Paul Johnson
Paul Johnson (right) is congratulated by Norman C. Francis and Ruth Johnson Colvin after receiving his Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush, 15 December 2006
Born	Paul Bede Johnson (1928-11-02) 2 November 1928 (age 83) Manchester, England
Known for	Editor of the New Statesman (1965-1970)
Religion	Roman Catholic
Spouse	Marigold Hunt (m. 1957) «start: (1957)»"Marriage: Marigold Hunt to Paul Johnson (writer)" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Paul_Johnson_(writer))
Children	Daniel Johnson Luke Johnson
Website
http://www.pauljohnsonarchives.org

Paul Bede Johnson (born 2 November 1928) is an English journalist, historian, speechwriter and author. He was educated at the Jesuit independent school Stonyhurst College, and at Magdalen College, Oxford. Johnson first came to prominence in the 1950s as a journalist writing for, and later editing, the New Statesman magazine. A prolific writer, he has written over 40 books and contributed to numerous magazines and newspapers. While associated with the left in his early career, he is now a conservative popular historian. His sons are the journalist Daniel Johnson, founder of Standpoint, and the businessman Luke Johnson, former chairman of Channel 4.

Early life and career[link]

Johnson was born in Manchester, England. His father, William Aloysius Johnson, was an artist and Principal of the Art School in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. At Stonyhurst Johnson received an education grounded in the Jesuit method,^[1] which he preferred over the more secularized curriculum of Oxford. One of his tutors at Oxford was historian A. J. P. Taylor.^[2]

After graduating with a second-class honours degree, Johnson performed his national service in the Army, joining the King's Royal Rifle Corps and then the Royal Army Educational Corps where he was commissioned as a Captain (acting) based mainly in Gibraltar.^[2] Here he saw the "grim misery and cruelty of the Franco regime".^[3] Johnson's military record helped the Paris periodical Realités hire him,^[2] where he was assistant editor (1952–55).

Johnson adopted a left-wing political outlook during this period as he witnessed, in May 1952, the police response to a riot in Paris, the "ferocity [of which] I would not have believed had I not seen it with my own eyes." Subsequently, he also served as the New Statesman's Paris correspondent. For a time he was a convinced Bevanite and an associate of Aneurin Bevan himself. Moving back to London in 1955, he joined the Statesman's staff; he was lead writer, deputy editor and then editor from 1965 to 1970.

Some of Johnson's articles already showed signs of iconoclasm: in 1958 he attacked Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Dr No^[4] and in 1964 he warned of "The Menace of Beatlism",^[5] and he was also found suspect for his attendances at the soirées of Lady Antonia Fraser, then married to a Conservative MP. Johnson received some resistance to his appointment as New Statesman editor, not least from the writer Leonard Woolf who objected to a Catholic's filling the position, and Johnson was placed on six months' probation.

Statesmen And Nations (1971), the anthology of his Statesman articles, contains numerous reviews of biographies of Conservative politicians and an openness to continental Europe; in one article Johnson took a positive view of events of May 1968 in Paris, although remaining conscious of the problems of violence in periods of political change. According to this book, Johnson filed 54 overseas reports during his Statesman years.

Shift to the right[link]

During the 1970s Johnson became increasingly conservative in his outlook, and has largely remained so. In his Enemies of Society (1977), following a series of articles in the British press, he opposed the trade union movement, perceiving it as violent and intolerant, terming trade unionists "fascists". As Britain’s economy faltered, Johnson began to advocate future British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s message of less government and less taxation. He was eventually won over to the Right and became one of Thatcher's closest advisers. “In the 1970s Britain was on its knees. The Left had no answers. I became disgusted by the over-powerful trade unions which were destroying Britain,” he recalled in 2004.^[6] After Thatcher's victory in the general election of 1979 Johnson advised on changes to legislation concerning trade unions, and was also one of Thatcher's speechwriters. “I was instantly drawn to her," he recalls. "I’d known Margaret at Oxford. She was not a party person. She was an individual who made up her own mind. People would say that she was much influenced by Karl Popper or Frederick Hayek. The result was that Thatcher followed three guiding principles: truthfulness, honesty and never borrowing money,” Johnson said in 2004.^[6]

Johnson wrote a column for the conservative British weekly magazine The Spectator from 1981 to 2009; initially focusing on media developments, it subsequently acquired the title "And Another Thing". In his journalism Johnson generally deals with issues and events which he sees as indicative of a general social decline, whether in art, education, religious observance or personal conduct. He has continued to contribute to the magazine, though less frequently than before.^[7] During the same period he contributed a column to the Daily Mail until 2001. In a Daily Telegraph interview in November 2003, he criticised the Mail for having a pernicious impact: "I came to the conclusion that that kind of journalism is bad for the country, bad for society, bad for the newspaper".^[8]

Johnson is a regular contributor to The Daily Telegraph, mainly as a book reviewer, and in the United States to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Commentary, and the National Review. He also writes for Forbes magazine.^[9] For a time in the early 1980s he wrote for The Sun.

Johnson is a critic of modernity because of what he sees as its moral relativism,^[10] and also finds objectionable those who use Charles Darwin's theory of evolution to justify their atheism or use it to promote biotechnological experimentation.^[11] As a result of Johnson's views on evolution,^[12] Richard Dawkins^[13] has been a target of Johnson's pen in the past. As a conservative Catholic, Johnson also regards liberation theology as a heresy and defends clerical celibacy, but alludes to many good reasons for ordination of women as priests.^[14]

Admired by conservatives in the United States and elsewhere, he is strongly anti-communist.^[15] Johnson has defended Richard Nixon^[16] in the Watergate scandal, finding his cover-up considerably less heinous than Bill Clinton's perjury, and Oliver North's involvement in the Iran-Contra Affair. In his Spectator column Johnson defended his friend Jonathan Aitken,^[17] has expressed qualified admiration for General Franco,^[18] and expressed admiration for General Augusto Pinochet.

