Michael Johnson (singer)

Michael Johnson (singer)
Michael Johnson

Michael Johnson in 2002
Background information
Born August 8, 1944 (1944-08-08) (age 67)
Alamosa, Colorado
Genres Folk, Folk rock, Country, Country folk, Rock and roll, Pop folk, Pop
Occupations Singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, record producer, actor, writer
Instruments Vocals, Classical guitar, Acoustic guitar, Piano
Years active 1957–present
Labels Atco Records, Sanskrit Records, EMI, RCA, Vanguard Records, Atlantic Records, Intersound, American Originals
Website http://www.mjblue.com

Michael Johnson (born August 8, 1944), is an American pop, country and folk singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his 1978 hit song "Bluer Than Blue". To date, he has charted four hits on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, and nine more on the Hot Country Songs charts, including two Number One country hits in 1986's "Give Me Wings" and "The Moon Is Still Over Her Shoulder". He also co-wrote "Cain's Blood", the debut single of 1990s country group 4 Runner.

Contents

Life

Johnson was born in the small town of Alamosa, Colorado, in the south-central part of the state; he grew up in the major metropolitan city of Denver. He started playing the guitar at 13. In 1963, he began attending Colorado State University to study music but his college career was truncated when he won an international talent contest two years later. First prize included a deal with Epic Records. Epic released the song "Hills", written and sung by Johnson, as a single. Johnson began extensive touring of clubs and colleges, finding a receptive audience everywhere he went.

Wishing to hone his instrumental skills, in 1966 he set off for Barcelona, Spain, to the Liceu Conservatory, studying with the eminent classical guitarist, Graciano Tarrago. Upon his return to the States, he joined Randy Sparks in a group called the New Society and did a tour of the Orient. When the band dissolved in 1967, he signed on with the Chad Mitchell Trio for a year, spending some of that time co-writing with another member, John Denver. The group was renamed Denver, Boise & Johnson. When the trio came to an end, Johnson made a radical departure from everything he had done previously by taking on a major supporting role in the off-Broadway production of "Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris." The show visited New York, Los Angeles and Chicago over the next year; by then, Johnson was ready to return to creating and performing his own music.

In 1971, Johnson signed with Atco Records to release his first album, There Is A Breeze, which was released in 1973 and produced by Johnson, Chris Dedrick, Peter Yarrow and Phil Ramone in New York and Toronto, Canada. Feeling this first effort wasn't a true reflection of his music, Johnson self-produced his next LP in 1975, For All You Mad Musicians, relying more on his voice and guitar for a folk feel. He followed this up with Ain't Dis Da Life, where he added a rhythm section. With each new recording and his continued touring, his popularity was increasing. It was time to make a move on the national market.

Teaming up with Brent Maher and Steve Gibson in Nashville, Tennessee, Johnson created a two-song demo consisting of "Bluer Than Blue" and "Almost Like Being in Love" (the latter song from the Broadway musical Brigadoon). EMI America took one listen and wasted no time in signing him, quickly getting The Michael Johnson Album out in 1978. The first single, "Bluer Than Blue", became Johnson's first Top 40 hit, peaking at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the summer of 1978; the song became a chart-topping single on the Adult Contemporary chart. "Almost Like Being in Love" went to #91 on the R&B chart while hitting the Top 5 on the AC chart and the Top 40 on the pop chart. His next EMI album, Dialogue, provided his third big hit, "This Night Won't Last Forever" and a Gold Record for European sales of "I'll Always Love You."

Johnson recorded five albums in all for EMI and in 1985 moved over to RCA, where he adopted a contemporary country style that stayed compatible with his soft, mellow leanings; this shift was evident in his choice of duet partners country-pop singers Juice Newton and Sylvia. Johnson's change proved successful, as he scored five Top Ten country hits from 1986 to 1989, including the chart-toppers "Give Me Wings" and "The Moon Is Still Over Her Shoulder." After two country albums on RCA (plus two greatest hits collections), Johnson moved over to Atlantic Records in 1991, which effectively halted his commercial momentum. He recorded sporadically in the 1990s for smaller labels. In 1995, the country music group 4 Runner scored a minor hit with the single "Cain's Blood", for which Johnson co-wrote an updated version with Jack Sundrud of Poco. Johnson also proved to be a successful writer of print when he wrote "The Solo Performer" columns for the magazine Performing Songwriter from 1993 through 1998.

In August 2007, Johnson underwent successful quadruple bypass heart surgery. A charitable organization, "Friends of Michael Johnson," was temporarily set up to help defray medical expenses.

