Eddie Johns
Johns surrounded by female background vocalists, Paris Metro album cover
Johns surrounded by female background vocalists, Paris Metro album cover
Background information
Birth nameFoda Eddie Johns
BornLiberia
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter
LabelsPresident, GM Musipro

Foda Eddie Johns (born 1951) is a Liberian singer-songwriter in the disco, funk, soul, rock and soft rock genres. Johns did not find mainstream success during his career and became destitute.[1]

The French electronic duo Daft Punk sampled Johns's 1979 disco song "More Spell on You" on their 2000 song "One More Time". Johns has never received royalties for the sample, as the publishing company that owns the rights could not trace him. Johns is estimated to be owed a sum "in the high six-to-seven-figure range" based on streams alone.[2]

Early life

Johns was born in 1951 in Liberia. His father was an accountant and his mother was a nurse. Altogether, they had eight children.[3] In an article in the Los Angeles Times, Johns stated that his mother "was always singing or humming while doing housework." Staff writer August Brown stated in that same article that Johns, too, "discovered he had a gift for singing." He "fell in love with American rock and soul artists like Aretha Franklin, Johnnie Taylor, Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Floyd." Brown added that Johns "moved to Paris in 1977 to make records" and "sometimes struggled to earn money, and experienced bouts of homelessness there."

Career

Johns recorded two albums while living in Paris, More Spell on You and Paris Metro.[4][5][6] He also recorded a few singles and EPs.[7] When his musical career in Europe slowed down, he moved to the United States, first to New York and later to California where he currently resides.[8]

"One More Time" sampling

"One More Time" is a song by the French electronic music duo Daft Punk. It was named one of the greatest songs of the decade by Pitchfork, and Rolling Stone named it one of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Mixmag readers voted it the greatest dance record of all time.[9]

Daft Punk at the premiere of Tron: Legacy in Los Angeles, 2010

"One More Time" contains a sample of the 1979 disco song "More Spell on You" by Johns, which is uncredited in the Discovery liner notes.[10][11] An article in Boing Boing stated that "Daft Punk chopped and flipped a disco sample to create One More Time."[12][13]

Johns, who has been destitute for decades, did not receive royalties for the sample. A representative for Daft Punk confirmed the use of the sample and that the duo continued to pay royalties to GM Musipro, the French publishing company that owned the rights to "More Spell on You". A representative of GM Musipro said they had never been able to locate Johns, and that they would follow up on the matter after an investigation by the Los Angeles Times in 2021.[14] Music industry attorney Erin Jacobson stated during that investigation that "smaller artists are more vulnerable to infringements, but it’s a common problem that the rights owner can’t be found, or the record company has gone out of business, or it’s unclear who owns the rights." The substantial royalties available for a musician like Johns could make all the difference in the world regarding his quality of life. As for how much those royalties could be, Jacobson estimated that "a song with that amount of streams would be earning in the high six-to-seven-figure range on streams alone."[15]

Discography

Studio albums

  • More Spell on You (1979)
  • Paris Métro (1980)

Singles

References

  1. ↑ Reid, Sytonia (May 7, 2021). "African musician helped create Daft Punk's 'One More Time' but has never been paid". The Grio. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  2. ↑ Brown, August (2021-05-06). "A homeless LA musician helped create a Daft Punk classic. So why hasn't he seen a dime?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  3. ↑ Brown, August (2021-05-06). "A homeless LA musician helped create a Daft Punk classic. So why hasn't he seen a dime?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  4. ↑ "Eddie Johns - More Spell On You". Discogs. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  5. ↑ "Eddie Johns - Paris Metro". Discogs. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  6. ↑ "More Spell On You". Last.fm. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  7. ↑ "Eddie Johns". Discogs. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  8. ↑ Brown, August (2021-05-06). "A homeless LA musician helped create a Daft Punk classic. So why hasn't he seen a dime?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  9. ↑ "WHAT IS THE GREATEST DANCE TRACK OF ALL TIME?". Mixmag. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  10. ↑ Watson, Elijah C. "Disco Artist Sampled In Daft Punk's "One More Time" Says He Hasn't Received A Dime". Okayplayer. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  11. ↑ "Eddie Johns". WhoSampled. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  12. ↑ Pescovitz, David. "How Daft Punk chopped and flipped a disco sample to create "One More Time"". Boing Boing. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  13. ↑ Wickman, Forrest (January 3, 2014). "How Daft Punk Created One of Their Most Famous Samples". Slate. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  14. ↑ Eede, Christian (May 10, 2021). "ARTIST BEHIND DAFT PUNK 'ONE MORE TIME' LEAD SAMPLE HAS NEVER BEEN PAID". Thrust Publishing Ltd. DJ Mag. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  15. ↑ Brown, August (2021-05-06). "A homeless LA musician helped create a Daft Punk classic. So why hasn't he seen a dime?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
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