Jack Johnson is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, record producer, and former
professional surfer. Johnson is known primarily for his work in the soft rock and acoustic
genres. In 2001, he achieved commercial success after the release of his debut album, Brushfire
Fairytales. He has since released five more albums, a number of EPs and surfing movies/soundtracks.
He is also known for organizing an annual event, the Kōkua Festival. Notable songs
from Johnson's repertoire include "Upside Down"; "Flake"; "I Got You"; "Sitting, Waiting,
Wishing"; "If I Had Eyes"; "You and Your Heart"; "Taylor"; "Better Together; "Good People";
and "Breakdown."
Early life Jack Johnson was born and raised on the North
Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. The son of well-known surfer Jeff Johnson, he took an interest in
his father's profession. Jack began to learn how to surf at the age of 5. At 17, he became
the youngest invitee to make the surfing finals at the Pipeline Masters on Oahu's North Shore.
One week later, however, his stint as a professional surfer ended when he suffered a surfing accident
at the Pipeline that put more than 150 stitches in his forehead and removed a few of his teeth;
this later became the inspiration for the song "Drink the Water".
Jack Johnson graduated from Kahuku High School on Oahu. He would later attend the University
of California, Santa Barbara, and graduated with a degree in film and music production.
While Johnson learned the guitar at the age of 8 and started songwriting at the age of
12, his passion for music grew when he played rhythm guitar for the band Soil in college.
Johnson credits his songwriting influences as Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Radiohead, Otis
Redding, G. Love and Special Sauce, Ben Harper, Sublime, The Beatles, Bob Marley, Neil Young,
and A Tribe Called Quest. Johnson names Jimi Hendrix as his all-time favorite guitarist.
Career 2000–03: Brushfire Fairytales and On and
On Jack Johnson's big break was writing and contributing
vocals for the song "Rodeo Clowns" which was featured on G. Love's 1999 album Philadelphonic.
The song would later become the most famous single of the album.
In addition to his later success as a musician, Johnson is also an accomplished filmmaker.
Johnson directed the surf films Thicker Than Water and The September Sessions, in which
he also starred. Both movie soundtracks were also products of Johnson. Johnson also starred
in the 2004 surf film A Brokedown Melody. Suela released a four track demo that caught
the attention of Ben Harper's producer, J. P. Plunier, who worked with Johnson on his
debut album Brushfire Fairytales in early 2001 with Harper and his Weissenborn lap steel
guitar making a guest appearance. Brushfire Fairytales was released on February 1, 2001.
Johnson went back into the studio with Adam Topol and Merlo Podlewski, who played on Brushfire
Fairytales, and Mario Caldato Jr on production duties, to record his second full-length album
On and On. It was the first album to be recorded at Johnson's Mango Tree Studio in Johnson's
home town of North Shore, Oahu, and the first to be released through The Moonshine Conspiracy
Records. On and On was released on May 6, 2003.
2004–09: In Between Dreams, Curious George, and Sleep Through the Static
In October 2004, Johnson returned to the Mango Tree Studio with Topol and Podlewski along
with Zach Gill playing accordion, melodica and piano, to record his follow-up to 2003's
On and On. In Between Dreams was released on March 1, 2005.
Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George is a soundtrack album by Johnson, released
on February 7, 2006. The album also features Ben Harper, G. Love, , Merlo Podlewski and
Zach Gill. It was the first soundtrack to make it to number 1 since the Bad Boys II
soundtrack in August 2003, and was the first soundtrack for an animated film to top the
Billboard 200 since the Pocahontas soundtrack in July 1995.
Johnson enlisted J.P. Plunier to produce his fourth full-length studio album, Sleep Through
the Static. It was recorded using 100% solar energy at the Solar-Powered Plastic Plant
studio in Los Angeles. The album featured Gill, Podlewski and Topol. Sleep Through the
Static was released on February 1, 2008, and was followed by a world tour.
A live album and DVD of Johnson's 2008 world tour, entitled En Concert, was released on
October 27, 2009. The DVD was directed by Emmett Malloy.
Johnson spearheaded the Kōkua Festivals. Often occurring around Earth Day, these six
years of festivals provided support for the Kōkua Hawai'i Foundation, which is a charitable
organisation that supports environmental education in the schools and communities of Hawaii.
