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Syl Johnson: Any Way the Wind Blows

Play trailer Poster for Syl Johnson: Any Way the Wind Blows 2015 1h 25m Biography Documentary Music Play Trailer Watchlist
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Syl Johnson: Any Way The Wind Blows is a portrait of an overlooked yet hugely influential African-American musician whose 60 year career spanned every genre of Black music from the Blues, to Soul, to Funk, to Hip Hop. In spite of enjoying success in Chicago in the 1960s with songs like "Come On Sock It To Me" and "Is It Because I'm Black," and recording with the same band and producer as Al Green at Hi Records in Memphis in the '70s, Syl's music remained largely unknown and his career was seemingly over by the '80s. With the advent of Hip Hop, his 1967 song "Different Strokes" became extremely popular among DJs and producers and was sampled by artists including Run-DMC, Public Enemy, NWA, the Beastie Boys, the Wu-Tang Clan, and Jay Z and Kanye West. The release of a comprehensive boxed set on the Numero Group record label in 2010 further revived his career and brought Syl Johnson his first Grammy nomination. With fiery concert footage from then and now, a funky, energetic soundtrack, and an original score by Yo La Tengo, Any Way The Wind Blows shows how talent and perseverance can prevail in the end.
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Syl Johnson: Any Way the Wind Blows

Critics Reviews

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THR Staff The Hollywood Reporter Soul fans will eat it up, and Johnson’s surprising hip-hop legacy will make the doc doubly attractive at fests. Feb 7, 2022 Full Review Shikhar Verma High on Films It didn’t just make me look back at Syl’s incredible body of work, but also made me understand the value of a music scene that remains hidden away from plain sight, but almost always possesses a heart that beats the same way. Rated: 3/5 Jul 13, 2022 Full Review Michael Talbot-Haynes Film Threat This is a stone groove dripping with electricity. Rated: 9/10 Apr 11, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews
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Synopsis Syl Johnson: Any Way The Wind Blows is a portrait of an overlooked yet hugely influential African-American musician whose 60 year career spanned every genre of Black music from the Blues, to Soul, to Funk, to Hip Hop. In spite of enjoying success in Chicago in the 1960s with songs like "Come On Sock It To Me" and "Is It Because I'm Black," and recording with the same band and producer as Al Green at Hi Records in Memphis in the '70s, Syl's music remained largely unknown and his career was seemingly over by the '80s. With the advent of Hip Hop, his 1967 song "Different Strokes" became extremely popular among DJs and producers and was sampled by artists including Run-DMC, Public Enemy, NWA, the Beastie Boys, the Wu-Tang Clan, and Jay Z and Kanye West. The release of a comprehensive boxed set on the Numero Group record label in 2010 further revived his career and brought Syl Johnson his first Grammy nomination. With fiery concert footage from then and now, a funky, energetic soundtrack, and an original score by Yo La Tengo, Any Way The Wind Blows shows how talent and perseverance can prevail in the end.
Director
Robert Hatch-Miller, Rob Hatch-Miller
Producer
Robert Hatch-Miller, Puloma Basu, Rob Hatch-Miller
Genre
Biography, Documentary, Music
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 6, 2022
Runtime
1h 25m
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