Bob Johnston facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bob Johnston
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At Hotel2Tango Studio in Montreal (left) with Howard Bilerman (right)
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| Background information | |
| Born | May 14, 1932 Hillsboro, Texas, US |
| Died | August 14, 2015 (aged 83) Nashville, Tennessee, US |
| Genres | Rock, folk, folk rock, blues, country, gospel |
| Occupation(s) | record producer |
| Associated acts | Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Johnny Cash, The Byrds, Simon & Garfunkel |
Donald William 'Bob' Johnston (May 14, 1932 – August 14, 2015) was an American music producer. A music producer helps artists record their songs and albums. Bob Johnston was famous for working with many well-known musicians. These included Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, and Simon & Garfunkel.
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Bob Johnston's Early Life
Bob Johnston grew up in a family of musicians. His grandmother, Mamie Jo Adams, wrote songs. His mother, Diane Johnston, was also a songwriter. Diane wrote songs for Gene Autry in the 1950s. One of her songs, "Miles and Miles of Texas," became a hit in 1976. This happened when the band Asleep at the Wheel recorded it.
After serving in the Navy, Bob returned to Fort Worth, Texas. He and his mother worked together writing songs. They wrote for artists like Mac Curtis, who played rockabilly music. Rockabilly is an early form of rock and roll. From 1956 to 1961, Bob recorded some rockabilly songs himself. He used the name Don Johnston.
By 1964, he started working as a producer at Kapp Records in New York. He also arranged music for Dot Records. An arranger helps decide which instruments play what parts in a song. He also signed on as a songwriter for a company called Hill and Range. Bob married songwriter Joy Byers and they began writing songs together.
Songs with Joy Byers
Later in his life, Bob Johnston said that many songs credited to his wife, Joy Byers, were actually co-written by him. Sometimes, he even wrote them entirely himself. He explained that old contracts made it so his name could not be on the songs.
These songs include "What's A Matter Baby," a hit for Timi Yuro in 1962. They also include at least 16 songs for Elvis Presley's movies. These songs were released between 1964 and 1968. Some examples are "It Hurts Me" and "Let Yourself Go." Two songs credited to Byers, "Stop, Look and Listen" and "Yeah, She's Evil!", were recorded by Bill Haley & His Comets.
Working with Columbia Records
Bob Johnston worked for a short time at Kapp Records. Then he joined Columbia Records in New York. There, he produced many important and famous albums.
In 1965, he started producing for Patti Page. Soon after, he began working with Bob Dylan. He then produced albums for Simon & Garfunkel, Johnny Cash, and Leonard Cohen.
Johnston had different ways of producing music. For Dylan's albums, he tried to capture the live feeling of the music. For Cohen's albums, he added more instruments and background singers.
After a few years in New York, Johnston moved to Nashville, Tennessee. He became the head of Columbia Records there. He already knew many of the talented musicians in Nashville, like Charlie Daniels. He produced three albums for Leonard Cohen. He also toured with Cohen and wrote music for one of Cohen's songs, "Come Spend the Morning."
On Bob Dylan's album Nashville Skyline, Dylan asks Johnston, "Is it rolling, Bob?" This shows how close they were.
Becoming an Independent Producer
Bob Johnston was not happy with his pay at Columbia Records. Even though he produced many hit albums, he didn't get a share of the sales. This share is called a royalty. So, Johnston decided to become an independent producer. This meant he worked for himself, not for a specific company.
His most successful work as an independent producer was with the band Lindisfarne. He produced their album Fog on the Tyne, which was a number one hit in Britain in 1972.
In 1972, he also toured with Leonard Cohen as a keyboard player. He produced the live album Live Songs from that tour.
Later, Bob Johnston faced some money problems. He moved to Austin, Texas, and stopped producing music for a while. He eventually returned to work in 1992. He produced Willie Nelson's album The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories?. Willie Nelson was also having money troubles at that time.
In the mid-1990s, Johnston produced an album for Carl Perkins called Go Cat Go!. Many famous musicians appeared on this album. These included Paul Simon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. The album also had unreleased recordings of Perkins' song "Blue Suede Shoes" by John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix.
Towards the end of his life, Johnston worked with newer artists. These included singers Natalie Pinkis and Eron Falbo. He also worked with the band Friday's Child. Falbo's album 73 came out in 2013. The last project Johnston worked on was Evolution: Live at the Saxon Pub. He helped produce it for the band Hector Ward and The Big Time in 2015. The album was released in 2016.
Death
Bob Johnston spent his last week in a memory care facility and a hospice in Nashville. He passed away on August 14, 2015. His wife, Joyce Johnston (Joy Byers), died in May 2017.
Albums Produced by Bob Johnston
Here are some of the albums Bob Johnston produced:
- Patti Page: "Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte" (1965), Patti Page Sings America's Favorite Hymns (1966)
- Bob Dylan: Highway 61 Revisited (1965), Blonde on Blonde (1966), John Wesley Harding (1967), Nashville Skyline (1969), Self Portrait (1970), New Morning (1970)
- Simon & Garfunkel: Sounds of Silence (1966), Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966)
- Marty Robbins: Tonight Carmen (1967), Christmas with Marty Robbins (1967), By the time I get to Phoenix (1968), I Walk Alone (1968), It's A Sin (1969), Today (1971), No Signs of Loneliness Here (1975)
- Flatt and Scruggs: Changin' Times (1967), The Story of Bonnie and Clyde (1968), Nashville Airplane (1968), Final Fling (1969)
- Johnny Cash: At Folsom Prison (1968); The Holy Land (1969); At San Quentin (1969); Hello, I'm Johnny Cash (1970); The Johnny Cash Show (1970)
- Burl Ives: The Times They Are A-Changin' (1968)
- Leonard Cohen: Songs from a Room (1969), Songs of Love and Hate (1971), Live Songs (1973)
- The Byrds: Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde (1969)
- Lindisfarne: Fog on the Tyne (1972), Dingly Dell (1972)
- Esther Ofarim: Esther Ofarim (1972)
- Michael Murphey: Geronimo's Cadillac (1973), Cosmic Cowboy Souvenir (1973), Blue Sky - Night Thunder (1975)
- Hoyt Axton: Less Than the Song (1973), Road Songs (1977)
- Pete Seeger: Rainbow Race (1973)
- Loudon Wainwright III: Attempted Mustache (1973)
- Tracy Nelson: Tracy Nelson (1974)
- New Riders of the Purple Sage: Oh, What a Mighty Time (1975), New Riders (1976)
- Jimmy Cliff: Give Thankx (1978)
- Joe Ely: Down on the Drag (1979)
- The Waterboys: Fisherman's Blues (1988)
- Willie Nelson: The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories? (1992)
- Carl Perkins: Go Cat Go! (1996)
- Eron Falbo: 73 (2013)
- Hector Ward and The Big Time: Evolution: Live at the Saxon Pub (2016)
Images for kids
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A robot for kids.
See also
In Spanish: Bob Johnston para niños
