Jack Johnson

Vinyl Discography:

Biography:

Jack Johnson, a professional surfer turned rocker, rose to fame in the 2000s with his easygoing, acoustic singer-songwriter style characterized by a modest voice and a mellow, beach-bum attitude. This combination proved particularly commercially successful, with his first five major-label albums all achieving platinum status, the most critically acclaimed being 2005's In Between Dreams. While he wasn't as prolific, he continued to find success in the 2010s with critically acclaimed albums like From Here to Now to You (2013) and All the Light Above It Too (2017). While Johnson carved out a mellow niche, he didn't necessarily slow down: for his 2022 album Meet the Moonlight, he collaborated with Blake Mills, an indie producer and guitarist who helped Johnson maintain his light touch while allowing him to stretch his creative boundaries. This experimental approach carries over into his next project, a 2023 collection of dub remixes by icons like Mad Professor and Lee “Scratch” Perry.

Before Jack Johnson became the 21st-century kingpin of beachside pop/rock, he was a professional surfing champion. The sport was second nature to the Hawaiian, who began chasing waves as a toddler and by 17 had become a standout athlete on the Banzai Pipeline. However, Johnson was also exploring other creative outlets—particularly film and music—and a serious surfing accident during his first professional competition convinced him to devote more time to these landlocked hobbies. While studying film at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Johnson collaborated with friends Chris Malloy and Emmett Malloy to produce a surfing documentary titled Thicker Than Water. While the project showcased Johnson's directing talents, it also showcased his songwriting talent, and the accompanying soundtrack featured several of his original songs. "Thicker Than Water" was named Surfer Magazine's Video of the Year in 2000 and paved the way for a second surf film, "The September Sessions." Meanwhile, Johnson began receiving similar attention for his songs, one of which was covered by G. Love & Special Sauce on the band's 1999 album Philadelphonic. Shortly after, Johnson's demo material caught the interest of JP Plunier, a French producer who had helped launch Ben Harper's career a few years earlier.

With Plunier's help, Johnson recorded and released Brushfire Fairytales in 2001. The debut album featured a cameo by Ben Harper, sparking a friendship between the two musicians. Moreover, the casually played folk songs attracted an audience well beyond Johnson's own surf community, and Brushfire Fairytales went platinum. After touring in the first half of 2002, he returned to the studio and released On and On a year later. Despite the similarities in music to Brushfire Fairytales, On and On showcased Johnson's deepening interest in social commentary, resulting in several songs that combined worldly, insightful lyrics with a sunny surf vibe.

Jack Johnson toured extensively in support of his growing catalog, taking frequent breaks to surf and spend time with his family. When it was time to return to the studio, he resumed working with Mario Caldato Jr., the same producer who created On and On, and moved to Mango Trees Studio in Hawaii. In Between Dreams was released in 2005, featuring a mango tree on the album cover (a tribute to the studio) and a familiar blend of tropical songwriting and conscious commentary. The album peaked at number two, Johnson's highest chart position to date, and sold over two million copies in the United States. Curiously, it was Johnson's next project, the children-oriented Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the film Curious George, that finally propelled him to the top of the charts. The soundtrack debuted at number one in February 2006, selling 149,000 copies in its first week, making Curious George the first animated film since Pocahontas to have a soundtrack topping the charts. Like the four albums before it, it achieved platinum status.

Despite this continued success, Johnson suffered a devastating blow in 2007 when his cousin Danny Riley succumbed to brain cancer. That death, combined with the decision to record away from the familiar confines of Hawaii, created a somber atmosphere on Johnson's next album, 2008's Sleep Through the Static. Nevertheless, much of the album retained a warm, sand-scoured feel, and Sleep Through the Static went platinum within five weeks. That summer, he toured Europe, playing some of his biggest shows to date, footage of which was included in the 2009 concert film/LP En Concert. In June 2010, Johnson released his fifth studio album, To the Sea. The 2012 compilation Jack Johnson & Friends: The Best of Kokua Festival featured performances from his benefit concert for the environmental education nonprofit Kokua Hawaii Foundation.

Johnson returned to his Mango Tree studio with Caldato to record his sixth full-length album, From Here to Now to You. The album, released in September 2013, was preceded by the single “I Got You.” A pair of live releases quickly followed—the vinyl-only Live at Third Man Records 6-15-2013 came out in November 2013 and an EP called From Here to Now to You appeared in 2014—and then went quiet in 2015 and 2016. Johnson returned in early 2017 with the single “Fragments,” the first taste of his seventh studio album, All the Light Above It Too, which was released in September of that year. In 2020, he released the singles “The Captain Is Drunk” and “Don't Let Me Down,” the latter a collaboration with German folk duo Milky Chance. In 2021, he guested with Ben Harper on “If Ever,” a single by Paula Fuga, a Hawaiian artist signed to Johnson's Brushfire Records.

Johnson returned to his solo career in 2022 with Meet the Moonlight, his eighth solo album. The album was created with Blake Mills, an indie rock producer who helped the singer/songwriter forge new musical territory. The duo recorded the majority of the album together, splitting time between Johnson's studios The Mango Tree and Los Angeles, utilizing his main backing band for added textures. For his next project, he continued to push musical boundaries. A lifelong fan of reggae and dub, Johnson sought out several well-known producers to remix experimental dub versions of his songs. In Between Dub was released in June 2023 and featured notable guests such as Mad Professor, Nightmares of Wax, and pioneering dub icon Lee “Scratch” Perry.

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