Johnny Frierson - Have You Been Good To Yourself?

Light in the Attic collection of Frierson's work.

from the LitA webste:

• Re-mastered from the original cassette
• Never before released on LP or Digital
• Includes download card
• Hand numbered Stoughton “tip-on” jacket
• Liner notes by Memphis native Andria Lisle

Followers of our output might have a pang of recognition on reading the name Frierson. That was the surname of Wendy Rene, whose work was collected into the 2012 LITA anthology After Laughter Comes Tears, and indeed, Johnnie Frierson is Wendy’s brother – a fellow member of her mid-’60s Stax four-piece The Drapels.

But Have You Been Good To Yourself will come as a surprise to anyone expecting more of the beat-driven R&B Johnnie and his sibling produced – including that compilation’s much-sampled title track. A mix of spoken word and gospel songs laid down direct to cassette, these ultra-rare home recordings draw from Johnnie’s religious upbringing and his history in the music business, which was interrupted in 1970 when he was sent to fight in Vietnam.