Jack Johnson:
More than Just an Artist
Melissa Gandarinho
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Tired from all the homework, bosses yelling at you, and coaches telling you to run until you can't feel your legs anymore? Do you just want to lie down and listen to some music?
Once you're at the point that you ask yourself "what should I listen to?", the answer is simple: Jack Johnson.
For those of you who don't know Jack Johnson at all, he was born in Hawaii on May 18, 1975, to the name of Jack Hoody Johnson, and he is a surfer/singer-songwriter.
Following in his father's footsteps, Johnson became a surfer, and had a natural talent for it. He even became a champion at it and was sponsored by Quicksilver.
At age 17, being the youngest invitee at the famous Pipeline trials, he made it to masters but crashed his body into the reef. While recovering from his accident, he would play with his guitar and write songs.
Johnson didn't start off writing songs and playing music, his second love after surfing was film making. He made a surfing documentary in 1999 called Thicker than Water, and he received allot of praise for it.
Unlike many people in Hollywood and the music industry, Johnson actually went to college and graduated with a degree in film. Film is pretty different from music, but then again Johnson is pretty talented.
It wasn't until his college days where he actually began recording albums. His four-track demo caught the ears of Ben Harper's producer, and since then he's become a famous folk/soft rock singer-songwriter and the music world couldn't ask for anything better.
Johnson has even founded his own record label, Brushfire Records in which artists such as G. Love & Special Sauce are under. He enjoys performing and working with the people under his label. Johnson actually started performing because of G. Love & Special Sauce.
Johnson's debut album in 2001, called Brushfire Fairytales, put him on the music charts with one of his most famous songs, "Flake."
The second album, On and On, came out in 2003 and was just as good as his previous album. Still with little fans, what Johnson brought to the table was different and people still weren't sure how to react. His one hit on that album was "Rodeo Clown" featuring G. Love & Special Sauce.
In 2005, Johnson released his third album In Between Dreams which landed in the number two spot on the U.S. Billboard 200. Songs from that album includes "Better Together", "Banana Pancakes", "Constellations", "Breakdown" and the number one single from that album "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing."
Many people know Jack Johnson from his songs, "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing" and "Banana Pancakes," to this day; these might be his most popular songs. If you're a beginner, those are the two songs you should start off with because they are both so different but show Johnson's ability of diversity.
After that album, Johnson recorded an album specifically for the Curious George movie in 2006 which actually landed a single, "Upside Down", at number 38 in the Billboard top 100.
Enough about his past work, lets now to talk about his fifth album.
Already number one in three countries, Sleep through Static is definitely on its way to number one in America.
The album was actually recorded using solar energy. The song "All At Once" is also written about global warming and climate change.
This album creates a great combination of acoustic rock and pop rock while staying very mellow giving you the perfect music to relax to. Just close your eyes and listen to this album and you'll find yourself so content about everything and anything.
The first single for this album is "If I Had Eyes" and along with that are songs that reestablish who Jack Johnson is.
Some other songs to mention are "Sleep Through Static", "Hope", Angel", Adrift", "Go On", and "Losing Keys". There are still seven more songs along with those, so you have plenty to choose from.
Listening to this album as I'm writing this review makes me certain that all Johnson fans will be happy to hear his new songs, and new listeners will finally learn why Johnson is a big deal in the music world.
If you're interested in not just Johnson but his music, take a listen to "Constellations" and "Flake." Unlike most songs you hear on the radio, Johnson's songs are very relaxing. These two songs not only have good lyrics and calming melodies, but they're not catchy and annoying like most songs you hear nowadays.
Let's end this article by using a line from one of his songs from this new album, Jack Johnson is "beyond where he should've gone."
2008 Woodie Awards

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Santana
posted 3/13/08 @ 4:25 AM EST
The talented artist Jack Johnson has succeeded in many fields. As a singer and songwriter, musician; he has gathered numerous fans during his musical career. (Continued…)
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