Johnson was active in the campaign, led by Norman Lamont, to prevent General Pinochet's extradition to Spain, following the General's arrest in London. "There have been countless attempts to link him to human rights atrocities, but nobody has provided a single scrap of evidence," Johnson was reported as saying in 1999.^[19] In Heroes (2008),^[20] Johnson returned to his longstanding claim that criticism of Pinochet's regime (on human rights grounds) came from "the Soviet Union, whose propaganda machine successfully demonised [Pinochet] among the chattering classes all over the world. It was the last triumph of the KGB before it vanished into history's dustbin."^[21] On the other hand he has criticised European countries, in particular France, for being undemocratic.^[22]

He served on the Royal Commission on the Press (1974–77) and was a member of the Cable Authority (regulator) from 1984 to 1990.

In 2006 Johnson was honoured with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President George W. Bush. On the BBC programme Desert Island Discs in January 2012 Johnson professed himself unimpressed by Nelson Mandela.^[23]

Personal life[link]

Paul Johnson has been married to the psychotherapist and former Labour Party parliamentary candidate Marigold Hunt since 1958. They have three sons and a daughter: the journalist Daniel Johnson, a freelance writer, editor of Standpoint magazine, and previously associate editor of The Daily Telegraph who is married to the writer and birth educator Sarah Johnson née Thompson; Luke Johnson, businessman and former chairman of Channel 4 Television; Cosmo Johnson; and Sophie Johnson-Clark, who has worked as a television script editor and now resides in the US and is married to the underground sportswriter and author Spike Vrusho (aka Mike Clark). Paul Johnson has ten grandchildren.

In 1998 it was revealed Johnson had an affair lasting eleven years with writer Gloria Stewart.^[24] Stewart went public with the affair to the newspapers after what she saw as Johnson’s hypocrisy over his views on morality, religion and family values.^[25] Johnson is a friend of British playwright Tom Stoppard, who dedicated his 1978 play Night and Day to Johnson.

Johnson is a watercolourist, painting mainly landscapes, who has exhibited regularly.

Incomplete bibliography[link]

Johnson's books are listed by subject or type. The country of publication is the UK, unless stated otherwise.

Anthologies, polemics & contemporary history[link]

• 1957 Conviction MacGibbon & Kee (contribution: "A Sense of Outrage" pp202–17, with Brian Abel-Smith, Nigel Calder, Richard Hoggart, Mervyn Jones, Norman Mackenzie (ed), Peter Marris, Iris Murdoch Peter Shore, Hugh Thomas, Peter Townsend & Raymond Williams)
• 1957 The Suez War MacGibbon & Kee
• 1958 Journey Into Chaos MacGibbon & Kee [Western Policy in the Middle East]
• 1971 Statesmen And Nations Sidgwick & Jackson [An anthology of New Statesman articles from the 1950s and 1960s. Often surprisingly mild in tone given Johnson's later development.]
• 1977 Enemies of Society Weidenfeld & Nicolson
• 1980 The Recovery of Freedom (Mainstream Series) Basil Blackwell
• 1981 The Best of Everything - Animals, Business, Drink, Travel, Food, Literature, Medicine, Playtime, Politics, Theatre, Young World, Art, Communications, Law and Crime, Films, Pop Culture, Sport, Women's Fashion, Men's Fashion, Music, Military (ed by William Davis) - contributor
• 1985 The Pick of Paul Johnson Harrap
• 1986 The Oxford Book Of Political Anecdotes (2nd ed 1991) Oxford University Press
• 1988 Intellectuals Weidenfeld & Nicolson
• 1994 The Quotable Paul Johnson A Topical Compilation of His Wit, Wisdom and Satire (George J. Marlin, Richard P. Rabatin, Heather Higgins (Editors)) 1994 Noonday Press/1996 Atlantic Books(US)
• 1994 Wake Up Britain - a Latter-day Pamphlet Weidenfeld & Nicolson
• 1996 To Hell with Picasso & Other Essays: Selected Pieces from “The Spectator” Weidenfeld & Nicolson
• 2009 Churchill (biography, 192 pages)^[26]

Art & architecture[link]

• 1980 British Cathedrals Weidenfeld & Nicolson ISBN 0-297-77828-5
• 1993 Gerald Laing : Portraits Thomas Gibson Fine Art Ltd (with Gerald Laing & David Mellor MP)
• 1999 Julian Barrow's London Fine Art Society
• 2003 Art: A New History Weidenfeld & Nicolson

History[link]

• 1972 The Offshore Islanders: England's People from Roman Occupation to the Present/to European Entry [1985ed as History of the English People; 1998ed as Offshore Islanders: A History of the English People] Weidenfeld & Nicolson
• 1974 Elizabeth I: a Study in Power and Intellect Weidenfeld & Nicolson
• 1974 The Life and Times of Edward III Weidenfeld & Nicolson
• 1976 Civilizations of the Holy Land Weidenfeld & Nicolson
• 1977 Education of an Establishment in The World Of the Public School (pp13–28), edited by George MacDonald Fraser, Weidenfeld & Nicolson /St Martins Press (US edition)
• 1978 The Civilization of Ancient Egypt Weidenfeld & Nicolson
• 1981 Ireland: A Concise History from the Twelfth Century to the Present Day [as ...Land of Troubles 1980 Eyre Methuen] Granada
• 1983 A History of the Modern World from 1917 to the 1980s Weidenfeld & Nicholson
• 1984 Modern Times: A History of the World from the 1920s to the 1980s Weidenfeld & Nicolson [later, ...Present Time and ...Year 2000 2005 ed] Weidenfeld & Nicolson
• 1987 Gold Fields A Centenary Portrait Weidenfeld & Nicolson
• 1987 The History of the Jews [2001ed] Weidenfeld & Nicolson (later editions titled A History of the Jews)
• 1991 The Birth of the Modern: World Society 1815-1830 Weidenfeld & Nicolson
• 1996 The Holocaust Phoenix [pages 482 to 517 of A History of the Jews]
• 1997 A History of the American People Weidenfeld & Nicolson ISBN 0-06-093034-9 [8]
• 2002 The Renaissance [: A Short History *] Weidenfeld & Nicolson/*Random House (USA)
• 2002 Napoleon (Lives S.) Weidenfeld & Nicolson [2003 Phoenix pbk]
• 2005 George Washington: The Founding Father (Eminent Lives Series) Atlas Books
• 2006 Creators HarperCollins Publishers (USA) ISBN 0-06-019143-0
• 2007 Heroes HarperCollins Publishers (USA) ISBN 978-0-06-114316-8; ISBN 0-06-114316-2; HarperCollins Publishing link to book

