Jack Johnson (born May 18, 1975), a Hawaii-born singer/songwriter, achieved a moderate level of fame in late 2001 with his debut album, Brushfire Fairytales.
Johnson had been a professional surfer until an accident forced him to take some time off. He learned to play guitar at age 14, but did not seriously pursue a career in the arts until his college years at University of California at Santa Barbara, where he graduated with a degree in film. His music caught the ear of Ben Harper's producer/manager J.P. Plunier. Plunier pushed Johnson to record formal demos, eventually leading to the release of Brushfire Fairytales in 2001.
After touring for almost two years, Johnson released his second album, On and On to generally favorable reviews in late 2003. Many of the songs on On and On had previously been released on bootlegs, such as J.O.A.T. and B.O.A.T. , but received the accompaniment of a full band on the new album, which included Adam Topol on drums and Merlo Podlewski on bass guitar (both these musicians form Johnsons back up on all his releases).
Johnson's interest in surfing also led him to produce and score multiple surfing films; among these September Sessions and Thicker Than Water were released on CD/DVD between the release of Brushfire Fairytales and On and On. Johnson has also appeared in the surf film Shelter, made by his manager, Emmett Malloy.
His third studio album, titled In Between Dreams, was released on March 1, 2005. Though shunned by the likes of "Rolling Stone" Magazine, Johnson's latest album continues his tradition of upbeat acoustic rock that has been a welcome contrast to much of the angst-ridden hardcore rock that became popular around the same time as his accent to notoriety.
Discography
Albums
EPs and Videos
- September Sessions
- Thicker Than Water
- Taylor EP
Hit singles (in chronological order)
- Flake (featuring Ben Harper on Lap Steel Guitar)
- Bubble Toes
- The Horizon Has Been Defeated
- Taylor
- Sitting, Waiting, Wishing
Unofficial bootlegs
External links