John Doe (musician) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Doe
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Doe in 2006
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Nommensen Duchac |
| Born | February 25, 1953 Decatur, Illinois, United States |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California |
| Genres | Punk rock, alternative country, folk rock, roots rock |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Instruments | Bass guitar, guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1973–present |
John Doe (born John Nommensen Duchac on February 25, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, and poet. He is best known as a co-founder of the Los Angeles punk rock band X.
Doe is a talented musician who plays bass and guitar. His music mixes different styles, including rock, punk, country, and folk. He has also acted in many movies and TV shows. One of his famous roles was Jeff Parker in the TV series Roswell.
Besides his work with X, Doe is also a member of the band the Knitters. He has also released many albums as a solo artist.
Contents
A Career in Music and Movies
The Start of a Punk Rock Legend
John Doe moved to Los Angeles, California, to follow his dream of being a musician. In 1976, he saw an ad in a local newspaper, The Recycler, and met guitarist Billy Zoom. Together, they started the punk band X.
Doe and his co-writer Exene Cervenka wrote most of the songs for X. Their album Wild Gift was a huge success. It was named "Record of the Year" by famous magazines like Rolling Stone.
The band X was featured in an important documentary called The Decline of Western Civilization. This film showed the world what the L.A. punk scene was like in the early 1980s.
Solo Music and Collaborations
Since 1990, John Doe has recorded many albums on his own and with other artists. He has also written music for movies. For the 1992 film The Bodyguard, Doe's version of the song "I Will Always Love You" was played in a key scene.
He has worked with many famous musicians. In 2007, he recorded two Bob Dylan songs for the movie I'm Not There. He also worked with Aimee Mann and Eddie Vedder on different songs. In 2009, he released an album called Country Club with the Canadian band The Sadies.
His 2016 solo album, The Westerner, was inspired by the Arizona desert. He described its sound as psychedelic soul. In 2022, he released another solo album, Fables in a Foreign Land.
Acting on the Big Screen
John Doe is not just a musician; he is also a successful actor. He has appeared in dozens of movies and television shows.
In 1989, he played J. W. Brown in the movie Great Balls of Fire!, which was about the life of Jerry Lee Lewis. Some of his other well-known movie roles were in Road House, Boogie Nights, The Good Girl, and Wyatt Earp.
On television, he had a recurring role as Jeff Parker on Roswell from 1999 to 2002. He has also made guest appearances on shows like Law & Order, One Tree Hill, and The Wizards of Waverly Place.
Writing Books
John Doe is also an author. He worked with Tom DeSavia to write a book called Under the Big Black Sun. The book tells the story of the L.A. punk rock scene from 1977 to 1983. It includes stories from other musicians who were part of that time, like Henry Rollins and Mike Watt.
In 2019, they released a second book called More Fun in the New World. This book continued the story of L.A. punk music from 1982 to 1987.
Personal Life
John Doe was born in Decatur, Illinois. From 1980 to 1985, he was married to Exene Cervenka, his bandmate in X. He remarried in 1987 and has three daughters. For many years, he lived in California, but in 2017, he announced he was moving to Austin, Texas.
Selected Discography
John Doe has released many albums as a solo artist. Here are some of them:
- Meet John Doe (1990)
- Kissingsohard (1995)
- Freedom Is... (2000)
- Dim Stars, Bright Sky (2002)
- Forever Hasn't Happened Yet (2005)
- A Year in the Wilderness (2007)
- Country Club (2009) (with The Sadies)
- Keeper (2011)
- The Westerner (2016)
- Fables in a Foreign Land (2022)
Selected Filmography
Doe has acted in many films and TV shows. Here is a small selection of his work:
- Salvador (1986)
- Road House (1989)
- Great Balls of Fire! (1989)
- Roadside Prophets (1992)
- Pure Country (1992)
- Wyatt Earp (1994)
- Boogie Nights (1997)
- Roswell (1999–2002)
- The Good Girl (2002)
- One Tree Hill (2008)
- Wizards of Waverly Place (2009)
- Pleased to Meet Me (2013)
See also
In Spanish: John Doe (músico) para niños