Memoirs[link]

• 2004 The Vanished Landscape: A 1930s Childhood in the Potteries Weidenfeld & Nicolson: ISBN 978-0-7538-1933-3
• 2010 Brief Lives Hutchinson

Novels[link]

• 1959 Left of Centre MacGibbon & Kee ["Left Of Centre describes the meeting of a Complacent Young Man with an Angry Old City"]
• 1964 Merrie England MacGibbon & Kee

Religion[link]

• 1975 Pope John XXIII Hutchinson
• 1977 A History of Christianity Weidenfeld & Nicolson /1976 Simon & Schuster /Atheneum (USA)
• 1982 Pope John Paul II And The Catholic Restoration St Martins Press
• 1996 The Quest for God: A Personal Pilgrimage Weidenfeld & Nicolson/HarperCollins (USA)
• 1997 The Papacy Weidenfeld & Nicolson
• 2010 Jesus: A Biography From a Believer Penguin Books

Travel[link]

• 1973 The Highland Jaunt Collins (with George Gale)
• 1974 A Place in History: Places & Buildings Of British History Omega [Thames TV (UK) tie-in]
• 1978 National Trust Book of British Castles Granada Paperback [1992 Weidenfeld ed as Castles Of England, Scotland And Wales]
• 1984 The Aerofilms Book of London from the Air Weidenfeld & Nicolson

References and sources[link]

References[link]

Sources[link]

• Robin Blackburn "A Fabian at the End of His Tether" (New Statesman 14 December 1979, reprinted in Stephen Howe (ed) Lines of Dissent: Writings from the New Statesman 1913-88 London: Verso, 1988, pp284–96
• Christopher Booker The Seventies: Portrait of a Decade Allen Lane, 1980 (chapters: "Paul Johnson: The Convert Who Went over the Top" pp238–44 and "Facing the Catastrophe" pp304–7

External links[link]

• Official Website: The Paul Johnson Archives
• Feud - and it's a scorcher! - article by John Walsh on Johnson's differences with The Guardian in The Independent 28 July 1997
• New York Times Featured Author 9 September 2000: Paul Johnson
• White House press release regarding Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded to Johnson
• Paul Johnson's articles and interviews (English and Spanish)
• Booknotes interview with Johnson on A History of the American People, 5 April 1998.
• In Depth interview with Johnson, 7 February 2010
• The Weekend Interview with Paul Johnson: Why America Will Stay on Top by Brian Carney (Wall Street Journal, 5 March 2011)
• Paul Johnson on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, 15 January 2012

Paul Johnson may refer to:

Sports[link]

• Paul Johnson (American football coach) (born 1957), head football coach at Georgia Tech
• Paul Johnson (Australian footballer born 1962), Australian rules footballer for North Melbourne in 1984
• Paul Johnson (Australian footballer born 1984), Australian rules footballer in the 2000s
• Paul Johnson (baseball) (1896–1973), American Major League outfielder
• Paul Johnson (cricketer) (born 1965), English cricketer
• Paul Johnson (footballer born 1955), English footballer
• Paul Johnson (footballer born 1959), English footballer
• Paul Johnson (footballer born 1992), English footballer
• Paul Johnson (ice hockey) (born 1936), American ice hockey player
• Paul Johnson (New Zealand) (born 1970), New Zealand rugby league player
• Paul Johnson (rugby league) (born 1978), English rugby league player
• Paul Johnson (rugby league born 1988), English rugby league player
• Paul Johnson (squash player) (born 1972), English squash player

Politics[link]

• Paul Johnson (Canadian politician) (born 1952), former MPP
• Paul Johnson (politician) (born 1959), American politician, former mayor of Phoenix, Arizona
• Paul B. Johnson, Sr. (1880–1943), American politician, governor of Mississippi 1940–1943
• Paul B. Johnson, Jr. (1916–1985), American politician, governor of Mississippi 1964–1968

Other[link]

• Paul Johnson (comics) (born 1958), British comics artist
• Paul Johnson (philanthropist) (born 1929), Canadian philanthropist
• Paul Johnson (writer) (born 1928), British journalist and historian
• Paul Marshall Johnson, Jr. (1955–2004), American murdered hostage
• Paul V. Johnson (born 1954), American leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Paul Johnson (British artist) (born 1972)
• Paul Johnson, alias Paul America (1944–1982), American colleague of Andy Warhol
• Paul Johnson (producer) (born 1971), American producer and DJ
• Paul Johnson (United States Air Force) (born 1958), USAF General and Distinguished Service Cross recipient

See also[link]

• Paul Johnston (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Justin Lin (traditional Chinese: 林詣彬; simplified Chinese: 林诣彬; pinyin: Lín Yìbīn) (born 1971) is a Taiwanese American film director, best known for his work on Better Luck Tomorrow, The Fast and the Furious franchise and the television show Community.

