picked the 1:58:14.920 --> 1:58:17.120 album covered see quence the songs, mixed it. 1:58:19.760 --> 1:58:20.720 And the commercial. 1:58:22.480 --> 1:58:24.880 And use it took a lot to you know, Quincy 1:58:25.080 --> 1:58:28.840 was just our producer. We were signed to the label. 1:58:29.720 --> 1:58:31.880 Lewis didn't want to do anything a lot of stuff 1:58:31.920 --> 1:58:34.320 asked George, asked George, That's what I'm saying. He never 1:58:34.440 --> 1:58:37.880 felt it was our group. M hm, you know, and 1:58:38.040 --> 1:58:40.680 even into the Winners album, he didn't feel cool until 1:58:40.720 --> 1:58:44.360 he did Passage album, which was the Christian album. I 1:58:44.520 --> 1:58:46.800 had nothing to do with it. And leading up to 1:58:46.840 --> 1:58:50.120 all that was even with the story with Michael, because 1:58:50.120 --> 1:58:51.440 he didn't want me to be a part of that 1:58:51.600 --> 1:58:55.880 because he'd feel like right, so he could take me 1:58:56.320 --> 1:59:01.040 out the mix. And since I'm not on it saved 1:59:01.040 --> 1:59:04.280 a lot of questions about was he Quincy Brothers Johnson? 1:59:05.440 --> 1:59:08.800 You know, why do you think it was important for 1:59:08.920 --> 1:59:12.840 him to establish his or for him to have agency 1:59:13.000 --> 1:59:14.240 as in this is mine and. 1:59:15.360 --> 1:59:18.840 Because this is ours? Well it wasn't. It wasn't. But 1:59:19.120 --> 1:59:21.480 you know, unfortunately that's the way he grew up. He 1:59:21.560 --> 1:59:24.360 grew up at home under my mother's apron Well, if 1:59:24.400 --> 1:59:26.480 you picture stuff like me and my older brother and 1:59:26.560 --> 1:59:29.720 I had to split my time. Louis would stay home. 1:59:29.800 --> 1:59:31.680 He would never go out and run and hang and 1:59:31.760 --> 1:59:34.600 you almost like get shot at sometime a jumper fence 1:59:34.680 --> 1:59:38.040 and ride your bikes. And you know, he never experienced that. 1:59:38.200 --> 1:59:41.760 He was always a homeboy. He was afraid he was 1:59:41.800 --> 1:59:44.360 hanging out with gangs and you know, not in them, 1:59:44.400 --> 1:59:48.919 but around him knew him. So he was very shielded. 1:59:49.080 --> 1:59:51.680 And that's another reason why him and his first wife 1:59:52.680 --> 1:59:56.440 split up. I'm more in short, because she would tell me, George, 1:59:56.440 --> 1:59:58.360 I don't have three kids. I get four, which is 1:59:59.520 --> 2:00:03.000 you know, and when you're protected like that. She would 2:00:03.160 --> 2:00:05.000 talk to him and we'd be in the airport and 2:00:05.040 --> 2:00:09.000 I had to tell her chill on her responses to 2:00:10.080 --> 2:00:12.040 him when he'd make a comment, and in front of 2:00:12.040 --> 2:00:14.680 the whole band, it's like she wouldn't you know, Oh, 2:00:14.800 --> 2:00:18.280 Louis could acting like a child, saying please, don't talk 2:00:18.320 --> 2:00:20.200 to him like that. You know, he has the same 2:00:20.240 --> 2:00:22.840 amount of respect the band has for me. When you 2:00:22.960 --> 2:00:25.720 talk to him like that, you know, it doesn't work 2:00:26.760 --> 2:00:30.000 for me. So he was a different you know, That's 2:00:30.000 --> 2:00:31.840 why he was so bad. A lot of people who 2:00:31.840 --> 2:00:35.960 are on the borderline of being a genius, there's something 2:00:36.920 --> 2:00:39.280 a lot of things they can do and a lot 2:00:39.280 --> 2:00:43.880 of things they can't relate to. Right but they have 2:00:44.000 --> 2:00:45.320 fucking genius, you know. 2:00:46.400 --> 2:00:46.600 Yeah. 2:00:46.640 --> 2:00:50.080 He was very like to himself kind of person in general, 2:00:50.280 --> 2:00:53.360 like you didn't really like he wasn't like very outgoing 2:00:53.520 --> 2:00:57.360 only to certain people. One of the last things I 2:00:57.440 --> 2:00:59.240 talked to him about on the email I was working 2:00:59.320 --> 2:01:00.760 on the project. I was like, y'all, I'll do some 2:01:01.400 --> 2:01:03.720 play a little bit too, a little bit bass, guitar, keys, 2:01:03.760 --> 2:01:06.720 every little bit of everything. And I was like, Yo, 2:01:06.960 --> 2:01:08.760 you know uncle, I want to, like, you know, do 2:01:08.880 --> 2:01:10.720 some throwback sound. I want to kind of like get 2:01:10.760 --> 2:01:13.400 your your tone. You're like, what you know, what did 2:01:13.440 --> 2:01:16.160 you you know what how'd you get that sound? How 2:01:16.200 --> 2:01:18.120 did you like in your bass and all that? He 2:01:18.240 --> 2:01:21.640 was like, oh yeah, like I'll tell you. He was 2:01:21.680 --> 2:01:23.440 like let me Uh. I was like, so, you know, 2:01:23.480 --> 2:01:24.920 do I need to go buy a vintage music? 2:01:25.000 --> 2:01:25.160 Man? 2:01:25.840 --> 2:01:26.040 I was. 2:01:26.240 --> 2:01:27.840 I was trying to plan to see, like let me 2:01:27.920 --> 2:01:32.680 have one of your basses, but he know, I was like, man, 2:01:32.680 --> 2:01:34.240 I'm trying to get this sound. 