Syl Johnson: Any Way the Wind Blows is a portrait of an overlooked yet hugely influential African-American musician whose 60-year career spanned the blues, soul, and funk. In spite of enjoying success in Chicago in the 1960s with songs like “Come On Sock It To Me” and “Is It Because I’m Black,” and recording with the same band and producer as Al Green in Memphis in the ‘70s, Johnson remained largely unknown. Soon, his career was seemingly over, and Johnson found himself briefly managing a chain of fish fries. Then, in the 1980s, his 1967 song “Different Strokes” started being sampled by dozens of hip-hop artists including Run-DMC, Public Enemy, NWA, the Beastie Boys, and Wu-Tang Clan. Ironically, because of all this sampling, Johnson was finally able to make a living off his song library—by suing for royalties. The release of a comprehensive boxed set in 2010 finally brought him his first Grammy nomination and the attention from the music community that he’d always deserved. With fiery concert footage from then and now, and a funky, energetic soundtrack, Any Way the Wind Blows satisfyingly demonstrates how talent and perseverance can prevail in the end.