Discography

Albums

Year Album Chart Positions Label
US Country
[1]
US
[2]
CAN
[3]
1973 There Is a Breeze Atco
1975 For All You Mad Musicians Sanskrit
1977 Ain't Dis Da Life
1978 The Michael Johnson Album 81 83 EMI
1979 Dialogue 157
1980 You Can Call Me Blue
1981 Home Free
1983 Lifetime Guarantee
1986 Wings 26 RCA
1988 That's That
1990 The Best of Michael Johnson
1992 Michael Johnson Atlantic
1995 Departure Vanguard
1997 Then and Now Intersound
1999 The Very Best of Michael Johnson: Bluer Than Blue (1978–1995) Razor & Tie
2000 LIVE at the Bluebird Cafe American Originals
2002 Classic Masters EMI
2005 Always - Roberto Bianco with Michael Johnson Yellow Rose

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions Album
US Country
[4]
US
[5]
US AC
[5]
CAN Country
[6]
CAN
[7]
CAN AC
[8]
1978 "Bluer Than Blue" 12 1 6 1 The Michael Johnson Album
"Almost Like Being in Love"[A] 32 4 40 10
1979 "This Night Won't Last Forever" 19 5 66 9 Dialogue
"I'll Always Love You"
1980 "You Can Call Me Blue" 86 37 You Can Call Me Blue
1986 "Gotta Learn to Love Without You" 12 Wings
"Give Me Wings" 1 3
1987 "The Moon Is Still Over Her Shoulder" 1 2
"Ponies" 26
"Crying Shame" 4 8 That's That
1988 "I Will Whisper Your Name" 7 19
"That's That" 9 *
1989 "Roller Coaster Run (Up Too Slow, Down Too Fast)" 52
1997 "Whenever I Call You Friend" (featuring Alison Krauss) Then and Now
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
* denotes unknown peak positions

Featured singles

Year Single Artist Peak chart
positions
Album
US Country CAN Country
1985 "I Love You by Heart" Sylvia 9 7 One Step Closer

Music videos

Year Video Director
1997 "Whenever I Call You Friend" (w/ Alison Krauss) Tom Bevins

Notes

External links

References

  1. ^ "Michael Johnson Album & Song Chart History - Country Albums". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/michael-johnson/chart-history/2386?f=320&g=Albums. Retrieved September 24, 2010. 
  2. ^ "allmusic ((( Michael Johnson > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p1667/charts-awards. Retrieved September 24, 2010. 
  3. ^ "Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada - Top Albums/CDs". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=cg010r1lheoktbud48dql41hb0&q1=Michael+Johnson&q2=Top+Albums%2FCDs&interval=20. Retrieved September 24, 2010. 
  4. ^ "Michael Johnson Album & Song Chart History - Country Songs". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/michael-johnson/chart-history/2386. Retrieved September 24, 2010. 
  5. ^ a b c "allmusic ((( Michael Johnson > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p1667/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved September 24, 2010. 
  6. ^ "Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada - Country Singles". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=p7bdjelp6jj0gmbfku74avf8m3&q1=Michael+Johnson&q2=Country+Singles&interval=20. Retrieved September 24, 2010. 
  7. ^ "Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada - Top Singles". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=dlh0dmto06cer4hi52pg7db1g1&q1=Michael+Johnson&q2=Top+Singles&interval=20. Retrieved September 24, 2010. 
  8. ^ "Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada - Adult Contemporary". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=g6pkbe7ns82bes6go7a1n5upr4&q1=Michael+Johnson&q2=Adult+Contemporary&interval=20. Retrieved September 24, 2010. 

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Michael Johnson — or Mike Johnson may refer to: Contents 1 Musicians 2 Sports 2.1 American football …   Wikipedia

  • Michael Johnson (drummer) — For other people named Michael Johnson, see Michael Johnson. Michael Johnson Birth name Michael Wayne Johnson Born July 30, 1982 (1982 07 30) (age 29) Origin Orlando, FL; Los Angeles, CA …   Wikipedia

  • Michael 'J' Horn — Michael Horn Birth name Michael Joshua Horn Born October 10, 1979 (1979 10 10) (age 32) Origin Tarpon Springs, FL; Winter Park, FL Genres Pop …   Wikipedia

  • Michael Bublé — Bublé in February 2011 Background information Birth name Michael Steven Bublé Born 9 S …   Wikipedia

  • Michael E. DeBakey — Michael Elias DeBakey Michael Elias DeBakey Born September 7, 1908 (1908 09 07) Lake Charles, Louisiana …   Wikipedia

  • Michael Heidelberger — in 1950 Michael Heidelberger (April 29, 1888 – June 25, 1991)[1] was an American immunologist who is regarded as the father of modern immunology. He and Oswald Avery showed that the polysaccharides of pneumococcus are antigens, enabling h …   Wikipedia

  • Michael Bublé — Datos generales Nombre real Michael Steven Bublé Nacimiento …   Wikipedia Español

  • Michael Allen Harrison — is an American New Age musician, songwriter and pianist from Portland, Oregon. Contents …   Wikipedia

  • Michael Culver — Born 16 June 1938 (1938 06 16) (age 73) Hampstead, London, England, United Kingdom …   Wikipedia

  • Michael Jackson — Datos generales Nacimiento 29 de agosto de 1958 Gary, Indiana …   Wikipedia Español

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”