2:01:34.360 --> 2:01:36.720 How can I do I need to buy a vintage 2:01:36.720 --> 2:01:39.680 He's like, Nope, don't buy advantage, you just get you know, 2:01:39.840 --> 2:01:42.520 just buy you a Mexican Uh. 2:01:43.120 --> 2:01:43.840 What the p bass? 2:01:43.920 --> 2:01:44.600 What would he use? 2:01:45.240 --> 2:01:50.640 He used the music man uh uh sting Ray and 2:01:51.240 --> 2:01:52.920 what he what what he told. 2:01:53.080 --> 2:01:57.280 So the whole secret was is when Fender Leo Fender 2:01:58.000 --> 2:02:01.480 stopped working for Fender and started music Man, he uh 2:02:02.520 --> 2:02:06.160 kind of uncle uncle Lewis was a part in developing 2:02:06.240 --> 2:02:08.600 the Stingray bass and so the one that he had 2:02:09.280 --> 2:02:12.640 was like specifically created for his style of playing, and 2:02:12.760 --> 2:02:15.960 so they moded the it was too expensive to mass 2:02:16.000 --> 2:02:18.480 produce and that was a part of his sound. So 2:02:18.560 --> 2:02:20.320 it was like in the it was in the design 2:02:20.480 --> 2:02:22.920 of the bass to kind of fit his style, and 2:02:23.000 --> 2:02:25.560 that's why his tone was so specific and at that 2:02:25.760 --> 2:02:28.560 time nobody could get it because it was all it 2:02:28.760 --> 2:02:30.480 not only didn't have to do with his playing, but 2:02:30.560 --> 2:02:32.680 it was in the actual pickups, in the way that 2:02:32.800 --> 2:02:33.920 the bass was designed. 2:02:34.160 --> 2:02:35.080 And that's what he told me. 2:02:35.160 --> 2:02:38.680 He was like, you know, you know, just get a 2:02:38.880 --> 2:02:41.520 just get a Mexican p bass, you know, cheap and 2:02:41.920 --> 2:02:43.320 hot rot it, and this is how you do it. 2:02:44.000 --> 2:02:45.800 And then told me the whole thing, and it was like, 2:02:46.360 --> 2:02:47.000 don't tell you that. 2:02:51.880 --> 2:02:54.480 I was like why, Like it's like eight hundred years later, 2:02:54.600 --> 2:02:57.600 like but you know, people asked me that question a lot, 2:02:57.800 --> 2:03:01.120 like about them and the dynamic, and you know, when 2:03:01.160 --> 2:03:04.200 I think about it, it's like, yes, it's you know, 2:03:04.280 --> 2:03:07.160 everything my pop said. But also you just got to 2:03:07.160 --> 2:03:09.640 think about it like they're just brothers, like if you 2:03:09.720 --> 2:03:12.200 could just like from there from the beginning, like they 2:03:12.400 --> 2:03:17.040 literally had an entire career together as brothers, like you know, 2:03:17.080 --> 2:03:19.080 if I don't know if any of you guys have siblings, like. 2:03:20.760 --> 2:03:21.480 A whole career. 2:03:21.680 --> 2:03:23.280 Not only that, but it's like the whole world is 2:03:23.320 --> 2:03:25.920 looking at you and y'all like y'all supposed to just. 2:03:26.040 --> 2:03:26.720 Like but that's the thing. 2:03:26.880 --> 2:03:31.520 I never saw it as like George's group and the 2:03:31.640 --> 2:03:34.160 other guy in the background, right. The thing is to 2:03:34.280 --> 2:03:38.200 me the brothers Johnson is, which is weird because I 2:03:38.320 --> 2:03:40.800 know that, you know, for for them, and his guitar 2:03:40.880 --> 2:03:44.520 playing is well documented on those records, but for me, 2:03:44.640 --> 2:03:48.680 it's like his voice and Lewis's thumb, and to me, 2:03:48.960 --> 2:03:53.280 like that thumb and your father's voice are equal. 2:03:53.440 --> 2:03:56.560 Right, and also like part of like some of the 2:03:56.640 --> 2:03:59.320 even though my dad was like you know, on some 2:03:59.520 --> 2:04:02.240 a lot of the records, like writing the parts guitar 2:04:02.360 --> 2:04:04.800 parts and and some of the bass parts. Even like 2:04:05.720 --> 2:04:09.880 we talked about this recently, the reason why it worked 2:04:09.920 --> 2:04:12.880 it was and it was such a specific and exclusive 2:04:12.960 --> 2:04:16.560 sound was because of the two elements coming together. And 2:04:16.640 --> 2:04:19.040 so even though my dad had an approach and perspective 2:04:19.080 --> 2:04:20.520 and like he said, like he would he would bring 2:04:20.560 --> 2:04:23.760 the Larry Graham element on if he would demo a bass, 2:04:23.960 --> 2:04:25.520 And even though everybody, yeah, I play more like that, 2:04:25.880 --> 2:04:27.360 you know, my uncle would still take it and do 2:04:27.480 --> 2:04:29.240 his own thing and make it his own, you know, 2:04:29.440 --> 2:04:31.880 and and use that as a blueprint. But eventually it 2:04:31.920 --> 2:04:34.280 would just turn into his thing. And it was the 2:04:34.400 --> 2:04:37.360 combination of all of that that made it do this. 2:04:37.760 --> 2:04:38.520 It was a balance. 2:04:38.600 --> 2:04:39.320 It was like this thing. 