R&B Singer Syleena Johnson on the Dedan Tolbert Show

R&B Singer Syleena Johnson on the Dedan Tolbert Show

Tune into The Dedan Tolbert Show, now, five nights a week.

“The
Dedan Tolbert Show” airs Monday – Friday at 9:00pm EST. In addition to
giving expert relationship advice, Dedan will be interviewing the
biggest celebrity guests.

On Thursday, January 22nd, Dedan Tolbert will be joined by R&B singer Syleena Johnson.

Syleena
Johnson counted on her own honesty and real-life experiences to produce
her compelling music. The young Chicago native confronted her own
romantic pitfalls and coming of age story on her debut CD, Chapter 1:
Love, Pain & Forgiveness (Jive Records), which featured guest
appearances by blues guitarist Buddy Guy and contemporary R&B
artist R. Kelly.

Johnson’s soulful rasp, reminiscent of old
school R&B singers, set the tone for her confessional songs about
the pain she endured in a bad relationship with a then-27-year-old man
in 1997. Johnson grew from the experience and put it behind her,
finding strength from a sense of forgiveness and from the spiritual
guidance she received from God. In 2000, Johnson married a former
college basketball player, Marcus Vetts, who became her tour manager.

Johnson
wrote all the songs on her debut CD except her first single, “I Am your
Woman, ” penned by R. Kelly. Johnson began writing songs for her debut
CD at age 20 in 1997 and sent her demo to Wayne Williams, V.P. of
Artist Development at the Chicago office of Jive Records. He signed her
and paved the way for the release of her debut album in May 2001.

Johnson
is the daughter of ’60s R&B/blues singer Syl Johnson, part of the
famed Hi Records roster. She grew up listening to Aretha Franklin, Al
Green, Tina Turner, the Dells, and Mavis Staples. Early on, she
developed a love for music. She performed in local bands in Chicago.
She sang in her church choir at Greater Christian Unity. She worked in
classical and gospel choirs as well as jazz ensembles at Drake
University and at Illinois State University, where she majored in
music. After having nodes removed from her vocal cords, she took two
years of speech therapy. She has seven years of vocal training. All the
hard work made Johnson one of her generation’s most soulful and
realistic R&B singers

Johnson’s latest release is entitled
Chapter 4: Labor Pains and is currently available on iTunes and will be
available in stores on January 13th.

Listen to the show live weekdays at 9:00pm EST by logging onto www.askdedan.com