(August 10, 2021) Singer and songwriter General Johnson was a mainstay on the charts in the early and mid-1970s, scoring hits as lead singer for The Chairmen of the Board and writing chart toppers for Honey Cone and Clarence Carter. One of his best songs, “Only Love Can Mend a Broken Heart,” didn’t become a big hit. Yet, the track is an excellent example of the musical storytelling heard in Southern Soul music.
Vocalist Darryl Johnson, a singer who possesses a soaring tenor that is equal part church house and roadhouse, said that he’s always been attracted to General Johnson’s ability to tell a story, and so he jumped at the chance to take on this underappreciated gem from the General Johnson catalog. And Darryl Johnson does justice to this tune that finds him telling a lady that love is the only cure for heartbreak.
The tune has that fusion of R&B, soul with country music’s penchant for descriptive storytelling and apt metaphor that is the signature of the Southern Soul genre. Darryl Johnson brings more than three decades of performing with General Johnson, the Original Drifters, Kathy Kosins and others, and that experience serves him well on this track . Check out Darryl Johnson’s take on this classic cut.
By Howard Dukes
Darryl Johnson
“Only Love Can Mend A Broken Heart”