2:04:39.480 --> 2:04:41.920 It was like, yeah, it was. It was crazy. 2:04:41.920 --> 2:04:44.520 And I and I looked at it the same way too. 2:04:44.640 --> 2:04:47.160 Like growing I always thought it was just like, yeah, 2:04:47.840 --> 2:04:49.880 it's the two of them that they are part of it. 2:04:49.960 --> 2:04:52.320 But when I when I look back, like growing up 2:04:52.360 --> 2:04:56.000 in it, you know, they were. They were my superheroes, 2:04:56.040 --> 2:04:58.640 you know. Growing up I looked up to them obviously. 2:04:58.360 --> 2:05:01.440 And asking how are you. 2:05:02.000 --> 2:05:06.200 I'm thirty five, yeah, so uh, you know, I kind 2:05:06.240 --> 2:05:08.360 of I was born in eighty three, So it's like 2:05:08.440 --> 2:05:10.360 towards the end, I remember never doing the kicking album. 2:05:11.240 --> 2:05:13.840 I was there for a lot of the sessions, and 2:05:13.920 --> 2:05:15.680 like he started a lot of those demos at the 2:05:15.720 --> 2:05:17.200 house and stuff, and that's when he like taught me 2:05:17.240 --> 2:05:18.520 how to punch in and all that stuff. 2:05:20.320 --> 2:05:22.760 But yeah, like I it was, it was. 2:05:22.920 --> 2:05:26.160 It was crazy to watch it all like unfold. And 2:05:26.280 --> 2:05:29.680 I knew my dad would kind of like take the 2:05:29.800 --> 2:05:32.560 lead on certain things, but I don't think it was 2:05:32.680 --> 2:05:35.360 ever like he said. It wasn't like he just was 2:05:35.480 --> 2:05:37.240 just so hungry to take the lead. He just was 2:05:37.320 --> 2:05:40.520 just like ever since the Johnson's three plus one, he 2:05:40.600 --> 2:05:42.000 just do it because nobody else would want to sit 2:05:42.080 --> 2:05:43.960 there and write the lyrics out. But they was out 2:05:44.120 --> 2:05:48.200 playing and ship like it had to get done somehow, 2:05:48.360 --> 2:05:50.720 you know. And and with my uncle, you know, he 2:05:50.880 --> 2:05:53.640 was the he was the youngest sibling. So like he said, 2:05:53.720 --> 2:05:55.840 like he he wasn't able to go out and run 2:05:55.920 --> 2:05:57.040 the streets because he was too young. 2:05:57.240 --> 2:05:58.040 He just couldn't do it. 2:05:58.440 --> 2:06:01.040 And you know, my dad was like a little bit older, 2:06:01.120 --> 2:06:02.800 so it was okay for him to be out with 2:06:03.160 --> 2:06:05.520 the older brother. They're getting into trouble and ship and 2:06:06.320 --> 2:06:08.960 so you know, I think it was just that you know, 2:06:09.120 --> 2:06:12.680 them being yeah, that whole thing, you know, that that 2:06:12.760 --> 2:06:15.200 whole thing. And it's interesting because my dad is like 2:06:15.880 --> 2:06:18.480 the middle sibling, and so there's that, and then my 2:06:18.840 --> 2:06:22.240 other uncle, the oldest, he's definitely the big brother, and 2:06:22.320 --> 2:06:24.640 so they clashed a lot of times and bump heads. 2:06:25.720 --> 2:06:27.640 But I think at the end of the day they 2:06:27.720 --> 2:06:31.560 all still had a mutual respect for each other and 2:06:31.880 --> 2:06:34.560 they were bump heads. And even like till right before 2:06:34.600 --> 2:06:36.520 my uncle passed away, you know, they got together and 2:06:36.600 --> 2:06:38.800 did the thing with Quincy at the Hollywood Bowl, and 2:06:39.200 --> 2:06:41.720 you know, whenever it was, that magic never left. That's 2:06:41.760 --> 2:06:44.520 the crazy thing about music, is like when once you 2:06:44.680 --> 2:06:46.720 have that chemistry and that connection, no matter what you 2:06:46.840 --> 2:06:49.680 go through and how you know, crazy it gets like 2:06:50.280 --> 2:06:52.680 every time they would get in the room, when when 2:06:52.720 --> 2:06:55.800 they would start, it was just like nothing ever wouldn't happen. 2:06:56.080 --> 2:07:01.000 Can I ask a question, No, Mari, I gotta ask 2:07:01.040 --> 2:07:08.360 a question on street wave? How the one is? Really? 2:07:08.520 --> 2:07:15.000 I always this feels like a weird course. Stop laughing 2:07:15.000 --> 2:07:18.480 at secause, don't doom doom, doom doom. I feel like 2:07:18.800 --> 2:07:22.720 your brother. Your brother emphasizes the two as the one, 2:07:22.880 --> 2:07:26.120 but you guys are as the rhythm section or following 2:07:26.160 --> 2:07:30.640 the traditional one two, three four, but his the way 2:07:30.680 --> 2:07:36.120 he starts at dude, I always feel like his pick 2:07:36.200 --> 2:07:40.280 up in his mind was the one. It's just because 2:07:40.320 --> 2:07:43.640 the symbol is emphasizing. It's just like I feel like 2:07:43.720 --> 2:07:45.640 it's a it's a dog chasing his taille. Who is 2:07:45.680 --> 2:07:47.080 the architect of street wave. 2:07:47.680 --> 2:07:51.240 Well, it's basically you're basically right because this on people 2:07:51.320 --> 2:07:53.800 like Harvey Mason be on the set of John Robinson 2:07:53.880 --> 2:07:56.720 and they would use their influence and they'll beat. They 2:07:56.880 --> 2:08:01.400 know exactly what to do with Lewis drum wise, Okay, 2:08:01.680 --> 2:08:04.120 you know, I mean, we've had lots of drummers and 2:08:04.400 --> 2:08:08.760 and a lot of ones that stuck well, like Harvey 2:08:08.840 --> 2:08:15.200 Mason and uh Jr. Who I really loved. Harvey Mason Jr. 2:08:15.400 --> 2:08:19.320 Was cool, He did the trick. Harvey Mason was like 2:08:19.600 --> 2:08:24.360 one of the cats who was like a drum god 2:08:25.360 --> 2:08:28.240 to me because he could pick up. He would play 2:08:28.320 --> 2:08:29.840 to something of our tracks and we had the drum 2:08:29.960 --> 2:08:32.920 machine already in it. We wouldn't be playing with him 2:08:33.760 --> 2:08:37.000 except for in the headphones, okay, because we would cut 2:08:37.040 --> 2:08:38.480 it with a drum machine. Then all of a sudden 2:08:38.480 --> 2:08:43.280 he'd come in set and would play it and I 2:08:43.520 --> 2:08:45.720 just watch him just how we'd be in a room. 2:08:45.800 --> 2:08:48.440 And this studio reminds me of Studio A and A 2:08:48.600 --> 2:08:51.120 and M. They have all the big stuff where they 2:08:51.240 --> 2:08:53.600 do strings and the whole illustrated stuff, but. 2:08:56.240 --> 2:08:57.080 We're the world room. 2:08:57.560 --> 2:09:00.960 Yeah yeah, and uh it's something funny speaking of that, 2:09:01.120 --> 2:09:02.920 how we get left out of that when we were 2:09:02.960 --> 2:09:04.000 part of the world. 2:09:13.800 --> 2:09:14.520 That was good. 2:09:17.440 --> 2:09:20.800 Even had James Browton, I mean Ray Charles in Sight 2:09:21.000 --> 2:09:24.000 and Shaka Khan saying I'll be good to you yes, 2:09:24.960 --> 2:09:28.360 and then me and it was like four people that 2:09:28.440 --> 2:09:33.160 should be in the world with Guinness Records, Quincy Jones, myself, 2:09:33.320 --> 2:09:36.600 Chakakan and rachels On one song I'll be good to 2:09:36.680 --> 2:09:37.000 You that. 2:09:37.120 --> 2:09:41.160 I wrote, Oh that's right for back on the Block. 2:09:41.720 --> 2:09:44.080 Yeah, I came right, and so I was like, I 2:09:44.080 --> 2:09:51.040 would look how you look just well, you know, yeah, 2:09:51.040 --> 2:09:56.000 I hope you did half of half of it. I hope, yeah, 2:09:56.160 --> 2:10:01.280 but you know a certain things. Wasn't surprised because I 2:10:01.480 --> 2:10:04.240 knew how the music industry was and you can't come out. 2:10:04.560 --> 2:10:06.320 See we were signed to a contract. That's why I 2:10:06.440 --> 2:10:09.000 want to believe in A and M that you initially 2:10:09.080 --> 2:10:11.600 signed They had no idea who you are, what you're 2:10:11.640 --> 2:10:14.280 going to be. They were so jealous of Quincy because 2:10:14.360 --> 2:10:18.080 he until we came, brought him out of jazz and 2:10:18.120 --> 2:10:19.440 all of a sudden you hear his the love that 2:10:19.480 --> 2:10:26.440 were missing that was GJ sound, and brought him. 2:10:26.480 --> 2:10:29.880 You guys, definitely brought him into the modern era, modern 2:10:29.960 --> 2:10:30.520 music era. 2:10:30.560 --> 2:10:33.880 And then and his closure would be and work for 2:10:34.000 --> 2:10:36.000 him as a hit on Michael Jackson and do it 2:10:36.040 --> 2:10:38.680 because Sony didn't want him to do it. They figured 2:10:38.720 --> 2:10:41.280 he was just a jazz artist, even though he produced us, 2:10:42.600 --> 2:10:45.400 and he couldn't do the job. Quincy was like the 2:10:45.480 --> 2:10:50.280 perfect camp in music. Have you have you because if 2:10:50.320 --> 2:10:53.839 you think about it, you get, you know, Ry Templeton 2:10:54.680 --> 2:10:57.680 to write some songs, great songs. You got Greg Felling Games, 2:10:57.720 --> 2:11:00.880 You get all these great musicians. And I didn't notice that. 2:11:02.040 --> 2:11:04.040 You know, I'm not talking about the brother or anything. 2:11:04.120 --> 2:11:06.600 But every time he would get used, just more they 2:11:06.640 --> 2:11:10.680 would get used. If anybody's getting used, they wouldn't really 2:11:10.760 --> 2:11:15.000 never get the credit they deserved. I'd say, great filling 2:11:15.040 --> 2:11:18.560 Games put in about the certain the same amount of 2:11:18.640 --> 2:11:21.560 work that I have done on projects, which then they 2:11:21.640 --> 2:11:24.320 going to eventually give him an oscar for something, But 2:11:24.480 --> 2:11:27.360 what about all the other shit that you did that 2:11:27.680 --> 2:11:32.360 was you know, even more crucial. Michael Jackson, you know Michael. 