New Press Release;
Milwaukee music veteran Johnnie Gee seeks respect!
By Tyler Casey
OMC Reporter

Published Aug. 22, 2006 at 5:06 a.m.
He's one of Milwaukee's true musical legends, and now Johnnie Gee is out for respect.

Gee, who has been playing and performing music since the age of 9 and has been recording since the '70s, has been imparting what he's learned on aspiring musicians. "The industry is lost. People don't understand that great music is something that can be enjoyed by everyone," he says He uses his own music as an example. "I make music that you can get married to. You can have babies to it, have parties to it and play it for church-going folks. It's music about love, life and experience. My music has no borders."

Gee has recorded with a wide range of artists through the years. From soul groups to pop acts to modern R&B singers to rappers, he's seen them all. And though he admires the drive of current musicians, he's not always thrilled with what he sees.

"There are no more original artists in Milwaukee. Kids aren't learning to play music anymore, they just recreate it."
As a solution, he supports initiatives like VH1's "Save The Music," which provides funding for music programs in public schools, and urges kids to take music classes while in school. He would also like to see more outreach by his alma mater, The Wisconsin Conservatory of Music.

While he doesn't live a lavish life, Gee says he lives comfortably, with homes in Milwaukee and Cudahy.
"I live very good. Everything's paid for, I don't have any debt and I still get copyright checks from Brunswick Records."

Brunswick Records was a haven for soul artists like The Chi-Lites, Jackie Wilson and Barbara Acklin in the '60s and '70s. It was also the first label to give a teenaged Johnnie Gee a chance when it inked The Step By Step Band, a group consisting of Gee and some neighborhood friends and relatives. The band released its first album "We Always Wanted To Be In The Band" in 1976. After finding out that Brunswick was still putting Step By Step songs on compilations, he reached a settlement with the label and was offered a distribution contract.

Now Gee runs his own Sidetraxx Records imprint. He says he controls every aspect of the music he puts out on Sidetraxx, from the playing and producing to the marketing and packaging of albums. This dedication is something Gee thinks is missing from younger artists, who he says just want to get paid as quickly as possible.

"You have to put something in to get something out. This industry isn't free."

The main thing Gee always emphasizes is the need to control publishing. He says that mix tapes, which hip-hop artists have been making and distributing for a long time, are a false path to success in the music business.

"Those mix tapes are a waste of time because you don't own anything. You don't have to get any label clearances (from samples or other artists making guest appearances) but there's no publishing. Owning your publishing is the only way to truly own your music."

For now, he's got a recently released EP titled "It's A Thinline," which features new material as well as older songs and was just released as a follow up to last year's "One More Time." What he's most proud of after 37 years of playing music is the ability to touch fans young and old.

"Older people remember us, and they're telling their kids, 'This is real music.'"

Brunswick Records to Release Classic Soul Recordings Used to Launch Platinum Albums by Beyonce, Joss Stone and Paul Wall

Top 40 R&B Singles 1966–1975 double disc remastered collection.

New York, NY (PRWEB) August 9, 2006 -- Brunswick Records today announced that on July 11, soul music fans will be able to purchase the long-awaited “Brunswick Top 40 R&B Singles 1966-1975” collection. Brunswick, along with sister label Dakar, was home to some of the greatest R&B artists from the mid 60’s to the mid 70’s, including Tyrone Davis, the Chi-Lites, Barbara Acklin The Young-Holt Unlimited, and The Step By Step Band just to name a few.

From Jackie Wilson’s “Higher & Higher” to Willie Henderson’s “Funky Chicken,” the “Brunswick Top 40 R&B Singles 1966-1975” collection is a treasure trove of very popular and hard to find genuine soul classics. Younger consumers will instantly recognize many of the tracks from recent recordings by Joss Stone, Paul Wall and Beyonce, who sampled the Chi-Lites’ 1970 hit “Are You My Woman (Tell Me So)” to create her Grammy-nominated “Crazy in Love.”

Under the leadership of Nat Tarnopol and Carl Davis, Brunswick rose to become one of the most important R&B labels of the classic soul era. This collection of 40 hit songs is a great representation of the hundreds of gems produced by Brunswick from 1966 to 1975. With over 20 top 10 recordings, six number one smashes and very rare photographs, this double CD set is an automatic staple in every soul music fan’s collection.

Retail giants Wal-Mart and Circuit City will be featuring “Brunswick Top 40 R&B Singles 1966-1975” on sale the day of its release.

