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Jack Johnson (musician)
Encyclopedia
Jack Johnson was born May 18, 1975 is an American folk rock
singer-songwriter, surfer and musician known 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 four 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
"; "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing
"; "If I Had Eyes
"; "You and Your Heart
"; "Taylor
"; "Banana Pancakes" and the widely-popular fan favorite, "Better Together
".
, Hawaii. The son of well-known surfer Jeff Johnson, he took an interest in the sport. He 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 over 150 stitches in his forehead and knocked a few of his teeth out.
Jack Johnson graduated from Kahuku High School
on the North Shore of Oahu
. He would later attend the University of California, Santa Barbara
and graduate with a degree in film. While Johnson learned the guitar at the age of 14 and started songwriting at the age of 16 ,
his passion for music grew when he played rhythm guitar for the band Soil (not to be confused with the heavy metal
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
.
'. The song would later become the first single off the album.
Johnson's surfer friends began circulating his music. Soon the music has reached the south of France, Australia, and South Africa.
Johnson's contribution to the entertainment industry is not limited to music. Johnson directed "Thicker Than Water" (a surf documentary released in 2000) and "The September Sessions" (a surf film released in 2002) which he also starred in. Both movie soundtracks were also products of Johnson. Johnson also starred in the 2004 surf film A Brokedown Melody. He has remained active in both.
Johnson 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 (drums, percussion) and Merlo Podlewski (bass), 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.
In October 2004, Johnson returned to the Mango Tree Studio with Topol and Podlewski along with Zach Gill
(of Animal Liberation Orchestra
) 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 Adam Topol, Ben Harper
, G. Love
, Kawika Kahiapo, Matt Costa
, 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 (keys), Podlewski (bass) and Topol (drums, percussion). 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 also participated, with Willie Nelson
, Jackson Browne
, Dave Matthews
, Eddie Vedder
and others, in the documentary Kokua 2008: 5 Years of Change (2009), produced by Brushfire and Three Foot Giant Productions and shown on Sundance Channel.
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.
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 his To the Sea
album 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."
, New Zealand
, Australia, Canada
, USA and Japan
. One hundred percent of the tour's profit has been donated to charity.
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 let loose any intimate information concerning their kids. “If we could leave my kids’ names out of the article, that’d be great,” says Johnson in an article interview with Men’s Journal.
'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.
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
singer-songwriter, surfer and musician known for his work in the soft rock
Soft rock
Soft rock is a style of music which uses the techniques of rock music to compose a softer, more toned-down sound. Soft rock songs generally tend to focus on themes like love, everyday life and relationships. The genre tends to make heavy use of acoustic guitars, pianos, synthesizers and sometimes...
and acoustic
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
genres. In 2001, he achieved commercial success after the release of his debut album, Brushfire Fairytales
Brushfire Fairytales
Brushfire Fairytales is the name of the debut album by singer-songwriter Jack Johnson. It was released in 2001 through Everloving Recordings. The record achieved a moderate degree of fame for Johnson, who has stated that he never intended to pursue a career in music, already majored in film studies...
. He has since released four 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
Upside Down (Jack Johnson song)
"Upside Down" is a song written and played by Jack Johnson. It is the first track on the album Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George, which was released in February 2006. It was also released as a single in February 2006. It peaked at #38 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was Johnson's...
"; "Flake
Flake (song)
"Flake" is a song written and sung by Jack Johnson. It is Johnson's debut single and was released as the only single from his album Brushfire Fairytales."Flake" features Ben Harper on Weissenborn slide guitar....
"; "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing
Sitting, Waiting, Wishing
"Sitting, Waiting, Wishing" is a song written and sung by Jack Johnson. It is the sixth song on the album In Between Dreams which was released in February 2005. It was released as a single in March 2005....
"; "If I Had Eyes
If I Had Eyes
"If I Had Eyes" is the first single from Hawaiian singer-songwriter Jack Johnson's album Sleep Through the Static. It was released exclusively on Brushfirerecords.com November 29. The official iTunes single was released on December 11, 2007....
"; "You and Your Heart
You and Your Heart
"You and Your Heart" is a song by Hawaiian singer-songwriter Jack Johnson and is the lead single from his fifth studio album, To the Sea. The song was released to radio in early April 2010,...
"; "Taylor
Taylor (song)
"Taylor" is a song written and sung by Jack Johnson. It was the third single from his album On and On. Ben Stiller is featured in the extended version of the music video for the song.It peaked at No. 33 in New Zealand and No. 27 in Australia.-Charts:...
"; "Banana Pancakes" and the widely-popular fan favorite, "Better Together
Better Together
Better Together is a song written and performed by Jack Johnson. As well as being the first track on Johnson's album In Between Dreams, which was released in February 2005. "Better Together" was released as a single in January 2006. It charted at #24 in the United Kingdom...