2:11:32.520 --> 2:11:35.920 And then if you notice when we discussed that, yeah, 2:11:35.920 --> 2:11:38.480 we had film games on the show last year, earlier this. 2:11:38.560 --> 2:11:40.280 Year when he went on his own, a lot of 2:11:40.360 --> 2:11:44.360 his stuff wasn't that impressive. You know when he didn't 2:11:44.360 --> 2:11:47.280 sell to men records he was trying to get. He 2:11:47.360 --> 2:11:51.280 couldn't do that back when he first started without being 2:11:51.440 --> 2:11:54.800 validated by someone who had ears like Mike Quinty and 2:11:54.920 --> 2:12:00.200 his crew. I was doing that alone with me and 2:12:00.320 --> 2:12:03.320 Quincy Seor Lewis played the bass and eat the sishy 2:12:03.360 --> 2:12:05.920 and go to sleep on the couch. But I was 2:12:06.000 --> 2:12:09.840 the one who had to finish above Quincy. And he knew. 2:12:09.920 --> 2:12:13.680 I knew, Okay, you hired you're you are the producer. 2:12:15.080 --> 2:12:17.879 You are my brother, you are my father. I respect 2:12:17.960 --> 2:12:20.160 you the highest because you could teach me more than 2:12:20.280 --> 2:12:24.720 anybody has taught me, from sly Stone to Billy Preston. 2:12:24.800 --> 2:12:27.960 And you know, we were just grooving with our friends. 2:12:28.000 --> 2:12:29.640 With them, they just played me ship and look at 2:12:29.680 --> 2:12:38.040 me and smile. I'm like, damn, you don't play some 2:12:38.160 --> 2:12:41.040 moret you know this. I was like, man, if this 2:12:41.160 --> 2:12:42.880 ain't funky, I eat concrete. 2:12:46.000 --> 2:12:48.360 Wait a minute. Speaking of which, ah damn. I forgot 2:12:48.400 --> 2:12:52.080 to ask what was the situation behind this? Had to 2:12:52.160 --> 2:12:57.120 be like how you technically did get to work with 2:12:57.200 --> 2:13:00.960 Michael Jackson on one? So yeah, was a track, which 2:13:01.000 --> 2:13:04.120 is weird because Black Radio used to pip like this 2:13:04.200 --> 2:13:07.040 is the duet with Michael Jackson and brothers Johnson, and 2:13:07.240 --> 2:13:09.880 they would debut it and play it and then I 2:13:10.000 --> 2:13:11.680 just hear, like one mouseie. 2:13:14.840 --> 2:13:19.120 What he's doing like that, which my daughter would love 2:13:19.200 --> 2:13:22.040 because she knew his voice and took her around and 2:13:22.120 --> 2:13:26.880 he was doing thriller Billy Jean to the studio. But 2:13:29.520 --> 2:13:32.560 that song happened. That was a B track that wasn't 2:13:32.560 --> 2:13:35.920 even supposed to be included in any of our stuff. 2:13:37.560 --> 2:13:43.080 We were out on tour. Michael s to write get Quincy, 2:13:43.800 --> 2:13:45.480 you know, one of our songs. He wanted to write 2:13:45.480 --> 2:13:47.240 with us, but the way he chose to write, he said, 2:13:48.000 --> 2:13:50.920 go in and see what he did. What they recorded 2:13:50.960 --> 2:13:54.080 that they weren't using. I never did like this had 2:13:54.120 --> 2:14:01.480 to be because it was a base. It was it's 2:14:01.560 --> 2:14:05.760 like that don't even sound like you I dug it, 2:14:06.200 --> 2:14:08.520 you know, And it wasn't Lewis because the one time 2:14:08.600 --> 2:14:11.920 he went on a scent based in the tangent you know, 2:14:12.080 --> 2:14:14.520 play it on stage. Was just saying, man, how could 2:14:14.560 --> 2:14:17.080 you not play your bass? 2:14:18.200 --> 2:14:19.040 You know? Did you not? 2:14:19.200 --> 2:14:20.800 You weren't known for keyboard. 2:14:21.720 --> 2:14:21.880 You know. 2:14:22.200 --> 2:14:24.880 What was the decision to not have him played that 2:14:25.000 --> 2:14:25.760 bass line? 2:14:26.240 --> 2:14:29.320 Well, it was no decision. What happened was It's like 2:14:29.400 --> 2:14:31.240 when it got to that point, I didn't give a 2:14:31.320 --> 2:14:34.960 ship or a fuck about nothing, to be honest, It's 2:14:35.000 --> 2:14:37.000 like you couldn't hurt me no more and you already 2:14:37.080 --> 2:14:40.080 hurt me and I still had knocked you up the 2:14:40.200 --> 2:14:44.920 bottom line. Now, if Michael got the track, he wrote 2:14:44.960 --> 2:14:48.720 the lyrics, it was all about Michael Jackson's I don't. 2:14:48.800 --> 2:14:51.320 I didn't even play guitar on it. That's how pissed 2:14:51.400 --> 2:14:55.600 I was. I didn't. There's no guitar on the damn okay. 2:14:56.520 --> 2:15:00.240 So it's like Michael got the leftovers. Only thing I 2:15:00.320 --> 2:15:04.440 did was sing lead okay. And you know I didn't 2:15:04.480 --> 2:15:07.320 plan for it to be a single nothing, because it's 2:15:07.400 --> 2:15:10.520 like I wouldn't. Well at that point, we hadn't used 2:15:10.560 --> 2:15:14.320 that for an album to be put on an album. 