Chicago house legend Paul Johnson has died aged 50

Sad Times! Chicago house legend Paul Johnson has died aged 50 after contracting COVID-19.

Paul Johnson was born and raised on the south side of Chicago, the birthplace of house music where he started DJing in the mid-80s and started producing in 1990. He produced and released over 445 E.P’s for some of the most consistent labels like Dance Mania, Cajual, Relief, Dusttraxx, Peacefrog and Moody Recordings which sold over 3.5 million copies of his 1999’s  hit record ‘Get Get Down’ worldwide. His remix work and collaborations with Destiny’s Child, Jon B, Steve “Silk” Hurley, DJ Skip, Ce Ce Peniston, Daft Punk, DJ Sneak, K-Alexi, Stacy Kidd, Joey Beltram, Green Velvet, Armando and Ron Trent made its way into all the big jocks boxes and remain there to this day.

A post on his official Facebook page writes: “Our greatness passed away this morning at 9am the house music legend we all know as PJ aka PAUL JOHNSON has passed away in this day of AUGUST 4th 2021. Rest In Heaven Paul.”

Johnson has released many singles which have made it to many countries top 50 billboards and higher. “He’s a hit-making machine” say’s Yellow Records CEO Bob Sinclar and he’s shown so many artists the way. Much respect to everything that Paul Johnson has done for house music.

He was paralysed from the waist down after being shot in 1987 and used a wheelchair. In 2003 he had his left leg amputated after being hospitalised in Chicago with severe pains in his lower extremities, and in 2010 he lost his right leg after a serious accident.

Johnson didn’t let his disability stop him from being an active club DJ and producer. He still toured the world to DJ in clubs, and his release schedule stayed regular from the start of his career through to 2021.

Our thoughts are with his friends and family. RIP Paul.