Jack Johnson

When one thinks of Hawaiian born singer songwriter Jack Johnson - ‘One’ by Metallica should certainly not spring to mind. Who would have thought that the pro surfer turned acoustic guitar wielding minstrel would have learnt to play guitar because of that song by that metal band. Oh well funny how things turn out!

Born May 18, 1974, Jack Johnson was brought up on the North Shore of Oahu Hawaii and began playing guitar when he was 14. Once a professional surfer, Johnson was badly injured in a surf related accident in which he broke his wrist, knocked two of his front teeth out and ended up scoring nearly 200 stitches to his mouth and forehead. It was a blessing in disguise as whilst in hospital his debut album ‘Brushfire Fairytales’ would slowly come to be, as he began writing songs whilst couped up in bed.

It wasn’t until Ben Harper (of Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals) took him in and nurtured the songwriter who had not decided to pursue a career in music until he graduated college with a degree in film. ‘Brushfire Fairytales’ would set the benchmark for surforama acoustic music and see Johnson tour for a solid two years. Johnson had co-directed the surf film ‘Thicker Than Water’ in 1997-98 of which he had composed the soundtrack, so this album was also released around the same time of ‘Brushfire Fairytales’, gaining the songwriter even more notoriety in the purist surf circles along with his mainstream fans.

His followup album ‘On and On’ was released in 2003 to critical and commercial success.  This new album contained many tracks that had been previously ‘released’ via bootlegs such as J.O.A.T. and B.O.A.T. ‘On and On’ contained Johnson’s familiar soft spoken whisperings, yet this time accompanied by a full band, in the form of Adam Topol on drums and bassist Merlo Podlewski.

His third album ‘In Between Dreams’ was released to mixed reviews from the press but was widely received as one of his best albums. Released in March 2005, ‘In Between Dreams’ has sold over 2million records and still counting.

The animated film ‘Curious George’ featured original songs by Jack Johnson who is the primary artist on the soundtrack.

Johnson has scored and produced the surf films ‘Thicker Than Water’, ‘September Sessions’ and appeared in the films ‘Shelter’ and ‘Sprout’. He also owns the records label Brushfire Records.

Discography –
Brushfire Fairytales – 2001 (Enjoy Records)
On And On – 2003 (Island)
In Between Dreams - 2005 (Universal)
Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George -2006 (Brushfire/Island)