2:15:14.480 --> 2:15:16.640 So I was like, all right, Michael came up with 2:15:16.680 --> 2:15:18.960 this stupid ass. If he wasn't checked, it would have 2:15:19.040 --> 2:15:21.680 checked with me on you know, which tune? Could I 2:15:21.840 --> 2:15:24.760 have gave him one of mine or written one? Right, 2:15:25.280 --> 2:15:27.800 So he like took a B tune wrote on it 2:15:28.560 --> 2:15:33.320 just because of his name. It went forward and A 2:15:33.480 --> 2:15:35.880 and M already did they quota or only going to 2:15:35.920 --> 2:15:38.840 release one? We never gotten more than two songs a 2:15:38.960 --> 2:15:45.560 hit off of a record. That's it. That's why Quincy 2:15:45.640 --> 2:15:48.360 and enrolled with Thriller and they got eight off of that. 2:15:48.760 --> 2:15:51.880 That's kind of one of the teachings. But A and 2:15:52.040 --> 2:15:57.400 M did not want to recognize truth even though they 2:15:57.440 --> 2:16:00.920 were Herbalt and Jerry Moss, and we got sold off 2:16:00.960 --> 2:16:05.280 to PolyGram for two hundred and fifty million, along with 2:16:05.400 --> 2:16:09.080 the rest of all the other groups, you know, real 2:16:09.240 --> 2:16:11.080 like that. I just went into the office with her 2:16:11.080 --> 2:16:15.160 Abell and Jeremi. I said, look, we are men, I'm done. 2:16:15.280 --> 2:16:17.560 I walked away from at least two point through million 2:16:17.800 --> 2:16:20.080 on my next album that I could have done as 2:16:20.120 --> 2:16:23.880 a single, but I said, okay, that'll just be sounding 2:16:24.000 --> 2:16:26.680 like another Brothers Chohnson record. So I didn't want to 2:16:27.160 --> 2:16:30.640 even acknowledge. It wasn't that I needed the money, but 2:16:30.760 --> 2:16:32.800 that was in my contract. My lawyer said, they could 2:16:32.840 --> 2:16:35.240 have paid you your two point three million you just 2:16:35.360 --> 2:16:36.199 walked away from. 2:16:37.959 --> 2:16:38.400 Back in. 2:16:40.680 --> 2:16:45.520 Or the eighties. So, I mean it was a lot, 2:16:47.000 --> 2:16:50.920 you know, I had to deal with politics that I 2:16:52.200 --> 2:16:54.600 was very frustrated. I kind of knew that we were 2:16:54.720 --> 2:16:58.240 locked in. That's why I was kind of teaching them 2:16:58.560 --> 2:17:01.200 and showing them back in what I had, picking singles 2:17:02.240 --> 2:17:06.720 Janet Jackson, whatever you've done lately, nasty. You know, the 2:17:06.840 --> 2:17:12.440 Human League thing. I got Slide for John McClean, and 2:17:12.600 --> 2:17:14.640 Slide didn't want to do it. I twisted his arm 2:17:14.720 --> 2:17:17.640 to do it. So it was a lot of things 2:17:17.720 --> 2:17:22.240 where I was the person that could get the job 2:17:22.360 --> 2:17:27.680 done even without Quincy. But Quincy, uh what's his name 2:17:29.280 --> 2:17:32.680 over at Warner Brothers had bought Quincy's contract from A 2:17:32.840 --> 2:17:34.880 and M because he ain't even have a million dollars 2:17:37.280 --> 2:17:41.440 in Boston, and he gave Quincy put up two million 2:17:41.520 --> 2:17:46.120 dollars to get out of the deal with A and M. Okay, okay, 2:17:46.680 --> 2:17:49.760 when he left A and M. Then they told us 2:17:49.879 --> 2:17:51.959 that we were going to get sued if we talked 2:17:52.000 --> 2:17:56.280 to Quincy, you know, any of that go down, I 2:17:56.440 --> 2:18:00.120 called Quincy said, what the hell is you know? A 2:18:00.240 --> 2:18:02.880 and M fuck A and M records, you know, and 2:18:04.240 --> 2:18:08.160 the damn attorney who I couldn't stand, you know, melt 2:18:08.280 --> 2:18:12.440 Old melt Old Olton Olin something like that, and you 2:18:12.520 --> 2:18:14.560 can tell him, I said that still it can kiss 2:18:14.680 --> 2:18:15.080 my ass. 2:18:19.640 --> 2:18:27.080 That is a quote for you, melt melt Olin. So 2:18:27.840 --> 2:18:32.119 at the end of the day, with all of these 2:18:33.760 --> 2:18:37.240 demos and ideas lying around, like what this phase of 2:18:37.320 --> 2:18:41.080 your life, like, what do you want your. 2:18:42.959 --> 2:18:47.480 Legacy? Well, it is what it is. And when I 2:18:47.560 --> 2:18:50.880 put out my book, which maybe we'll talk because I 2:18:52.080 --> 2:18:54.640 might go through you through make it an audible thing, 2:18:56.320 --> 2:18:59.040 see what I'm saying, And would be would love for 2:18:59.200 --> 2:19:02.360 you to do to do that as basically a starter 2:19:02.760 --> 2:19:04.240 for this interview, and you know. 2:19:06.440 --> 2:19:06.720 I could. 2:19:06.840 --> 2:19:18.920 I could split it with you, yes, because you're you're 2:19:18.959 --> 2:19:22.880 getting stuff that people really want to hear from us 2:19:22.920 --> 2:19:25.520 because they haven't and you are getting it. So that 2:19:25.640 --> 2:19:28.840 actually would cut the chase through me writing, which I 2:19:28.959 --> 2:19:31.840 was gonna do anyway. And since it is audible, you 2:19:32.000 --> 2:19:37.360 already have it, Mike, So I would definitely give you 2:19:37.480 --> 2:19:41.640 the pronounce. So I mean to make it. We can 2:19:41.720 --> 2:19:43.360 deal with it, and you know, I give you my 2:19:43.520 --> 2:19:46.720 numbers and stuff and well, yeah we're family now. Yeah, 2:19:46.800 --> 2:19:48.000 to make it an audible book. 2:19:48.440 --> 2:19:51.560 So try what what what's next for the down the 2:19:51.600 --> 2:19:52.039 pike for you. 2:19:53.879 --> 2:19:54.039 Man? 2:19:54.280 --> 2:19:58.640 Just uh continuing to create. I've been doing a lot 2:19:58.720 --> 2:20:00.000 of artists develop. 