Thunder Thumbs, Lightnin’ Licks and the Quincy Jones connection

Nicknames tell you plenty about George and Louis Johnson. George was “Lightnin’ Licks” on guitar and Louis was “Thunder Thumbs” on bass, and they even named an instrumental after the pair. As teenagers in Los Angeles they formed a band with their older brother Tommy and cousin Alex Weir. When they turned professional they backed touring R&B acts such as Bobby Womack and the Supremes, and later joined Billy Preston’s band.

Quincy Jones is the name that runs through the story. He hired them to play on his album Mellow Madness and recorded four of their songs. He also took them on tour in Japan and produced their debut, Look Out for #1, released in March 1976, which reached number 9 on the Billboard chart. Right on Time followed in 1977 at number 13, and Blam!! in 1978 at number 7. Jones also co-wrote one of their funk tracks, “Get the Funk Out Ma Face”.

The singles carried the hits. “I’ll Be Good to You” reached number 3 on the Hot 100 in 1976 with Syreeta Wright prominent on the record. “Strawberry Letter 23”, originally recorded by Shuggie Otis, reached number 5 the next year. “Stomp!” went to number 7 and topped the dance club chart in 1980. All three also reached number one on the R&B charts. Each album carried at least one instrumental, some leaning toward light jazz and others toward pure funk. Light Up the Night rose to number 5 on the Billboard 200 in 1980.

The duo split in 1982. Louis played bass on Michael Jackson’s Thriller, recorded a gospel album with his own group, Passage, and later started a bass academy that taught through workshops and his own website. He died on May 21, 2015, at the age of 60. George released a single in 1985 on Quincy Jones’s own label, Qwest. Brothers who began as hired hands ended up with their own place in funk.