".
Early life
Jack Johnson was born and raised on the North Shore of OahuOahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
, Hawaii. The son of well-known surfer Jeff Johnson, he took an interest in the sport. He 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
Billabong Pipeline Masters
The Billabong Pipeline Masters is an event in surfing held annually at Banzai Pipeline in Oahu, Hawaii. It was established in 1970 and attracts the top 45 surfers from the Association of Surfing Professionals as well as 16 surfers who compete in walk on trials. The surfers compete for a share of...
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
Banzai Pipeline
The Banzai Pipeline, or simply "Pipeline" or "Pipe," is a surf reef break located in Hawaii, off Ehukai Beach Park in Pupukea on O'ahu's North Shore. A reef break is an area in the ocean where waves start to break once they reach the shallows of a reef...
that put over 150 stitches in his forehead and knocked a few of his teeth out.
Jack Johnson graduated from Kahuku High School
Kahuku High School
Kahuku High & Intermediate School, located in Kahuku CDP, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii on the island of Oahu, serves approximately 1,850 students in grades seven through twelve and is part of the Windward District on the island of Oahu. It is a part of the Hawaii Department of Education...
on the North Shore of Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
. He would later attend the University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
and graduate with a degree in film. While Johnson learned the guitar at the age of 14 and started songwriting at the age of 16 ,
his passion for music grew when he played rhythm guitar for the band Soil (not to be confused with the heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band Soil) in college. Johnson credits his songwriting influences as Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, Otis Redding
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
, G. Love and Special Sauce, Ben Harper
Ben Harper
Benjamin Chase "Ben" Harper is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live performances and activism. Harper's fan base spans several continents...
, Sublime
Sublime (band)
Sublime was an American ska punk band from Long Beach, California, formed in 1988. The band's line-up, unchanged until their breakup, consisted of Bradley Nowell , Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh . Michael "Miguel" Happoldt also contributed on a few Sublime songs, such as "New Thrash." Lou Dog, Nowell's...
, The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
, Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
, and A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985, and is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip , rapper Phife Dawg , and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but rejoined in 2006...
.
Career
Jack Johnson's big break was writing and contributing vocals for the song "Rodeo Clowns" which was featured on G. Love's 1999 album 'PhiladelphonicPhiladelphonic
Philadelphonic was the fourth album by G. Love & Special Sauce, released in 1999.-Track listing:#"No Turning Back" – 3:03#"Dreamin'" – 3:54...
'. The song would later become the first single off the album.
Johnson's surfer friends began circulating his music. Soon the music has reached the south of France, Australia, and South Africa.
Johnson's contribution to the entertainment industry is not limited to music. Johnson directed "Thicker Than Water" (a surf documentary released in 2000) and "The September Sessions" (a surf film released in 2002) which he also starred in. Both movie soundtracks were also products of Johnson. Johnson also starred in the 2004 surf film A Brokedown Melody. He has remained active in both.
Johnson released a four track demo that caught the attention of Ben Harper
Ben Harper
Benjamin Chase "Ben" Harper is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live performances and activism. Harper's fan base spans several continents...
's producer, J. P. Plunier, who worked with Johnson on his debut album Brushfire Fairytales
Brushfire Fairytales
Brushfire Fairytales is the name of the debut album by singer-songwriter Jack Johnson. It was released in 2001 through Everloving Recordings. The record achieved a moderate degree of fame for Johnson, who has stated that he never intended to pursue a career in music, already majored in film studies...
in early 2001 with Harper and his Weissenborn
Weissenborn
Weissenborn or H. Weissenborn is a brand of lap slide guitar manufactured by Hermann Weissenborn in Los Angeles in the 1920s and 1930s....
lap steel guitar
Steel guitar
Steel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
making a guest appearance. Brushfire Fairytales
Brushfire Fairytales
Brushfire Fairytales is the name of the debut album by singer-songwriter Jack Johnson. It was released in 2001 through Everloving Recordings. The record achieved a moderate degree of fame for Johnson, who has stated that he never intended to pursue a career in music, already majored in film studies...
was released on February 1, 2001.
Johnson went back into the studio with Adam Topol (drums, percussion) and Merlo Podlewski (bass), who played on Brushfire Fairytales
Brushfire Fairytales
Brushfire Fairytales is the name of the debut album by singer-songwriter Jack Johnson. It was released in 2001 through Everloving Recordings. The record achieved a moderate degree of fame for Johnson, who has stated that he never intended to pursue a career in music, already majored in film studies...
, 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
North Shore (Oahu)
The North Shore, in the context of geography of the Island of Oahu, refers to the north-facing coastal area of Oahu between Kaena Point and Kahuku Point...