2:20:00.520 --> 2:20:03.160 One of the recent things I did was this boy 2:20:03.280 --> 2:20:05.320 band called why Don't We who just signed the Atlantic 2:20:05.360 --> 2:20:09.560 Records last summer, developed them all last year and just 2:20:09.680 --> 2:20:12.440 kind of you know, I think it's just one of 2:20:12.520 --> 2:20:14.320 the things I picked up from being around it because 2:20:14.320 --> 2:20:17.080 it was real like as you you know, just heard 2:20:17.120 --> 2:20:19.760 a lot of development going on and to to kind 2:20:19.800 --> 2:20:24.240 of create this uh legacy. It wasn't just like you know, 2:20:24.360 --> 2:20:26.520 throwing stuff against the wall, see was stick. It was 2:20:26.600 --> 2:20:28.920 like work, real work, real work. 2:20:29.040 --> 2:20:31.920 Yeah. I've seen what he could do and heard his 2:20:32.120 --> 2:20:35.120 shows and share things with me, and I give him 2:20:35.160 --> 2:20:38.920 the best advice of you know that I can. And 2:20:39.640 --> 2:20:43.360 we haven't even begun because I still have some teachings. 2:20:43.400 --> 2:20:47.160 I told him, you know, I want to just layer 2:20:47.200 --> 2:20:49.520 it on him that I've learned from Quincy and Bruce, 2:20:50.920 --> 2:20:53.080 and we haven't begun that we're going to start that 2:20:53.280 --> 2:20:57.240 today or tomorrow. Wow, Like I just let him grow 2:20:57.280 --> 2:20:59.920 and I tell him, you know, we'd work on projects together. 2:21:00.400 --> 2:21:01.920 Yeah, actually did a I did a record. 2:21:02.080 --> 2:21:02.200 Uh. 2:21:02.760 --> 2:21:05.520 This is one of the early records I wrote with 2:21:05.600 --> 2:21:09.440 Solange for Kelly Rowland's first album, simply Deepest Joint called Obsession, 2:21:09.640 --> 2:21:12.000 and uh my dad came and play guitar on it. 2:21:13.680 --> 2:21:15.640 It's fun Yeah, but I'll do that and I do 2:21:15.760 --> 2:21:16.920 nothing else for somebody else. 2:21:16.920 --> 2:21:17.680 It could be bigger. 2:21:23.879 --> 2:21:26.199 It's funny because he like it's crazy, like he actually 2:21:26.560 --> 2:21:29.200 like it's true, like they got this especially like with 2:21:29.200 --> 2:21:30.240 a lot of the old school cats. 2:21:30.280 --> 2:21:32.879 It's just this camaraderie that's just like unrivaled. 2:21:33.040 --> 2:21:36.000 Like I remember when you know, even though I've known 2:21:36.280 --> 2:21:38.240 you know, the Knowles and you know all them like 2:21:38.320 --> 2:21:41.119 for some time now, and work quite a bit with Solange, 2:21:41.200 --> 2:21:43.080 like I never really you know. 2:21:43.120 --> 2:21:44.880 Obviously, Beyonce is like a huge star. 2:21:45.000 --> 2:21:47.400 I remember one time one morning, like met her in 2:21:47.480 --> 2:21:49.760 passing one morning, Like I get this call from the 2:21:49.800 --> 2:21:52.600 eight three to two number, and I'm like, what you 2:21:52.680 --> 2:21:59.680 know whatever before three o'clock in the afternoon, the hell 2:22:00.040 --> 2:22:02.240 must speak to Troy, Like who is this this is B. 2:22:02.560 --> 2:22:09.800 Who the hell is B Beyoncey? What's what's going on? 2:22:10.480 --> 2:22:10.640 Well? 2:22:10.680 --> 2:22:12.720 You know, and she it was crazy, she was that 2:22:12.800 --> 2:22:16.320 just before you knew we were almost possibly related. 2:22:17.720 --> 2:22:18.800 On my mom's side. 2:22:18.959 --> 2:22:21.600 Yeah, so she she wanted to uh, this was for 2:22:21.680 --> 2:22:26.400 her first solo album. She needed to do to clear sugar. Yeah, yeah, yeah, 2:22:26.560 --> 2:22:28.160 no one could get in touch with like, no one 2:22:28.240 --> 2:22:30.560 knew where the hell he was, but they. 2:22:30.560 --> 2:22:33.600 Knew that that you know, got yeah, you know, and 2:22:33.680 --> 2:22:36.600 I was like, okay, cool, Like, well is this your number? 2:22:36.640 --> 2:22:37.080 Can I call you? 2:22:37.160 --> 2:22:37.640 Could we work? 2:22:46.640 --> 2:22:47.880 Mission was already accomplished. 2:22:47.959 --> 2:22:50.040 Done. You talked to her on the phone. You did 2:22:50.080 --> 2:22:54.000 more than most. Well, we would like to think y'all 2:22:54.440 --> 2:22:55.360 coming on the show man. 2:22:55.560 --> 2:23:01.039 Thanks education given us the time, Thank you for having. 