John Earl Sayles Jr. (February 9, 1937 – August 17, 1993),[1] known as Johnny Sayles, was an American R&B and soul singer.
Sayles was born in Winnsboro, Texas, United States.[2] Around 1955, he moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where he sang with Eugene Neal’s Rocking Kings, and with Ike Turner's band, the Kings of Rhythm.[2] In 1959, he formed the Johnny Sayles Band, who played at Chuck Berry's Paradise Club.[2] He left music for a time to study in Houston,[2] returning in 1963 to tour with the Five Du-Tones Revue, in which he imitated Little Johnny Taylor.[3][4]
When the tour reached Chicago, Sayles settled there and signed a recording deal with the Mar-V-Lus record label run by George Leaner.[2] His first records for the label, "Don’t Turn Your Back On Me" / "You Told A Lie", followed by "You Did Me Wrong" / "Got You On My Mind", appealed to both blues and deep soul fans,[2] but failed to reach the national charts.[3] After further singles on Mar-V-Lus, he joined Lou Rawls on a tour of Alaska, before returning to record on the Chi-Town, Minit and Chess labels in the 1960s.[5] His song "Anything For You" was released in the UK and became a favorite on the Northern soul scene.[3]
In the late 1960s, he recorded for Dakar Records, releasing an LP, Man On The Inside, in 1973,[2] and in the early 1970s recorded on the Brunswick label.[5] However, he gave priority to live performances rather than recording,[2] and his vocal power and stage presence were said to rival James Brown.[3] Writer Robert Pruter described him as "one of the most exciting singers I've ever seen."[4] Sayles worked as a guard at Stateville Prison in the 1970s and 1980s, but returned to singing, guesting on Roy Buchanan's 1987 album Hot Wires and performing with Tommy Jamison's Soul Invaders.[4]
Sayles died from a heart attack in 1993, in Hazel Crest, Illinois, aged 56.[4][6]