Life and career[link]

Lin was born in Taipei and grew up in Orange County, California.^[1] He earned an MFA in film directing from the UCLA Film School. His solo directorial debut Better Luck Tomorrow (1997's Shopping for Fangs was co-directed by Quentin Lee) made a huge splash with critics and fans alike. However, his subsequent work, Annapolis, scored mixed reviews from critics but found an audience on DVD, selling more than 4 million copies and landing on top 10-rental lists around the country. His directorial outing, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, was released in North American cinemas 16 June 2006. Universal credits the film (along with The Break-Up) for helping the studio stay in the black in 2006. It has grossed more than $158 million to date.^{[citation needed]}

After Tokyo Drift, Lin went on to do an independent film Finishing the Game, which is a comedic interpretation of the events surrounding the production of Bruce Lee's final film, Game of Death.^[2] It premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. He also directed a short film that also premiered at the Sundance Global Short Film Project, La Revolución de Iguodala! (2007), about one individual's message as that individual travels through time and becomes embodied in different races.

Lin returned to the franchise to direct the fourth in the Fast and Furious series, titled Fast & Furious which opened on April 3, 2009. On its first day of release the movie grossed $30.5 million, and peaked at the top spot of the weekend box office with $70,950,500. It held the title for the highest-grossing opening weekend ever in April (it was surpassed by Fast Five on the last weekend of April 2011 with an estimated $83.6 million, which he also directed) and of any car-oriented film. (The prior record was held by Cars, which grossed $60.1 million.) As of May 24, 2009 the film has grossed a total of US $345,755,411 worldwide.

Justin Lin has also directed several episodes of the NBC comedy series Community, most notably the critically acclaimed episode Modern Warfare, which aired on May 6, 2010.

In 2009, he founded the popular Asian American blog: www.YouOffendMeYouOffendMyFamily.com (YOMYOMF).

On the 27th of April, he was announced as being the director for the next installment of the Terminator series, with the CAA as being the new distributors and potentially Arnold Schwarzenegger back in the role as The Terminator.^[3] Megan Ellison's Annapurna Films won the rights to this Terminator film and the next installment as well.^[4] On September 2011 Lin exits the project because production for the film has been moved up to late 2012 and Lin will already be hard at work on Fast and Furious 6 since the film is set to be released on May 24, 2013. Lin says that he is willing to return to direct Terminator 5 if producer Megan Ellison waits to start production after he is finished with Fast and Furious 6. ^[5]

Documentaries[link]

Lin is among the actors, producers and directors interviewed in the documentary The Slanted Screen (2006), directed by Jeff Adachi, about the representation of Asian and Asian American men in Hollywood.

In 2000, Lin also wrote and directed a documentary, Crossover, which focused on the 70-year old phenomenon of the Japanese American Basketball Leagues, which were established in the 1930s.

Recurring collaborators[link]

Sung Kang has appeared in most of Lin's films, including Better Luck Tomorrow, Finishing the Game, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Fast & Furious and Fast Five. Jordana Brewster has appeared in Annapolis, Fast & Furious, and Fast Five, and Tyrese Gibson has appeared in Annapolis, 2 Fast 2 Furious, and Fast Five. Roger Fan has also appeared in Better Luck Tomorrow, Finishing the Game, Annapolis and Fast & Furious. James Franco has appeared in Finishing the Game and Annapolis, and Vin Diesel has appeared in all of the Fast & Furious films that Lin has directed.

Filmography[link]

Filmography[link]

• Shopping for Fangs (1997)
• Interactions (2000)
• Crossover (2000)
• Better Luck Tomorrow (2002)
• Spotlighting (2005)
• Annapolis (2006)
• The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
• Finishing the Game (2007)
• La Revolución de Iguodala! (2007)
• Fast & Furious (2009)
• Community (2010) (TV)
• Fast Five (2011)
• Untitled Fast Five Sequel (2013)^[6]
• The Leading Man (????)^[7]

As himself[link]

• The Slanted Screen (documentary, 2006)

References[link]

External links[link]

	Biography portal
	Film portal
	Asian Americans portal

• Justin Lin at the Internet Movie Database

Edward Hardy "Ted" Harrison, CM (born August 28, 1926^[1]) is a Canadian artist notable for his paintings of the Yukon.^[2]

Life and work[link]

Ted Harrison was born in Wingate, County Durham, England^[3] .^[2]

Harrison started to paint at the West Hartlepool School of Art in England. Although interrupted by war, Harrison went on to complete his studies, being awarded a National Diploma in Design from the College in 1949. His subsequent earning of a teaching certificate from the University of Durham led to a teaching career that lasted almost three decades.^[4][5]

Then, from 1967, he resided in Yukon, Canada, a location with prominence in many of his works.^[6] He stayed there until 1993. His work from this period focused on the colours and culture of the Yukon.^[7]

He has worked, since the 1970s and thus in his post-academic capacity, not only as an artist but also as an illustrator and author. His work in the field earned him a national first: selection for the International Children’s Book Exhibition in Bologna, Italy.^[4] One of his illustration is of the Robert Service poem 'The Cremation of Sam McGee'.^[8] He often assigns unfamiliar tone to depicted features.

