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Jack Johnson (musician)

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Template:Infobox musical artst Jack Johnson (born Jack Hody Johnson, May 18, 1975) [1] is a Hawaii-born musician who has achieved commercial success and a dedicated following since the release of his debut album, Brushfire Fairytales. His latest album is Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George. He is soon to be engaged to Mary Beth Hemler.


Introduction to music

Jack Johnson was a professional surfer until an accident in which his front teeth were knocked out and he received more than 150 stitches to his mouth and forehead. While he was recovering in bed, he spent his time writing songs and playing guitar. He was also a keen skateboarder, and learned how to surf and skate from his father's best friend Alex Conwell. Alex also taught Jack to play the guitar. Johnson learned to play guitar at age 14, but did not seriously pursue a career in the arts until his college years at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he graduated with a degree in film and met his wife, Kim, a Waco, Texas, native. There, he played rhythm guitar for the hippie rock group "Soil." In his time off after graduating, Jack traveled.

Music

While striking friendships with Garrett Dutton of the blues/hip-hop group G. Love & Special Sauce, Johnson recorded the song "Rodeo Clowns." It was included on the group's 1999 album, Philadelphonic, and was also later released on Johnson's second album, On and On (2003).

In 2000, Johnson co-directed the surfing documentary Thicker than Water with film school classmate Chris Malloy. Johnson was featured in the film and contributed to its soundtrack album, which also featured appearances by G. Love & Special Sauce and Matt Costa.

Folk/reggae musician Ben Harper also took Johnson under his wing after hearing his music. Johnson's first album, Brushfire Fairytales, was produced by Harper's producer and fellow surfer, JP Plunier, and was released in 2001. For the album, Johnson formed a regular backing band, consisting of Adam Topol on drums/percussions and Merlo Podlewski on bass. Fairytales helped launched Johnson's music career and he gained much publicity from his subsequent tour with Harper.

After touring for almost two years, Johnson recorded On and On to generally favorable reviews in late 2003. It was produced by Mario Caldato, Jr., best known for his work with the Beastie Boys. Many of the album's songs had previously been released on bootlegs, such as J.O.A.T. and B.O.A.T., but now received the accompaniment of a full band.

His third studio album, In Between Dreams, also produced by Caldato, was released on March 1, 2005. For the album, Johnson started his own label called Brushfire Records. A studio, The Mango Tree, was built in Hawaii by Johnson's brother to facilitate the new record label. More than a year later, the album was still on the charts, where it was positioned at #3 (March 21, 2006).[citation needed]

Also released in 2006 was Johnson's Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George, a soundtrack album for the animated feature-length adaptation of the H.A. and Margret Rey children's books. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200, making it the first animated film soundtrack to do so in over ten years. The album, credited to "Jack Johnson and Friends," includes the playing of Johnson regulars Topol and Podlewski, as well as guest appearances by G. Love, Harper, Costa, and Kawika Kahiapo. It was produced by Johnson and Robert Carranza,

Johnson was featured on the Sublime tribute album Look at All the Love We Found, and was on Handsome Boy Modeling School's White People, released in 2004. In 2005, he appeared on the Black Eyed Peas album Monkey Business on the track "Gone Going," which was in effect a remix of Johnson's own song "Gone" from On and On.

In February 2006, he won a Brit Award for Best International Newcomer, beating out The Pussycat Dolls, John Legend, Arcade Fire and Daniel Powter. In May 2006, In Between Dreams surpassed one and a half million sales in the UK.

In late 2006, the DVD version of A Brokedown Melody, the 2004 surfing documentary directed by Chris Malloy, was released. As with Thicker than Water, Johnson starred in the film (as did renowned professional surfer Kelly Slater), and helped create the soundtrack album, which was released a month before the DVD.

Discography

Albums

Soundtracks and EPs

Virtual albums

Unofficial bootlegs

Concert DVDs

Trivia

  • Before signing with Brushfire records, Johnson belonged to an unsigned band by the name of "Ahaiiluo" the Hawaiian word for love. Other Members of the band included bassist Andrew Campbell and back-up guitarist Brian Robillard who now plays with musician Mason Jennings.
  • In the music video for "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing", everything happens in reverse. Johnson is pelted with various objects and liquids are dumped over his head, but everything appears to fly away from him as the video plays backward from the way it was filmed. In order to achieve this, Johnson learned to mouth all of the lyrics to the song backwards.
  • The music video for his song "Taylor" features a guest appearance from actor Ben Stiller.
  • The song "Do You Remember" on the In Between Dreams album is a true story about how he met his wife.
  • Johnson likes to perform barefoot on stage, making a trend followed by many of his fans. In fact, Saturday Night Live spoofed his habit with a fake commercial selling (Jack Johnson) J.J. casuals.- Shoes that look like feet.
  • The German singer-songwriter Ingo Pohlmann makes reference to Jack Johnson in his song "Wenn jetzt Sommer wär".
  • In the song "Bubbletoes", he mentions how he met his wife at the DLG. The DLG (or De La Guerra) is a dining hall located at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Singles

Year Title Chart Positions Album
US Hot 100 U.S. Modern Rock UK Singles Chart
2002 "Flake" #73 #22 - Brushfire Fairytales
2002 "Bubble Toes" - #39 - Brushfire Fairytales
2003 "The Horizon Has Been Defeated" - #31 - On and On
2004 "Taylor" - - - On and On
2004 "Wasting Time" - - On and On
2005 "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing" #66 #25 #65 In Between Dreams
2005 "Good People" - #29 #50 In Between Dreams
2005 "Breakdown" - #40 #7 In Between Dreams
2005 "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing"
[UK Re-Release] 		- - #65 In Between Dreams
2006 "Better Together" - - #24 In Between Dreams
2006 "Upside Down" #38 #25 #30 Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George / Soundtrack of the Curious George movie

"Sitting, Waiting, Wishing" re-issue

The single, "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing" only became a chart hit in the United Kingdom, after the re-release climbed into the Top 10 following Jack Johnson's exposure on the 2006 Brit Awards on ITV 1. The single climbed to hit status a week before the release of "Better Together". Both the original release and indeed the re-issue had failed to chart until this point.

Johnson: "A friend of mine was trying to get this girl, and I tried to write a song that would help him have a laugh at himself because he was spending so much time trying to get her and it obviously wasn't leading anywhere. That was one just to cheer up a friend." (thanks, Jerry R - da 561, FL)

Other projects

Jack Johnson also owns Brushfire Records which released the soundtracks for the aforementioned films. Other artists on that label include Matt Costa, Animal Liberation Orchestra, and G. Love & Special Sauce.

In 2004, Johnson co-founded the Kokua Hawaii Foundation, wich is a non-profit organization that supports environmental education in the schools and communities of Hawaii. The Kokua Festival is the Kokua Hawaii Foundation's annual benefit event that brings together environmental organizations, eco-friendly businesses, musicians, artists, teachers, and community leaders to promote environmental awareness in Hawaii.

See also

Wikiquote has quotations related to Jack Johnson.

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