b. Louis Maurice Johnson, 10 December 1950, Chicago, Illinois, USA. This soulful high tenor formed the group Family Affair at the age of 13 with his brother Robert and sister Sherry. Over the next few years the trio evolved into a sextet known as Everyday People. Johnson was conscripted in 1971 and on his return from the army, worked with Chicago group the Mood Mixers, who also included future Hi-NRG star Evelyn Thomas. He and Evelyn were spotted by producer Danny Leake who introduced them to UK producer/writer Ian Levine, who was in Chicago looking for acts. Levine was impressed with Johnson and their first recording together ‘Your Magic Put A Spell On Me’, which was tailor-made for the UK northern soul scene, jumped straight into the UK Top 40 in its first week of release in 1976. Despite his television and live performances in the UK and some strong releases on Mercury and AVI, the singer who remained unknown in his homeland, never managed a chart return.