In 1987 Harrison was made a Member of the Order of Canada for his contributions to Canadian culture. He also holds honorary doctorates from Athabasca University (1991), the University of Victoria (1998) and the University of Alberta (2005).^[4]

Harrison's wife, Nicky, died from Alzheimer's disease in 2000.^[2][9] Harrison has since helped raise money for Alzheimer foundations.^[9]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official web site

Eric Johnson
Background information
Also known as	"EJ"
Born	(1954-08-17) August 17, 1954 (age 57) Austin, Texas, United States
Genres	Rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, producer
Instruments	Guitar. vocals, piano
Years active	1969–present
Labels	Ark21, Warner Bros., Capitol, Favored Nations
Associated acts	G3, Joe Satriani, Alien Love Child, John Petrucci, Electromagnets, Mariani
Website	http://www.ericjohnson.com
Notable instruments
Fender Eric Johnson Signature Stratocaster

Eric Johnson (born August 17, 1954) is an American musician, songwriter, and vocalist from Austin, Texas. Best known for his electric guitar skills, Johnson is also a highly proficient acoustic, lap steel, resonator, and bass guitarist as well as an accomplished pianist and vocalist.

Johnson has mastered a wide array of musical genres evidenced by the many different styles incorporated in both his studio and live performances including rock, blues, jazz, fusion, soul, folk, New Age, classical, and country and western.^[1]

Guitar Player magazine has called Johnson "one of the most respected guitarists on the planet".^[2] Johnson's stylistic diversity and technical proficiency with the guitar have been praised by Bill Hicks.^[3] His 1990 platinum-selling, full-length album, Ah Via Musicom, produced the single, "Cliffs Of Dover", for which Johnson won the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.^[4]

Life and career[link]

Born into a musically-inclined family, Johnson and his three sisters studied piano and his father was a whistling enthusiast. Johnson started learning the guitar at age 11 and rapidly began progressing through the music that would heavily influence his future style, including Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfield, Chet Atkins, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Wes Montgomery, Jerry Reed, Bob Dylan and Django Reinhardt, among others. At the age of 15, he joined his first professional band—Mariani, a psychedelic rock group. In 1968, Johnson and the group recorded a demo, which saw extremely limited release; years later the recording became a prized collector's item.^{[1][5][6][7][8]}

After graduating from high school, Johnson briefly attended the University of Texas at Austin and traveled with his family to Africa. He eventually returned to Austin, and in 1974 joined a local fusion group called Electromagnets. The group toured and recorded regionally, but did not attract attention from major record labels and as a result disbanded in 1977. However, the strength of Johnson's playing attracted a small cult following to the group's early recordings, and decades later their two albums were given wide release on compact disc.^[9][10]

The Electromagnets with Eric Johnson performing at N.C. State University, Raleigh, N.C., on April 11, 1976

Following the Electromagnets' demise, Johnson formed a touring trio, the Eric Johnson Group, with drummer Bill Maddox and bassist Kyle Brock. They played to audiences around Austin and in 1978 recorded a full length album entitled Seven Worlds. Although the album showcased the band's sound, contract disputes held up the album's release for several years. Seven Worlds was eventually released in 1998 on Ark21 Records.^[11][12] Unable to secure a new management contract, Johnson began working as a session guitarist for some well-known acts, including Cat Stevens,^[13] Carole King, and Christopher Cross, among others.^[14] While a session musician, Johnson continued to perform locally, developing a flashy but tasteful electric guitar sound. His career rebounded in 1984 when he was signed to Warner Bros. Records. There is some disagreement about exactly how Johnson caught Warner Brothers' attention, with some reports suggesting that pop superstar Prince recommended him after hearing him perform on the public television program Austin City Limits. Others suggest that it was singer Christopher Cross and producer David Tickle who recommended Johnson to the label.^[15] In any case, Johnson's major-label debut, Tones, was unveiled in 1986 with Tickle as co-producer.

Success[link]

In May 1986, Guitar Player magazine ran a cover story about Johnson. The article helped promote the release of Tones and brought Johnson critical praise as well as elevating his profile in the guitar and music community.^[16] The album's track "Zap" was nominated for the 1987 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, but as a whole the album didn't sell well and Warner Brothers let Johnson's contract expire. He signed on with indie label Cinema Records, distributed by Capitol Records.^[17]

By the time Johnson released his 1990 Capitol Records debut album, Ah Via Musicom, he was regularly winning awards for his musicianship in the guitar press. During this period, Johnson also drew recognition for the rich, violin-like tone he coaxed from his vintage Fender Stratocaster. The album's second track, "Cliffs Of Dover", exemplified his unique sound and won Johnson a 1991 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Ah Via Musicom was a crossover hit, and was certified platinum.

Fellow Texan, the late comedian^[18] Bill Hicks, opened for Eric Johnson on at least one occasion in the Eighties. The highly intoxicated Hicks made light of Eric's lack of hit singles, as well as his vegetarian and teetotal lifestyle, by suggesting that if Eric were to eat a Hamburger and drink a beer he would be able to write more popular songs. After this incident Bill Hicks was not asked to open for Johnson ever again.^[19]

Johnson is an admitted perfectionist, and those traits seemed to work against Ah Via Musicom's follow-up release. Unhappy with his recordings, Johnson mastered, then later scrapped, several completed tracks for the new album and delayed its release for three years, on top of the three years he had spent touring in support of Ah Via Musicom. He also had setbacks involving musical growth and personal issues while recording his next album Venus Isle.^[20][21]

Venus Isle was finally released on September 3, 1996. It was a unique album with world influences that demonstrated Johnson's growth as a guitarist, songwriter, producer, musical arranger and vocalist. But the album received mixed reviews and did not match the success of its predecessor. As a result Johnson was dropped from Capitol Records. He rebounded with a successful tour from October to November 1996 with fellow guitarists Joe Satriani and Steve Vai. Named the 'G3' tour, it resulted in a successful platinum-selling compact disc and DVD titled G3: Live In concert. ]] In 1998, Eric Johnson was among the judges in Musician magazine's "Best Unsigned Bands" competition, along with Ani DiFranco, Moby, Art Alexakis of Everclear, Keb' Mo' and Joe Perry of Aerosmith.^[22]