Kōkua Festival 2004/2005 was a DVD released by Jack Johnson Music that showcased the early
Kōkua Festivals. He also participated, with Willie Nelson, Jackson Browne, Dave Matthews,
Eddie Vedder and others, in the documentary Kōkua 2008: 5 Years of Change, produced by
Brushfire and Three Foot Giant Productions and shown on Sundance Channel. On April 17,
2012, preceding his 2012 Hawaiian Islands tour, he released the live Kōkua Festival
compilation Best of Kōkua Festival. Johnson produced Animal Liberation Orchestra's
fifth studio album, Man of the World, which was released February 9, 2010. The album also
features vocals from Johnson. 2010: To the Sea
On 1 February 2010, Johnson's official website announced that his fifth studio album, To
the Sea, was in the recording process at the Mango Tree Studio, with a planned worldwide
release during the first week of June 2010. The website also announced an accompanying
European, Australian and New Zealand tour to coincide with the album's release on midnight
31 May. The first single from To the Sea is "You and
Your Heart", released on April 6, 2010. While speaking with New Zealand radio station
ZM, Johnson said he is constantly aiming to build relationships with local pro-environment,
non-profit groups. "We try to raise money for a lot of these groups who are doing positive
things in the community. We try to focus mostly on environmental education, just trying to
get kids out into nature, supporting local farms and things like that."
Johnson embarked on a world tour in 2010 with Paula Fuga, a Hawaiian vocalist, playing at
a range of venues across the world including Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, USA
and Japan. 2012: Hawaiian Islands tour
On February 22, 2012, Jack with John Cruz and Paula Fuga announced a 7-show acoustic
tour of the Hawaiian Islands during April. At the Stan Sheriff Center on April 14, 2012,
during the Pillars of Peace Hawai'i: Building Peace on a Foundation of Aloha, Johnson performed
introductory music before Nobel Peace Laureate Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the 14th Dalai
Lama of Tibet, gave the speech "Educating the Heart". Better Together was one of several
songs Jack performed. 2013: Bonnaroo, From Here to Now to You, and
present Johnson has released a new album From Here
to Now to You with his band which was released on September 17, 2013. On June 15, 2013, Jack
and the Band performed as headliners at the 2013 Bonnaroo in Tennessee. He also played
two acoustic concerts, one at London’s Tabernacle in Notting Hill and the other at New York
City’s Allen Room at Lincoln Center overlooking Central Park, featuring songs from his upcoming
album. The From Here To Now To You tour ran from March through September 2014.
Personal life On July 22, 2000, Johnson married his college
sweetheart Kim. They have three children: two boys and a girl. Johnson lives on the
North Shore of the island of Oahu in Hawaii. In an interview with Johnson, Ann Donahue
from Billboard described Johnson's family life by saying “There is often trouble in
balancing the life of an artist, environmentalist, and family man, but Johnson seems to have
the niche for such a challenge. This time around, he's found a pace that agrees with
him…bringing his family along so he can spend mornings with them sightseeing.” Both
Johnson and his wife refuse to talk about or release any intimate information concerning
their children. Charity
In 2008, Johnson and his wife Kim created the Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation, a
non-profit public charity supporting environmental, art, and music education worldwide. Jack and
Kim Johnson also founded the Kokua Hawaii Foundation in 2003. Johnson and his family
work hard every year at festivals and concerts alike, to raise money for causes they feel
are most important. Johnson recorded a cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" for the 2007 benefit
album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur, which was also included
on the 2009 benefit album Rhythms del Mundo Classics. In talking about Johnson and his
career choices, Rolling Stone wrote: "It is a typically generous move from Johnson, who
has used his multi-platinum success to support causes he cares about.” Although the Johnson
Ohana Charitable Foundation is a non-profit organization that “focuses on environmental,
arts and music education,” it has raised more than $750,000 from 2009 to 2010 to give
away. Johnson was in Osaka, Japan on his To The Sea 2010 World Tour at the time of the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan. He was in a hotel with his family when
it struck. After having to postpone the rest of his tour, he donated $50,000 to GlobalGiving's
Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund. Johnson's Ohana Charitable Foundation has
also supported Little Kids Rock, a national nonprofit that works to restore and revitalize
music education in disadvantaged U.S. public schools. He also decorated a guitar for Little
Kids Rock to auction to raise funds for its program.
On September 22, 2012, he donated his time to play a few songs at Farm Aid 2012 in Hershey,
PA. Later in 2012, Jack donated $50,000 for Hurricane Sandy relief and added links on
his website for others to donate: "After years of touring and surfing along
the East Coast, I have made so many great friends. It is heartbreaking to see the images
and hear their stories. I just made donations to help recover and relief efforts for Hurricane
Sandy. Below is a list of groups you can support. If you can't donate money, you can donate
food, supplies or your time. Our East Coast family, friends and neighbors need our help.
Aloha- Jack" Band members
Johnson's band is composed of: Jack Johnson – Vocals, guitar
Adam Topol – Drums, percussion Merlo Podlewski – Bass
Zach Gill – Piano, percussion, background vocals, accordion
Discography
Studio albums Brushfire Fairytales
On and On In Between Dreams
Sleep Through the Static To the Sea
From Here to Now to You Filmography
List of awards and nominations received See also
List of singer-songwriters References
External links Official website
Live recordings by Jack Johnson at the Internet Archive
"Jack Johnson sheet music".