, and the first to be released through The Moonshine Conspiracy Records. On and On was released on May 6, 2003.
Zach Gill
Zach Gill is a multi instrumentalist/singer/songwriter/member of the rock band ALO and a member of Jack Johnson's band. He also performs regularly as a solo artist.- History :...
(of Animal Liberation Orchestra
Animal Liberation Orchestra
Animal Liberation Orchestra is an American musical group, currently signed on Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records label. They have released three full length albums...
) playing accordion, melodica and piano, to record his follow-up to 2003's On and On. In Between Dreams
In Between Dreams
-Personnel:*Jack Johnson - vocals, acoustic guitar*Zach Gill - piano, accordion, melodica*Adam Topol - drums*Merlo Podlewski - bass*Mario Caldato, Jr...
was released on March 1, 2005.
Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George
Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George
-Chart positions:-Certifications:-Personnel:*Jack Johnson – vocals, guitar, ukulele*Adam Topol – drums*Merlo Podlewski – bass guitar*Zach Gill – vocals, keys*Ben Harper – vocals, guitar*G...
is a soundtrack album by Johnson, released on February 7, 2006. The album also features Adam Topol, Ben Harper
Ben Harper
Benjamin Chase "Ben" Harper is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live performances and activism. Harper's fan base spans several continents...
, G. Love
G. Love
Garrett Dutton , better known as G. Love, is the frontman for the band G. Love & Special Sauce.-Biography:Dutton, the son of a banking lawyer, was born in the Society Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia, and began playing guitar at age eight. He wrote his first song by the time he was in the ninth...
, Kawika Kahiapo, Matt Costa
Matt Costa
Matthew Albert Costa is a singer-songwriter from Huntington Beach, California.He has five independent releases: two self-recorded EPs, and three full-length CDs released via Brushfire Records.-Life:...
, Merlo Podlewski and Zach Gill
Zach Gill
Zach Gill is a multi instrumentalist/singer/songwriter/member of the rock band ALO and a member of Jack Johnson's band. He also performs regularly as a solo artist.- History :...
. It was the first soundtrack to make it to number 1 since the Bad Boys II soundtrack
Bad Boys II (soundtrack)
Bad Boys II is the soundtrack to the 2003 action-comedy film Bad Boys II, released on July 15, 2003 through Bad Boy and Universal Records. The album peaked at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 324,000 units in the first week, becoming one of few soundtracks to reach the position...
in August 2003 and was the first soundtrack for an animated film to top the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
since the Pocahontas soundtrack
Pocahontas (soundtrack)
Pocahontas: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack is the soundtrack to Disney's 1995, thirty-third animated feature Pocahontas. It contains songs from the film written by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz, conducted by David Friedman, and performed by Judy Kuhn, Mel Gibson, Linda Hunt, Jim...
in July 1995.
Johnson enlisted J.P. Plunier to produce his fourth full-length studio album, Sleep Through the Static
Sleep Through the Static
Sleep Through the Static is the fourth studio album by singer-songwriter Jack Johnson, released in the U.S. on February 5, 2008. The effort was announced on Johnson's personal website as renovation began for the release of the album. It was recorded at L.A.'s Solar Powered Plastic Plant, which...
. It was recorded using 100% solar energy at the Solar-Powered Plastic Plant studio in Los Angeles. The album featured Gill (keys), Podlewski (bass) and Topol (drums, percussion). 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
En Concert (Jack Johnson album)
En Concert is a live album by singer-songwriter Jack Johnson, project released in the U.S. in late 2009. All songs on the album were recorded live during the "Sleep Through the Static World Tour" in 2008 where 100% of the tour profits and profits from this release will be going to fund the Kokua...
, was released on October 27, 2009. The DVD was directed by Emmett Malloy.
Johnson also participated, with Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
, Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
, Dave Matthews
Dave Matthews
David John "Dave" Matthews is a South African–born American musician and occasional actor, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band...
, Eddie Vedder
Eddie Vedder
Eddie Vedder is an American musician and singer-songwriter who is best known for being the lead singer and one of three guitarists of the alternative rock band Pearl Jam. He is widely considered a cultural icon of alternative rock.He is also involved in soundtrack work and contributes to albums...
and others, in the documentary Kokua 2008: 5 Years of Change (2009), produced by Brushfire and Three Foot Giant Productions and shown on Sundance Channel.
Johnson produced Animal Liberation Orchestra
Animal Liberation Orchestra
Animal Liberation Orchestra is an American musical group, currently signed on Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records label. They have released three full length albums...
's fifth studio album, Man of the World, which was released February 9, 2010. The album also features vocals from Johnson.
On 1 February 2010, Johnson's official website announced that his fifth studio album, To the Sea
To the Sea
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 69, based on 12 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews"...