2:23:01.680 --> 2:23:03.920 Thank you for coming so much. No, thank you both, 2:23:04.000 --> 2:23:06.800 Thank you both. So on behalf. Oh wait, I think 2:23:06.840 --> 2:23:11.280 we should also play the initial Dibaco come so far. Yes, yes, yeah, 2:23:11.680 --> 2:23:13.240 we might as well. Go ahead. We're going to fade 2:23:13.240 --> 2:23:17.039 out on the original Dibacco Roll call for you, roll 2:23:17.120 --> 2:23:20.680 call stands out there anyway on Behalf of the team, 2:23:20.760 --> 2:23:24.280 Supreme Fan take a little unpaid Bill Boss, Bill Sugar, 2:23:24.320 --> 2:23:28.080 Steve or the Sugar Steve Network CEO and his own 2:23:28.120 --> 2:23:32.960 brother Sugar Steve appears courtesy of the Sugar and like, yeah, 2:23:33.040 --> 2:23:35.480 oh wait, you know what I didn't tell Wait? Can 2:23:35.520 --> 2:23:38.199 you hold up the cover real quick? Yeah? I always 2:23:38.240 --> 2:23:43.040 share a quest love childhood punishment. So usually as a kid, 2:23:43.520 --> 2:23:49.040 each year I picked a designated album cover. Right, but 2:23:49.160 --> 2:23:52.160 I'm just wanted to show. I want to just show you. 2:23:52.320 --> 2:23:55.520 All right, ladies, gentlemen, go google right on time for 2:23:55.600 --> 2:23:59.520 the Brothers of Johnson album covering. So each year I 2:23:59.560 --> 2:24:03.280 would nat an album covered that I would emulate for 2:24:03.400 --> 2:24:07.200 every picture taken of me, you know, like I was 2:24:07.560 --> 2:24:09.960 in seventy four it was all the Chris Jasper poses 2:24:10.040 --> 2:24:13.200 from Living Up that was my thing. Or seventy eight 2:24:13.480 --> 2:24:17.320 was me making a Tommy DeBarge face from the Switch album. 2:24:17.600 --> 2:24:22.960 So seventy seven I decided, okay, all airborne jumping shots 2:24:24.200 --> 2:24:26.880 holding various pieces of furniture because I didn't have a 2:24:26.920 --> 2:24:34.160 base in seventy seven and somehow at my father's rehearsal, 2:24:35.040 --> 2:24:39.160 I saw my father's bass players base there and I thought, 2:24:39.800 --> 2:24:42.840 I'm gonna do what Louis Johnson does. So I grabbed 2:24:42.879 --> 2:24:48.560 the bass, I jumped and I dropped the bass nice 2:24:48.840 --> 2:24:52.520 and it was Tito Jackson time wait Joe Jackson. Anyway, 2:24:52.640 --> 2:24:55.119 ladies and gentlemen, I'll see you later. Thank you very much. 2:24:55.400 --> 2:24:57.760 This has been quest up Supreme only on Pandora. We'll 2:24:57.800 --> 2:24:59.160 see you. Let me add this too. 2:25:00.040 --> 2:25:03.480 The album cover was shot out in the desert and 2:25:03.600 --> 2:25:06.480 it was around the time where the UFO start. Oh 2:25:06.800 --> 2:25:10.520 you know, the UFO era for us in the seventies 2:25:10.720 --> 2:25:15.520 was highlighted a lot. And that guitar right now is 2:25:15.600 --> 2:25:19.800 currently hanging a glass case in Troy's studio in nineteen 2:25:20.040 --> 2:25:24.800 seventy one, one Stelly Fender stratocast. 2:25:25.840 --> 2:25:30.200 Wow. Great, now we know who to rob. Thank you. 2:25:32.200 --> 2:25:36.360 If it comes up, it is locked though. 2:25:37.560 --> 2:25:39.680 Well, see you, ladies and gentlemen. We'll see you on 2:25:39.760 --> 2:25:40.480 the next go round. 2:25:44.160 --> 2:25:54.480 Suprema Supremo, Roll Call, Suprema Supremo, roll Call, Suprema Sun Supremo, 2:25:54.720 --> 2:25:58.920 Roll Call, Suprema Sound Supremo. 2:25:58.600 --> 2:26:03.080 Roll Call, Get on the ball, Yeah, get on the case, Yeah, 2:26:03.600 --> 2:26:14.240 get the funk, Yeah, Supreme Supremo. 2:26:14.480 --> 2:26:16.279 Rose my name is Prante. 2:26:16.720 --> 2:26:21.280 Yeah, I'm in the mix with thunder Thumbs Yeah and 2:26:21.480 --> 2:26:22.320 Lightning Licks. 2:26:22.959 --> 2:26:32.200 Are you? Are you? Roll car Suprema Supreme roll best 2:26:33.240 --> 2:26:35.920 arrest my case. Yeah, if you don't agree with the 2:26:35.959 --> 2:26:38.200 boss Bill, Yeah, get the funk out of my face. 2:26:39.680 --> 2:26:48.800 Spre Supreme Supreme Road. Yeah. 2:26:49.080 --> 2:26:50.119 Oh yeah it's true. 2:26:50.640 --> 2:26:50.879 Yeah. 2:26:51.160 --> 2:26:53.920 George Johnson is here. Yeah, I'll be good to you. 2:26:54.480 --> 2:27:02.120 Roll Suprema shut Supreme, roll call Supreme SUPREMEO. 2:27:02.360 --> 2:27:03.920 Roll call this sugar. 2:27:04.520 --> 2:27:06.440 Yeah. The reason I write the ship ahead of time 2:27:07.000 --> 2:27:15.040 because I can't improvise. Fuck you again, Supreme roll Call 2:27:15.560 --> 2:27:18.480 Supremo Role. 2:27:19.080 --> 2:27:21.280 My name is Yea Troy. 2:27:22.040 --> 2:27:26.199 Yeah, we both like to talk, So hit us up tomorrow. 2:27:27.600 --> 2:27:36.080 Supreme Supreme roll Yeah, Supreme so Supreme roll call sup. 2:27:36.480 --> 2:27:44.400 Wait a minute, I know this is a b we 2:27:44.440 --> 2:27:44.960 gott to redo it. 2:27:45.000 --> 2:27:45.360 We got to. 2:27:51.320 --> 2:27:51.720 What's Love? 2:27:51.800 --> 2:27:56.080 Supreme is a production iHeartRadio. This classic episode was produced 2:27:56.120 --> 2:28:02.640 by the team at Pandora. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, 2:28:02.800 --> 2:28:06.520 visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 2:28:06.560 --> 2:28:07.480 to your favorite shows.