Step By Step Band Featuring; Johnnie Gee.

He’s the man in the band who made the Midwest the legendary Northern Soul spot that it is, and he has scored 14 chart songs during his long career, but Johnnie Gee remains something of a “Legend” to many R&B and Soul fans who know his songs by heart but often don’t know the man singing them.

From 1975 – 1981 Johnnie Gee recorded and started his career at the famous Brunswick Records, who at that time had stars like, Barbra Acklin, The Chilites, Bonannon, Tyrone Davis, and many more.

Brunswick Records is set to release their Soul compilation of all the hits from the 70’s
With many songs recorded by, Jackie Wilson, Eugene Records, The Chilites, Step By Step Band, Willie Henderson’s “Funky Chicken,” and many more.

Though his recording career, Johnnie Gee has continued to be one of the most influential soul artists of the last quarter century. The longevity of and increase in his popularity is due in large part to the rare combination of gifts he possessed.

Johnnie Gee started at the young age of 13, with a Brunswick Records, a major record label with top 20 hit records back in the early 70’s and today!

As a producer, song writer, music agent and professional entertainer, Johnnie Gee has kept his chops up for 37 years, and the new EP release is another bar to put on the shoulders of ‘The General of Soul’.

Johnnie Gee is a talented songwriter with the ability to write songs that’s provided, in a secular format, the depth of the most heartfelt Soul music; and he was a remarkable song stylist who defined (or redefined) nearly every song he touched in his career.

At their peak, Johnnie Gee & The Step By Step Band was perhaps the most consistent song writers in Soul Music out of the Midwest. They had the best producer in the business Eddie Parnell, some of the most infectious material of the early 70s and perhaps the smoothest falsetto lead vocalist in Johnnie Gee.

“Cash Money,” “So very near you,” “Roses” and “People” all rocketed up the Pop and Soul charts, and immediately made the Step By Step Band the most sought after Northern Soul & Pop artists around the country in the Mid 70’s.

The group’s seamless harmonies and Johnnie Gee falsetto blended magically with Step By Step's lush production and their smooth style..

By any measurement, Step By Step Band must be considered one of the most important Soul Music groups of the past 30 years. Originally a regionally popular group in the Midwest the group was together for a three years before getting a contract with Brunswick Records.
Their first album on Brunswick Records was titled, 'I Always Wanted To Be In The Band', the LP was a masterpiece highlighted by Eddie Parnell & Benny Clark’s master composition, “Cash Money.”

Formed in the late 60s in Milwaukee, the Step By Step Band first achieved some regional attention in 1971 with the popular song “She's Gone,” most notable for its contrast to the luscious work that they would record a year later with Brunswick Records. Their Brunswick Records eponymous debut was a playful fun song performed by the whole band and vocals by Jerome Gee, Greg Emmerson, Greg McDonald and Johnnie Gee titled: "I Always Wanted To Be In The Band", containing a basket of marvelous compositions by Johnnie Gee, Step By Step and co-writer Benny Clark, that would become soul standards covered by other artists for the next 30 years.

That's why it's important to possess the 1976 10-track Classic Soul LP that spans Johnnie Gee's entire career in bringing you his Brunswick Records hits and best songs for your private collection. This classic LP sell in Japan for $22.00, Dustygrooves.com $14.00, but by acting now you can save $4.00 by purchasing this collector's LP, to pass on thru generations for $12.97.

Visit Johnnie Gee at any of these links:
Johnnie Gee’s, previews, spins, tags and stats;
http://blogs.icerocket.com/search?q=author%3A%22John+Gee%22
Johnnie Gee’s latest press;
http://onmilwaukee.com/music/articles/johnniegee.html

Johnnie Gee New EP release video clip;
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1394443353490961736&hl=en

Johnnie Gee’s Historical video clip;
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1453429009223794048&hl=en

Milwaukee’s Step By Step Band (History)
http://www.onmilwaukee.com/music/bands/band-830.html

Johnnie Gee’s Ringtones:
http://johnniegee.mstore.xingtone.com

Thank, you
Johnnie Gee
P.S, Pick up a copy of the new release,
“Thinline” it’s another soon to be hit!

Watch the video advertisement, get your CD's@
http://www.gecomgroup.net Gecom is havibg a special
pre-sale on the new release "Thinline", buy yours now for only $5.99