In 1994, Johnson formed a side project called Alien Love Child and played shows sporadically while recording Venus Isle. The positive fan feedback from the shows made Alien Love Child a permanent gig. A live performance recording, Live And Beyond, was finally released in 2000 on Steve Vai's Favored Nations label, showcasing their new songs. The Alien Love Child project helped Johnson move away from his perfectionistic tendencies and loosen up enough to embrace and release a live album.^[23][24][25]

Johnson eventually returned to the recording studio, releasing Souvenir in January 2002 on his own Vortexan Records. The album, released on the Internet, received nearly 65,000 plays in the first seven weeks after it was made available on mp3.com.^[26] Johnson promoted Souvenir with an electric tour in 2003 and an acoustic tour in 2004.^[27][28]

In 2004, Eric Clapton invited Johnson to perform at his first successful Crossroads Guitar Festival. According to Johnson, he was scheduled to perform onstage with Clapton, but it fell.^[29]

Johnson's next studio album Bloom was released in June 2005, again on Vai's Favored Nations label. The album was divided into three sections with different musical styles, intended to showcase Johnson's versatility.^[30] His December 1988 Austin City Limits performance was released on both DVD and compact disc on New West Records in November 2005. His instructional guitar DVD, The Art of Guitar (Hal Leonard Corporation), was also released at the end of 2005.

In January 2006, a man named Brian Sparks was arrested for posing as Johnson and in the process defrauding businesses out of about $18,000 worth of guitars and equipment.^[31] Also in 2006, some of Johnson's guitars that had been stolen 24 years before were recovered.^[32]

In September 2006, Johnson took part in a theatrical production titled "Primal Twang: The Legacy of the Guitar" – the first definitive theatrical journey through the guitar’s colorful and controversial 3,500-year history. In September 2007, Johnson participated in a second theatrical production by the same company titled "Love In: A Musical Celebration" in which he performed a Jimi Hendrix set, a tribute to the year 1967, often called "The Summer of Love".^[33] Also in late 2006 Johnson participated in a second G3 tour in South America, with Joe Satriani and John Petrucci.

Johnson had been working on an all-acoustic project^[34] and a live video from his 2006 Tour with Satriani.^[35] However these were shelved in 2007 in favor of cutting a new studio album.^[36]

His hit single "Cliffs Of Dover" appears in the game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. Johnson has also signed up with "Operation Immortality", a project to create a digital time capsule of their DNA and humanity's achievements in the event of a global calamity.^[37]

Guitar and equipment[link]

Guitars[link]

Johnson is best known for playing stock Fender Stratocasters and Gibson ES-335 electric guitars through a triple amp setup that consists of Fender, Dumble Amplifiers and Marshall amplification amplifiers. Johnson has also played other guitar brands such as Robin, Rickenbacker, Jackson and a Charvel, which appears on the cover of the Ah Via Musicom album. In 2001, Johnson added a Gibson Custom Shop '59 Les Paul Reissue to his guitars of choice.

Johnson has had several models built to his specifications for sale in the mass market. In 2003, C. F. Martin & Company released a limited-edition Eric Johnson Signature MC-40 guitar built to his specifications. Johnson donated 5 percent of the profits of the guitar's sales to his father's alma mater, Jefferson Medical College^[38] In 2005, Fender released an Eric Johnson Signature Fender Stratocaster also built to his specifications. Johnson has also released other signature gear such as GHS Eric Johnson Nickel Rockers Electric Guitar Strings, DiMarzio DP211 Eric Johnson Signature Custom Pickups, and a Fullton-Webb amplifier. Jim Dunlop also has released an Eric Johnson signature Jazz III plectrum. In early 2009, Fender released the Eric Johnson Signature Stratocaster Rosewood model, featuring the same specifications as the Eric Johnson Maple Neck guitar, with the addition of an unusual 3-ply, 8-hole white pick guard, hotter treble pickup and a bound rosewood laminate fingerboard with pearloid dot position markers.

Effects[link]

He uses effect pedals such as the Ibanez Tube Screamer,^[39][40] Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face, BK Butler Tube Driver, TC Electronic Stereo Chorus, Vox CryBaby wah-wah ^[41], ToadWorks Barracuda flanger ^[42], Prescription Electronics Experience octave fuzz ^[43], Xotic AC Booster, MXR Flanger/Doubler, Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man delay, Boss Corporation DD-2 Digital Delay ^[44], MXR 1500 Digital Delay, Line 6 Echo Pro Studio Modeler, and up to two Maestro Echoplex tape delays.^[45][46] All of these are connected to multiple A/B boxes to create sounds and tones that are both clean and distorted. Although the majority of Johnson's setup is vintage, he has recently started using more modern equipment, including a stereo chorus made by Analog Man and a Fractal Audio Systems Axe-Fx. ^[47]

Recording[link]

In late 2006, Johnson switched from recording in analog^[48] to digital format.^[49]

Popular culture[link]

Guitarist Alex Lifeson of Rush gave a thank you to Johnson in the liner notes of Counterparts for being the inspiration for the guitar solo in the song "Cut To The Chase".

Guitarist Steve Morse recorded a song titled "TruthOla", which is a tribute to Jeff Beck, Alex Lifeson, and Eric Johnson. The song is on Morse's album "Major Impacts".

