Michael Johnson

Biography

Michael Jay Johnson (August 8, 1944 – July 25, 2017) was an American pop, country, and folk singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best remembered for his 1978 hit song "Bluer Than Blue". He charted four hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and nine more on Hot Country Songs, including two number one country hits in 1986's "Give Me Wings" and "The Moon Is Still Over Her Shoulder". He also co-wrote "Cain's Blood", the debut single of 1990s country group 4 Runner.

Career

Johnson was born in the small town of Alamosa, Colorado and grew up in Denver. He started playing the guitar at 13. In 1963, he began attending Colorado State College (now the University of Northern Colorado) in Greeley to study music, but his college career was truncated when he won an international talent contest two years later. First prize included a deal with Epic Records.
Wishing to hone his instrumental skills, in 1966 Johnson set off for Barcelona, Spain, to the Liceu Conservatory, studying with the eminent classical guitarists Graciano Tarragó and Renata Tarragó. Upon his return to the States, he joined Randy Sparks in a group called the New Society and did a tour of the Orient.
When the band dissolved in 1967, Johnson signed with the Chad Mitchell Trio for a year, spending some of that time co-writing with another member, John Denver. The group was renamed Denver, Boise & Johnson. When the trio came to an end, Johnson made a radical departure from everything he had done previously by taking on a major supporting role in the off-Broadway production of Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris.
In 1971, Johnson signed with Atco Records to record his first album, There Is A Breeze×There Is A Breeze1973 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Pilot Me3:142In Your Eyes2:473There Is a Breeze3:394See You Soon2:245Old Folks5:126Rooty Toot Toot for the Moon4:417My Opening Farewell4:368I Got You Covered3:389On the Road3:1710Study in E Minor4:3311Happier Days2:1912You've Got to Be Carefully Taught1:16, which was released in 1973 and produced by Johnson, Chris Dedrick, Peter Yarrow, and Phil Ramone in New York and Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Feeling this first effort was not a true reflection of his music (despite being a best seller in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area), Johnson self-produced his next LP in 1975, For All You Mad Musicians×For All You Mad Musicians1975 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracksA1Troubled For YouA2Cain's BloodA3Love/SexA4The Good LifeA5The Gypsy In The PictureA6Walk Me Round Your GardenA7HelloB1GoodbyeB2May You NeverB3Take My Body HomeB4Poor Little RobinB5To Feel A FriendB6The GloryB7Here Comes The Sun, relying more on his voice and guitar for a folk feel. He followed this up with Ain't Dis Da Life, where he added a rhythm section. With each new recording and his continued touring, his popularity was increasing.
Teaming up with Brent Maher and Steve Gibson in Nashville, Tennessee, Johnson created a two-song demo consisting of "Bluer Than Blue" and "Almost Like Being in Love" (the latter song from the Broadway musical Brigadoon). EMI America wasted no time in signing him, quickly getting The Michael Johnson Album out in 1978. The first single, "Bluer Than Blue", became Johnson's first Top 40 hit, peaking at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the summer of 1978; the song became a chart-topping single on the Adult Contemporary chart. "Almost Like Being in Love" went to No. 91 on the R&B chart while hitting the Top 5 on the AC chart and the Top 40 on the pop chart.
Johnson recorded five albums in all for EMI and in 1985 moved to RCA Records, where he adopted a contemporary country style that stayed compatible with his soft, mellow leanings. He scored five Top Ten country hits from 1986 to 1989, including the chart-toppers "Give Me Wings" and "The Moon Is Still Over Her Shoulder." After two country albums on RCA (plus two greatest hits collections), Johnson moved to Atlantic Records in 1991.
In 1995, the country music group 4 Runner scored a minor hit with the single "Cain's Blood", for which Johnson co-wrote an updated version with Jack Sundrud of Poco.

Death

Aged 72, Johnson died at his Minneapolis, Minnesota, home on July 25, 2017.