, 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 his To the Sea
To the Sea
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 69, based on 12 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews"...
album is "You and Your Heart
You and Your Heart
"You and Your Heart" is a song by Hawaiian singer-songwriter Jack Johnson and is the lead single from his fifth studio album, To the Sea. The song was released to radio in early April 2010,...
", released on April 6, 2010.
While speaking with New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
radio station ZM
ZM (New Zealand)
ZM is a New Zealand contemporary hit radio network owned by The Radio Network. It broadcasts 19 markets throughout mainland New Zealand via terrestrial FM, and worldwide via the Internet. The network targets the 15–39 demographic specialises in a chart-music playlist of pop, rock, hip hop and dance...
, 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."
2010 world tour
Jack Johnson embarked on a world tour in 2010 with Paula Fuga, a Hawaiian vocalist, playing at a range of venues across the world including EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Australia, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, USA and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. One hundred percent of the tour's profit has been donated to charity.
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 ShoreNorth Shore (Oahu)
The North Shore, in the context of geography of the Island of Oahu, refers to the north-facing coastal area of Oahu between Kaena Point and Kahuku Point...
of the island of Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. In an interview with Johnson, Ann Donahue
Ann Donahue
Ann Donahue is a prominent television writer. She along with Carol Mendelsohn and Anthony Zuiker created the successful CSI franchise which includes CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, and CSI: NY...
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 let loose any intimate information concerning their kids. “If we could leave my kids’ names out of the article, that’d be great,” says Johnson in an article interview with Men’s Journal.
Charity
Johnson and his wife created the Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation after his third album inorder to benefit the children of Hawaii and promote environment awareness. 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 LennonJohn Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's "Imagine
Imagine (song)
"Imagine" is a song written and performed by the English musician John Lennon. It is the opening track on his album Imagine, released in 1971...
" for the 2007 benefit album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur
Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur
Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur is a compilation album of various artists covering songs of John Lennon to benefit Amnesty International's campaign to alleviate the crisis in Darfur...
, which was also included on the 2009 benefit album Rhythms del Mundo Classics
Rhythms del Mundo Classics
Rhythms del Mundo Classics is the follow-up album to the internationally successful album Rhythms del Mundo, featuring artists like The Killers, Amy Winehouse, Keane, Jack Johnson, The Rolling Stones, KT Tunstall and Rodrigo y Gabriela.-Charity:...
. In talking about Johnson and his career choices, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
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
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
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
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on his To The Sea 2010 World Tour at the time of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
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
GlobalGiving
GlobalGiving is an online marketplace that connects donors with grassroots projects in the developing world. Potential donors can browse and select from a wide offering of projects, organized by geography or by themes such as health care, the environment, and education...
's Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund.
Band members
Johnson's band is composed of:- Jack Johnson – VocalsLead vocalistThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
, guitar - Adam Topol – Drums, percussion
- Merlo Podlewski – BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Zach GillZach GillZach Gill is a multi instrumentalist/singer/songwriter/member of the rock band ALO and a member of Jack Johnson's band. He also performs regularly as a solo artist.- History :...
– Piano, percussion, background vocals
Studio albums
- Brushfire FairytalesBrushfire FairytalesBrushfire Fairytales is the name of the debut album by singer-songwriter Jack Johnson. It was released in 2001 through Everloving Recordings. The record achieved a moderate degree of fame for Johnson, who has stated that he never intended to pursue a career in music, already majored in film studies...
(2001) - On and On (2003)
- In Between DreamsIn Between Dreams-Personnel:*Jack Johnson - vocals, acoustic guitar*Zach Gill - piano, accordion, melodica*Adam Topol - drums*Merlo Podlewski - bass*Mario Caldato, Jr...
(2005) - Sleep Through the StaticSleep Through the StaticSleep Through the Static is the fourth studio album by singer-songwriter Jack Johnson, released in the U.S. on February 5, 2008. The effort was announced on Johnson's personal website as renovation began for the release of the album. It was recorded at L.A.'s Solar Powered Plastic Plant, which...
(2008) - To the SeaTo the SeaAt Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 69, based on 12 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews"...
(2010)
Songbooks and sheet music
- Brushfire Fairytales: Guitar/Vocal
- On and On: Guitar/Vocal
- In Between Dreams: Guitar/Vocal
- Sleep Through the Static: Guitar/Vocal
- Sleep Through the Static: Piano/Vocal/Guitar
- To the Sea: Guitar/Vocal
- To the Sea: Piano/Vocal/Guitar
- Jack Johnson Strum & Sing: Easy Guitar
- Jack Johnson Anthology: Piano/Vocal/Guitar
- Jack Johnson Anthology: Easy Piano