Jack Hody Johnson (born May 18, 1975) is a Hawaiian-born singer-songwriter, musician, filmmaker,

and surfer who achieved commercial success and a dedicated following, after

the release of his debut album, Brushfire Fairytales in 2001.

He has since released four more albums and a number of EPs.

His music is best described as acoustic/soft rock.

Being the son of a famous surfer in the islands, Jeff Johnson, Jack Johnson

naturally had an interest in surfing. He began surfing at the age of ten and by the time he was

seventeen he made the finals at the Pipe trial and became the youngest

invitee ever do so. Unfortunately, Jack suffered a surfing accident when he was seventeen.

While recovering from the accident, he started taking up an interest in music. Jack began

writing songs during his college years, having played the guitar since 14.

He was brought up with influences such as Nick Drake, Ben Harper, the Beatles,

Bob Marley, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, and A Tribe Called Quest. One day G. Love was

introduced to Jack for a day of surfing and ended up recording Jack’s song “Rodeo Clowns”

for his last album Philadelphonic. It became the first single from the album and Jack

sang and played on the track. His four-track demo caught the ears of

Ben Harper's producer and right-hand man, J.P. Plunier, who worked with Jack on his debut album

Brushfire Fairytales in early 2001 with Harper and his lap steel guitar making a guest appearance.

Jack Johnson learned how to surf and skate from his father's best friend Alex Conell.

Johnson learned to play the guitar at age 14. He was a professional surfer until an accident at Pipeline

in which his front teeth were knocked out and he received more than 150 stitches.

Although that is when most people believe he changed from a surfer to an artist, in a recent

Rolling Stone cover story (March 6, 2008) he stated that it actually happened a week before

in the finals of the trials of the Pipeline Masters on Oahu. At the age of 17 he became the

youngest competitor to ever reach the finals. Jack was eventually

disqualified after failing to catch three waves. Jack realized that the competitiveness was too

much for him, "guys were ready to kill each other to catch the next wave," Johnson remembers.

The accident allowed time for Jack to start on his new passions, the guitar and making music.

He stated about the accident, "I like to joke that I hit my head so

hard that that's why I'm so mellow, but I think it did mellow me out."While he was recovering in bed, he

spent his time writing songs and playing guitar. However, Johnson didn't seriously pursue a

career in the arts until his college years at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

While in school, he met his wife Kim. Johnson

also played rhythm guitar for the party band "Soil," and graduated with a degree in film.

Albums

• Brushfire Fairytales (2001)

• On and On (2003)

• In Between Dreams (2005)

• Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George (2006)

• Sleep Through the Static (2008)

Jack Johnson Website