[2] He left music for a time to study in Houston,[2] returning in 1963 to tour with the Five Du-Tones Revue, in which he imitated Little Johnny Taylor.
[2] His first records for the label, "Don’t Turn Your Back On Me" / "You Told A Lie", followed by "You Did Me Wrong" / "Got You On My Mind", appealed to both blues and deep soul fans,[2] but failed to reach the national charts.
[3] After further singles on Mar-V-Lus, he joined Lou Rawls on a tour of Alaska, before returning to record on the Chi-Town, Minit and Chess labels in the 1960s.
[5] However, he gave priority to live performances rather than recording,[2] and his vocal power and stage presence were said to rival James Brown.
"[4] Sayles worked as a guard at Stateville Prison in the 1970s and 1980s, but returned to singing, guesting on Roy Buchanan's 1987 album Hot Wires and performing with Tommy Jamison's Soul Invaders.