Solo albums[link]

• Seven Worlds (1978, reissued in 1998)
• Tones (1986)
• Ah Via Musicom (1990)
• Venus Isle (1996)
• Souvenir (2002)
• Bloom (2005)
• Live from Austin, TX (2005)
• Live From Austin TX '84 (2010)
• Up Close (2010)

Early singles played on[link]

• "Re-Birth Day"/"Memories Lost And Found" by Mariani (1970)
• "Come In Out Of The Rain" by Jay Aaron Podolnick (1975)
• "Talkin' About Her"/"It's All With You" by Christopher Cross (1976)
• "Thermal Underwear" by Project Terror (Bill Maddox) (1977)
• "That Rider Down" by Bill Colbert (1982)

Albums played on[link]

Group albums[link]

• Perpetuum Mobile' by Mariani (1970)
• Electromagnets by Electromagnets (1975)
• Live and Beyond by Alien Love Child (2000)
• Electromagnets 2 by Electromagnets (2006, originally recorded in 1976)

Compilations[link]

• The Austin Christmas Collection by Various Artists ‒ "What Child is This" (1980)
• The Austin Christmas Collection, Vol. 2 by Various Artists ‒ "What Child Is This" and "Is There A Santa Claus" (1983)
• Guitar Speak by Various Artists ‒ "Western Flyer" (1988)
• KLBJ's Local Licks Live by Various Artists ‒ "Camel's Night Out" (1990)
• Instrumental Moods by Various Artists ‒ "Cliffs Of Dover" (1991)
• Guitar's Practicing Musicians, Vol. 2 by Various Artists ‒ "Cliffs Of Dover" (1991)
• KLBJ's Local Licks Live by Various Artists ‒ "Desert Rose" (1993)
• True Voices by Various Artists ‒ "At The End Of The Day" with Susan Cowsill (1995)
• KLBJ's Local Licks Live by Various Artists ‒ "S.R.V." (1996)
• 13th Millennia Soundtrack by Various Artists (1996)
• G3: Live In Concert by Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Eric Johnson (1997)
• Merry Axemas Volume 1 by Various Artists ‒ "The First Nowell" (1997)
• Guitar Gods by Various Artists ‒ "Trademark" (1998)
• KGSR 107.1 Broadcasts Vol. 7 by Various Artists ‒ "Tribute To Jerry Reed" and "The Only Thing That's Real" (1999)
• KGSR 107.1 Broadcasts Vol. 8 by Various Artists (1999)
• The Best of Rockline by Various Artists ‒ "S.R.V." (1999)
• Moods Box Set by Various Artists ‒ "Cliffs Of Dover" (1999)
• Rock Guitarist Forever Best by Various Artists ‒ "Soulful Terrain" (1999, Japanese-only release)
• KLBJ Local Licks Live by Various Artists ‒ "Shape I'm In" (2001)
• Band Together by Various Artists ‒ "Shape I'm In" (2002)
• Texas Guitar Slingers Vol. 1 by Various Artists ‒ "Enzo Shuffle" (2002)
• Relief Fund Compilation Album Benefiting the World Trade Center by Various Artists ‒ (2002, unreleased)
• Fender Stratocaster 50th Anniversary by Various Artists ‒ "Trademark" (2004)
• Don't Mess With Texas Vol. 2 by Various Artists ‒ "Boogie King" (2004)
• KGSR 107.1 Broadcasts Vol. 12 by Various Artists ‒ "Song For George" (2004)
• Austin Music Vol. 6 by Various Artists ‒ "Sunarround You" (2007)
• Keep Punching by Various Artists ‒ "Forever Yours" (2007)
• Gibson Presents: Hot Tones in High Definition by Various Artists ‒ "World Of Trouble" (2008)
• Various Artists: This is Fusion Guitar by Various Artists ‒ "Beck's Bolero" (2009)

Guest appearance work[link]

• Once Upon a Rock by American Peddlers ‒ "Circle Song" (1977)
• Back to Earth by Cat Stevens ‒ "Bad Brakes" (1978)
• Gene Morris by Gene Morris ‒ "My Friend" (1979)
• Pearls by Carole King ‒ "Dancin' With Tears In My Eyes" (1980)
• Johnny Dee & The Rocket 88's by Johnny Dee & The Rocket 88's ‒ "No More" (1980)
• Christopher Cross by Christopher Cross ‒ "Minstrel Gigolo" (1980)
• The Shake Russell/Dana Cooper Band by The Shake Russell/Dana Cooper Band ‒ "Waitin' Here For You" and "Goin' Down Judah" (1981)
• Sunrise In Corpus Christi by Faron Evans (1982)
• One to One by Carole King (1982)
• Long Time Friends by Alessi ‒ "Rise Up" (1982)
• Til You Came Along by Bobby Giles (1982)
• Tomás Ramírez by Tomas Ramirez ‒ "SA Stroll" (1983)
• World Beat by Dan Del Santo ‒ "Ain't That Askin' A Little Too Much?" (1983)
• Pressure by Pressure ‒ "Save A Little Time" (1983)
• Peripheral Vision by McColl & Tracey (1984)
• Marc Anthony Thompson by Marc Anthony Thompson ‒ "Recover Gracefully" (1984)
• Stand Up by Steve Morse Band ‒ "Distant Star" (1985)
• Street Language by Rodney Crowell ‒ "Ballad Of Fast Eddie" (1986)
• Guitar Speak by Various Artists ‒ "Western Flyer" (1988)
• Willie Jones by Willie Jones ‒ "So Long Mary Jane" (1990)
• Inside Out by Jay Aaron (Podolnick) ‒ "Ronda" (1990)
• The Urge by Stuart Hamm ‒ "On Our Dreams" and "Lone Star" (1991)
• Rush Street by Richard Marx ‒ "Keep Coming Back" (1992)
• The Hunter by Jennifer Warnes ‒ "Lights Of Louisiana" and "I Can't Hide" (1992)
• Rendezvous by Christopher Cross ‒ "Nothing Will Change" (1992)
• Herman Harris & the Voices of Hope by Herman Harris (1993)
• Read My Licks by Chet Atkins ‒ "Somebody Loves Me Now" (1994)
• What The Hell Was I Thinking? by Dweezil Zappa (1994, unreleased)
• Wave of the Hand by Carla Olson ‒ "I'm Tryin'" (1995)
• Angelica by Various Artists ‒ "Ave Maria" (1997)
• Merry Axemas by Various Artists ‒ "The First Nowell" (1997)
• Angels, Horses & Pirates by Little Blue ‒ "Wait Until You Get Here" (1997)
• Rosebud by Stephen Doster ‒ "There Is No Time" (1998)
• Walking in Avalon by Christopher Cross ‒ "When She Smiles" (1998)
• Koko's Hideaway by Van Wilks ‒ "Vanquila" (1999)
• Fingers And Thumbs by Adrian Legg ‒ "Lunchtime At Rosie's" (1999)
• Been A Long Time by Double Trouble ‒ "In The Garden" (2001)
• Last Of The Cowboy Vampires by Lance Keltner ‒ "Chain Gang" (2001)
• More To Life Than This by Mike Tramp ‒ "On The Good, The Sad, And The Ugly" (2003)
• A Guitar Supreme, Giant Steps in Fusion Guitar by Various Artists ‒ "Resolution" (2004)
• Fusion For Miles, A Guitar Tribute: A Bitchin' Brew by Various Artists ‒ "Jean Pierre" (2005)
• Industrial Zen by John McLaughlin ‒ "New Blues Old Bruise" (2006)
• Viva Carlos: A Supernatural Marathon Celebration by Various Artists ‒ "Aqua Marine" (2006)
• Hero Shuffle by Rex Paul (Schnelle) ‒ "Hero Shuffle" and "Reminds Me of Austin" (2006)
• Walk On by Roscoe Beck ‒ "Together All The Time" (2006)
• The Devil Knows My Name by John5 ‒ "The Washing Away Of Wrong" (2007)
• Freeway Jam: To Beck and Back by Various Artists ‒ "Beck's Bolero" (2007)
• Lovers by Bobby Whitlock and CoCo Carmel ‒ "Layla" (2008)
• From The Reach by Sonny Landreth ‒ "The Milky Way Home" (2008)
• Bridging the Gap by Doyle Dykes ‒ "Red Clay" (2008)
• Big Neighborhood by Mike Stern ‒ "6th Street" and "Long Time Gone" (2009)

