Jesse Johnson - I Want My Girl

Best-known as the guitarist for Morris Day and the Time, Johnson signed a solo deal with A&M Records when the group broke up in 1984.  His first album, Jesse Johnson's Revue came out the following year, and  reached #43 on the album charts.

Johnson's material was typical of the Minneapolis pop/funk sound of the day; a less charitable author might call it Prince light.  Still, it is very listenable music, though it does not break any new ground.

For the blog, we went with "I Want My Girl," a slow jam classic.  The song only reached #76 on the pop charts, but did top out at #7 on the R&B charts.  Johnson released two more charting albums in the 1980s, and had 4 top 100 singles led by 1986's "Crazay," with Sly Stone, which hit #53.

As his solo career faded , Johnson became involved in movie soundtracks and album production -- his credits include records by Paula Abdul and Janet Jackson.  Although Johnson has taken several hiatuses (is that a word) from the music industry, he appears to be active as of this writing.