Daniel Johnston

Daniel Johnston is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and visual artist, considered a prominent figure in outsider art and alternative music. Daniel's creative output is prolific despite his struggles with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Daniel has produced over forty albums, his songs have been covered widely by popular artists, and have been used in movie sound tracks and television commercials. He has performed music and exhibited art around the world, and several books and films chronicle his life story.

Daniel performs a set at SXSW 2009.

"daniel johnston" by Linda Flores, shot for Stereogum, is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND / enlarged from original

Born January 22^nd, 1961, Daniel Dale Johnston arrived into a deeply religious Christian family in Sacremento, California. By the age of eight Daniel began playing piano and drawing his first comics featuring his own cast of superheroes and villains. Their battles of good and evil became recurring themes in his art and music.

Daniel's comic characters Punchin' Joe defeats Vile Corrupt. The city of Austin, Texas, was gifted this mural to benefit children with cancer.

"Love is the question. Love is the answer. ~ Daniel Johnston" by pmonaghan, is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 / level, sharpening modifications from original

As a young man, his father bought him The Complete Beatles Songbook, and Daniel began incorporating their chord progressions into his music. After graduating high school in 1979, Daniel majored in Art at Kent State University in Ohio. There he met Laurie Allen, who became the love of his life and creative muse. She encouraged Daniel to record his songs, which became the material for his first albums.

In 1981 Daniel began recording his songs onto a lo-fi $59 Sanyo cassette recorder, and made his first album Songs of Pain, illustrated with his artwork. Bouts of mental illness forced Daniel to abandon art school, and he moved to Texas to live with his brother. During the recording of Hi, How Are You? he suffered a nervous breakdown that led his family to consider having him institutionalized. He decided to join a traveling carnival instead, briefly touring the country selling hot dogs, until landing back in Austin, Texas. There Daniel began handing out his home-made cassettes of his simple, yet rivetingly honest recordings, which attracted the attention of Austin's music scene. In 1986, while working at McDonald's, Daniel won the Austin Chronicle's "Songwriter and Best Folk Artist of the Year" award, and was featured on MTV's Cutting Edge.

Daniel promoted himself with hand-dubbed cassettes and original artwork at a time when alternative and lo-fi music genres didn't exist.

"Daniel Johnston tapes x 3" by Simon Murphy, is licensed under CC BY-NC-2.0 / level, sharpening modifications from original

In 1992, Kurt Cobain increased Daniel's notoriety by accepting an MTV award wearing a shirt with Daniel's art. Daniel continued to have intervals of career success, usually followed by manic episodes that left him institutionalized. In 2005, the documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston won the best director award at the Sundance Festival, and Daniel's art was subsequently featured at the Whitney Museum of American Art 2006 Binneal in New York City.

Daniel Johnston lives today in a house built next door to his family in Waller, Texas. He is medicated and cared for, allowing him to be stable and productive making art and music. He continues to tour and play music around the world, inspiring fans with his unique vision and courage to share his art at all costs.