Their popular album Light Up the Night was released in March 1980 and got as high as number 5 on the Billboard 200. It was number 46 on the "Top 100 LP's of 1980" list in Rolling Stone Magazine. The subsequent album, Winners, was self-produced by the brothers and released in July 1981, but was less successful, going only as high as number 48 on the Billboard 200.
Among their most popular songs are "I'll Be Good to You" (Hot 100 #3 in 1976), "Strawberry Letter 23" (Hot 100 # 5 in 1977), "Ain't We Funkin' Now" (1978), and "Stomp!" (Hot 100 #7 and Hot Dance Music/Club Play #1 in 1980). Their styles include funk, disco, and R&B ballads. The duo split up in 1982.
Guitarist/vocalist George Johnson and bassist/vocalist Louis Johnson formed the band Johnson Three Plus One with older brother Tommy and their cousin Alex Weir while attending school in Los Angeles. When they became professionals, the band backed such touring R&B acts as Bobby Womack and the Supremes. George and Louis Johnson later joined Billy Preston's band, and wrote "Music in My Life" and "The Kids and Me" for him before leaving his group in 1973. In 1976, The Brothers covered the Beatles song, "Hey, Jude", for the ephemeral musical documentary All This and World War II.
Quincy Jones hired them to play on his LP Mellow Madness, and recorded four of their songs, including "Is It Love That We're Missing?" and "Just a Taste of Me." Jones took them on a Japanese tour, then produced their début LP, Look Out for Number 1, after they signed with A&M, which was also his label at the time (1976). They scored a number-one R&B and number-three pop hit with "I'll Be Good to You," and enjoyed R&B chart toppers in 1977 and 1980 respectively with "Strawberry Letter 23" and "Stomp!," while sustaining a consistent hit presence via such songs as "Get the Funk Out Ma Face" and "Runnin' for Your Lovin." Jones remade "I'll Be Good to You" in 1989 with Ray Charles and Chaka Khan on his Back on the Block release.
The Brothers earned platinum records for Look Out for Number 1 and Right on Time. Jones produced both of these, along with their third and fourth LPs, Blam and Light Up the Night. The group produced its single "The Real Thing" in 1981. It reached number 11 on the R&B charts, and the Brothers had another hit with "Welcome to the Club" in 1982. They started doing separate ventures; Louis Johnson played bass on Michael Jackson's Thriller LP and recorded a gospel album, while George Johnson worked with Steve Arrington. Leon Sylvers produced their mid-'80s return LP Out of Control; it didn't equal their past success, but got them another R&B hit with "You Keep Coming Back" in 1984. They recorded Kickin' in 1988, and co-wrote "Tomorrow" with Siedah Garrett for Jones' Back on the Block in 1989.
Strawberry Letter #23
Brothers Johnson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Red magic satin playing near, too
All through the morning rain I gaze, the sun doesn't shine
Rainbows and waterfalls run through my mind
In the garden, I see
West purple shower bells and tea
Orange birds and river cousins
Pretty music, I hear
So happy and loud
Blue flowers echo
From a cherry cloud
Feel sunshine sparkle pink and blue
Playgrounds will laugh
If you try to ask
"Is it cool?" (is it cool)
If you arrive and don't see me
I'm going to be with my baby
I am free, flying in her arms
Over the sea
Stained window, yellow candy screen
See speakers of kite
With velvet roses diggin'
Freedom flight
A present from you
Strawberry letter twenty-two
The music plays
I sit in for a few
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
A present from you
Strawberry letter 22
The music plays
I sit in for a few
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
The lyrics to Brothers Johnson's song Strawberry Letter #23 evoke a dreamlike state of mind. The opening line "Hello my love, I heard a kiss from you" suggests a spiritual or transcendental connection between the singer and their lover. The reference to "red magic satin playing near" creates a sensual atmosphere while the following lines suggest that the singer is lost in thought, gazing at rainbows and waterfalls that run through their mind.
The second verse brings the listener into a garden where the singer sees various colorful elements, including purple shower bells, orange birds, and river cousins dressed in green. The music that the singer hears is described as "pretty" and "happy and loud," with blue flowers echoing from a cherry cloud. The line "Playgrounds will laugh if you try to ask 'Is it cool?'" suggests a childlike innocence and joy, something that the singer wants the listener to experience as well.
Line by Line Meaning
Hello my love, I heard a kiss from you
Starting the song with a greeting from the lover, indicating that he felt a kiss from her
Red magic satin playing near, too
The atmosphere seems romantic with magic and satin playing around them
All through the morning rain I gaze, the sun doesn't shine
He is looking at the rain in the morning and feels sad that the sun is not shining
Rainbows and waterfalls run through my mind
Despite the gloomy weather, he has colorful thoughts of rainbows and waterfalls
In the garden, I see
He sees a garden and is now describing what he observes
West purple shower bells and tea
He sees purple flowers showering and tea growing in the garden
Orange birds and river cousins
Besides flowers, he also sees birds and relatives living by the river
Dressed in green
All the creatures he sees are wearing green
Pretty music, I hear
He hears melodious music and finds it pleasing
So happy and loud
The music feels joyful and loud
Blue flowers echo
The music echoes in the blue flowers
From a cherry cloud
The music seems to come from a cloud with a cherry-like color
Feel sunshine sparkle pink and blue
He feels a sensation of pink and blue colors sparkling in the sunshine
Playgrounds will laugh
The playgrounds seem happy and laughing
If you try to ask
However, if someone asks if it's cool, they won't understand what he feels
"Is it cool?"
A rhetorical question proposed in the previous line
If you arrive and don't see me
He tells his lover that if she doesn't find him, he will probably be with his baby
I'm going to be with my baby
He is going to meet his lover
I am free, flying in her arms
He feels like he is flying in his lover's arms because he loves her
Over the sea
He is flying over the sea with his lover
Stained window, yellow candy screen
He describes a window with yellow candy-colors on it
See speakers of kite
He observes the kite's sound amplification system
With velvet roses diggin'
He describes how the roses are deep in velvet material
Freedom flight
The overall feeling of the song reflects freedom and liberation
A present from you
He says that his lover gave him a present
Strawberry letter 22
The present he received had the name Strawberry Letter 22
The music plays
The song clarifies that music is playing in the background
I sit in for a few
He takes some time to listen to the music before he gets back to his chores
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
The song ends in a repetitive and catchy chorus
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Tratore, Unison Rights S.L., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Shuggie Otis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind