Johnnie Frierson

Johnnie Frierson (June 25, 1945 – April 20, 2010) was an American soul and gospel singer and songwriter from Memphis, Tennessee. After a short-lived musical career with Stax Records, he served in the U.S. Army and worked as a mechanic, carpenter, and teacher. In the 1990s, he produced homemade cassette recordings of gospel-inspired songs, which were posthumously reissued as Have You Been Good to Yourself in 2016.

Early life Johnnie Frierson was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1945.

He learned to play guitar early on and began singing in church at the Church of God in Christ and performing with touring gospel groups on weekends, including the O.V. Wright-led Sunset Travelers. His first recording was as the guitarist on the Sunset Travelers single "On Jesus' Program."

Stax Records and the 1960s As a teenager, Frierson joined up with his younger sister, Mary, and their friends Marianne Brittenum and Wilbur Mondie to form the Drapels. They auditioned with Jim Stewart at Stax Records in 1963, and were offered a recording contract on the spot. The Drapels released two singles, "Wondering"/"Please Don't Leave" and "Young Man"/"Your Love Is All I Need," in 1964.

Military service and later years In 1970, Frierson was drafted to serve in the Vietnam War with the U.S. Army. The experience left him with post-traumatic stress disorder that would haunt him throughout his life.

After returning to Memphis, Frierson largely stayed out of the music business, only releasing one song, the 1975 gospel single "Can You Lose by Following God," as part of the band Whole Truth.

Another blow came in 1986, when his son died at only 16 years old. A few years later, in 1990, Frierson witnessed a brutal shooting that also scarred him.

Meanwhile, his early co-written soul tune "After Laughter (Comes Tears)" was given a second life. It was remixed by the Wu-Tang Clan as "Tearz" in 1993, and Alicia Keys also sampled the song for "Where Do We Go From Here" in 2007.

Have You Been Good to Yourself In 2012, his cassette tapes Real Education and Have You Been Good to Yourself were discovered at a thrift store by a local music collector, who recommended them to Light in the Attic Records, a label that specializes in reissues.

The song "Miracles" from the album was covered by Bonnie "Prince" Billy and Bill Callahan on their 2021 collaborative album Blind Date Party, featuring multi-instrumentalist Ty Segall. The song "Heavenly Father, You've Been Good" is sampled in Kanye West's 2026 song "Father" featuring Travis Scott.