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The career of soul singer, songwriter, producer, arranger, and keyboardist Al Johnson crosses six decades. It dates back to the '60s, when he cut a promo-only solo single for the South Camp label and, while attending Howard University in Washington, D.C., formed the group that became the Unifics. Discovered by Guy Draper and signed to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Kapp%22">Kapp</a>, the Unifics' first two charting singles, "Court of Love" (arranged by <a href="spotify:artist:0HU0U9kdXEHZVxUNbuQe8S">Donny Hathaway</a>) and "The Beginning of My End," hit Billboard's R&B chart in 1968 and peaked within the Top Ten. After the Unifics released an album and split, Johnson worked with <a href="spotify:artist:1BwDmDGJ3hROn90wmD1nqi">Tata Vega</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0Gbw7fjWPP05Bw3pwRwKL2">Special Delivery</a>, Positive Change, and <a href="spotify:artist:5jNGQ7VOU87x5402JjhTtd">Deniece Williams</a>, among others. He thrived during the tail-end of the '70s and the early '80s, a period that involved a pair of solo albums, Peaceful (1978) and Back for More (1980), along with a Top 30 R&B hit (a duet with <a href="spotify:artist:5swBKHtsRDaCBmdpYRYOg1">Jean Carn</a>, the title cut from the latter album), and contributions to <a href="spotify:artist:54bbmw5qZiMf23TTmm6ojR">Norman Connors</a>' Take It to the Limit, highlighted by his work on a cover of <a href="spotify:artist:7fSioNqpL8eXp9IJoPcKP4">Lou Courtney</a>'s "I Don't Need Nobody Else." Later in the '80s, the likes of <a href="spotify:artist:5swBKHtsRDaCBmdpYRYOg1">Carn</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2XzHxDFTNywDd5ReMhgxkg">the Whispers</a>, and a handful of <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Prelude%22">Prelude</a> label sessions benefited from Johnson's involvement. During the 2000s, the Unifics reunited and recorded a second album. In 2013, Johnson died suddenly. Him or Me, a collection of previously unreleased material recorded with <a href="spotify:artist:2xOkypIhntXhOTf4hBPL2a">Derrick "Doc" Pearson</a>, was released the following year. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi
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