Eddie Johns, whose 1979 track More Spell On You was sampled by Daft Punk for their hit single One More Time , has never received royalties from the French duo s track.
Johns story has been uncovered in a new profile by the Los Angeles Times, who tracked him down in LA, where he s been living in a supportive housing facility after struggling with homelessness for over a decade. Johns suffered a stroke ten years ago, which left him unable to work. I help Eddie use the computer sometimes, and he showed me some of his music, Johns case manager Alyssa Cash told the Los Angeles Times. He showed me his album cover, and when I found this video talking about how it was sampled by Daft Punk, it was like a lightbulb went off. That s Eddie, this is his song.
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On the night of Jan. 26, 2014, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo of Daft Punk leapt onto the stage at Staples Center to accept the Grammy for album of the year.
Even though the French electronic duo’s faces were hidden behind white and gold robot masks, they couldn’t hide their elation as they waved back to cheers from Jay-Z, Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar. Their album “Random Access Memories” and its smash single “Get Lucky” were crowning achievements in a career of immaculately produced dance music, played at pop-star scale.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the flatlands of L.A., far from the limos and gowns at Staples Center, Eddie Johns bedded down for the night.