b. 18 May 1975, Oahu, Hawaii, USA. Over the years, the music usually associated with surfing has been either Beach Boys -styled pop (circa the 60s), or hardcore punk (beginning in the 80s and through to the new millennium). Surfer turned musician Jack Johnson proves to be an exception to the rule, as his relaxed, spacious, and largely acoustic-based music has earned steady comparisons to Ben Harper and has reaped substantial commercial rewards.
Johnson was born on the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii, which naturally led to an interest in surfing at a young age. Just as he entered his teenage years, Johnson began competing in the renowned Masters Tournament, but a near fatal wipe out and subsequent recovery put his surfing career on hold. During the interim, Johnson studied at UCSB and became interested in film making, as well as music. Johnson’s musical break came when friend/recording artist Garrett Dutton III of G Love And Special Sauce recorded one of Johnson’s original compositions, ‘Rodeo Clowns’, for his 1999 release, Philadelphonic. It was also around this time that a pair of surf documentaries that Johnson was involved in came out, Thicker Than Water and The September Sessions.
Working with Ben Harper’s long-time producer, J.P. Plunier, Johnson issued his debut album, Brushfire Fairytales, in early 2001, with Harper making a guest appearance on ‘Flake’. The album proved to be a steady seller and was particularly popular on the college circuit, eventually attaining platinum sales status. For the album’s subsequent tour, Adam Topol (drums) and Merlo Podlewski (bass) joined Johnson on stage. Another enjoyable collection, On And On, followed in 2003 on the artist’s own label The Moonshine Conspiracy (via Universal), with Johnson staying true to the feel good vibe and relaxed, acoustic grooves that characterised his debut album.
Johnson’s growing mainstream popularity was confirmed at the start of 2005 when his third album, In Between Dreams, on the retitled Brushfire Records label, reached the US Top 5 and was also a major international hit. The film soundtrack Sing-A-Longs And Lullabies For The Film Curious George, which featured Johnson duetting with artists including Harper, G. Love and Matt Costa, topped the US charts at the start of the following year. Brushfire subsequently issued albums by G. Love And Special Sauce, Costa, Money Mark, Donavon Frankenreiter and Rogue Wave, as well as Johnson’s fifth album, Sleep Through The Static, which became the artist’s first US chart-topper in March 2008.