Instructional DVDs[link]

• Eric Johnson: Total Electric Guitar by Hot Licks (1990)
• Eric Johnson: The Fine Art of Guitar by Hot Licks (1996)
• Eric Johnson: The Art of Guitar by Hal Leonard Corporation (2005)

Television appearances and videos[link]

• Austin City Limits (1984, 1988, 1996, and 2000)
• One To One Tour (Video) by Carole King (1983)
• Nova (PBS Special) – "Nautilus: 500 Million Years Under the Sea" The Chambered Nautilus (1987)
• Live at the Bottomline, New York – Japanese TV broadcast (1990)
• MTV Rock N' Jock Softball – performing "The Star-Spangled Banner" (1991)
• The Tonight Show – performing "Cliffs Of Dover" (1991)
• Jeff "Skunk" Baxter's "Guitar" – Japanese release – Warner Brothers (VHS and LaserDisc) (1991)
• BB King And Friends...Live At The Woodlands by Houston PBS (1993)
• Chet Atkins and Friends (TNN Special) ‒ "Read My Licks" (1994)
• Baseball: Inning 9: Home by The Baseball Film Project (1994)
• G3: Live In Concert by Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson (1997)
• Electromagnets: Live on PBS Playback (1975) re-released on VHS (1998)
• Double Trouble with Special Guests – Austin City Limits (2001)
• House Of Blues (Webcast Live) – Alien Love Child Tour (2001)
• Big Wreck and Friends (Webcast Live) – Roy Thomson Hall – Toronto, Ontario (2001)
• Guitar Show – Australian Television Broadcast (2002)
• Jennifer Warnes DVD-A from AIX – unreleased (2003)
• Crossroads Guitar Festival (2004)
• 107.7 The Bone Studios Radio Show (2005)
• James Burton International Guitar Festival (2005, unreleased)
• Live in Austin, TX (2005)
• Satriani Live (2006)
• Primal Twang: The Legacy of the Guitar (2006)
• Love In: A Musical Celebration (2007)
• Anaheim (Live) (2008)

Video games[link]

• Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock ‒ "Cliffs Of Dover" (2007)
• Guitar Hero World Tour ‒ "Camel's Night Out" (2009)

Awards and chartings[link]

• Albums:
  • 1991 – Ah Via Musicom (album) – Grammy – Best Rock Instrumental Nomination
  • 1991 – Ah Via Musicom (album) – Billboard magazine – Billboard 200 – (#67)
  • 2006 – Bloom (album) – Grammy – Best Pop Instrumental Nomination

• Songs:
  • 1987 – "Zap" – (Tones) – Grammy – Best Rock Instrumental Nomination
  • 1990 – "Cliffs Of Dover" – (Ah Via Musicom) – Mainstream Rock Tracks – (#5)
  • 1990 – "High Landrons" – (Ah Via Musicom) – Mainstream Rock Tracks – (#31)
  • 1991 – "Righteous" – (Ah Via Musicom) – Mainstream Rock Tracks – (#8)
  • 1991 – "Trademark" – (Ah Via Musicom) – Mainstream Rock Tracks – (#7)
  • 1992 – "Cliffs Of Dover]]" – (Ah Via Musicom) – Grammy – winner – Best Rock Instrumental Performance^[4]
  • 1997 – "Pavilion" – (Venus Isle) – Grammy - Best Rock Instrumental Nomination
  • 1998 – "S.R.V." – (Venus Isle) – Grammy – Best Rock Instrumental Nomination
  • 2002 – "Rain" (Live and Beyond) – Grammy – Best Pop Instrumental Nomination

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Eric Johnson Interview on FingerstyleGuitarists.com