Bob Johnston

Bob Johnston
Bob Johnston
Born	Donald William Johnston; 14 May 1932 (age 94)
Died	14 August 2015 (aged 83)
Occupation(s)	Record producer, songwriter
Years active	1956–2015
Known for	Producing Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, Simon & Garfunkel

Donald William "Bob" Johnston (May 14, 1932 – August 14, 2015) was a distinguished American record producer, celebrated for his collaborations with artists such as Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, and Simon & Garfunkel.

Early life and career

Born into a family steeped in music, Johnston's grandmother Mamie Jo Adams and his mother Diane Johnston were both songwriters. Diane contributed songs to Gene Autry during the 1950s and achieved success in 1976 when Asleep at the Wheel recorded her demo "Miles and Miles of Texas". After completing his service in the U.S. Navy, Johnston returned to Fort Worth, Texas, where he worked alongside his mother on compositions for rockabilly artist Mac Curtis. From 1956 through 1961, he released several rockabilly singles under the name Don Johnston.

Johnston married songwriter Joy Byers and collaborated with her professionally. He later disclosed that many tracks officially credited to Byers were actually co-written or solely authored by him due to "contractual reasons." Among these are Timi Yuro's 1962 hit "What's A Matter Baby" and at least sixteen songs featured in Elvis Presley's films between 1964 and 1968, including "It Hurts Me", "Let Yourself Go", and "Stop, Look and Listen". Two of these compositions were also recorded by Bill Haley & His Comets under alternate titles.

By 1964, Johnston had shifted his focus to production work at Kapp Records in New York. He freelanced as an arranger for Dot Records and secured a songwriting contract with music publisher Hill and Range.

Columbia Records: Dylan, Cash, and Cohen

Johnston joined Columbia Records in New York, where he produced artists including Patti Page and the Pozo-Seco Singers. In 1965, he earned the opportunity to produce Bob Dylan, followed by projects with Simon & Garfunkel, Johnny Cash, Flatt & Scruggs, and Leonard Cohen. His production techniques varied from a 'documentary' style that captured candid performances—exemplified by Dylan's and Cash's live recordings—to sophisticated arrangements incorporating strings, backing vocals, and veteran session musicians, particularly on Cohen’s studio albums.

After spending several years in New York, Johnston assumed leadership of Columbia's Nashville division in Nashville, Tennessee, utilizing his relationships with session players like Charlie Daniels. He produced three albums for Cohen, accompanied him on tour, and composed music for Cohen’s lyric "Come Spend the Morning," which was recorded by both Lee Hazlewood and Engelbert Humperdinck.

At the beginning of "To Be Alone with You" on Nashville Skyline, Bob Dylan can be heard asking Johnston, "Is it rolling, Bob?"

Independent producer

Frustrated by his compensation as a Columbia staff producer—particularly after producing several successful albums without receiving royalties—Johnston opted to become an independent producer. He achieved significant acclaim with Lindisfarne's Fog on the Tyne, which reached number one on the British album charts in 1972.

That same year, he toured as a keyboardist with Leonard Cohen and produced the live album Live Songs.

In 1978, Johnston produced Jimmy Cliff's Give Thankx, featuring the track "Bongo Man". The following year he worked on Smash Hits with San Francisco-based Reggae Jackson, which included contributions from Jimmy Foot, Cheryl Lynn, Kenneth Nash, and Wayne Bidgell—known for his distinctive low vocals on Cliff’s "Bongo Man".

In 1985, Johnston produced The Rhyth-O-Matics' album Walking In The Shadow for Fred Catero's Catero label. Although Billboard designated it a "Pop Pick of The Week," the album encountered challenges with distribution.

Facing financial hardships and IRS investigations, Johnston moved to Austin, Texas, where he temporarily ceased production activities. He returned to producing with Willie Nelson’s 1992 album The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories?, created during Nelson’s own fiscal difficulties.

In the mid-1990s, Johnston produced Carl Perkins' Go Cat Go!, which featured guest appearances from Paul Simon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, as well as unreleased recordings by John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix. After some delays, this album was released in 1996.

Later in his career, Johnston collaborated with emerging talents such as singer-songwriters Natalie Pinkis (USA), Eron Falbo (Brazil), and indie rock group Friday's Child (USA). Falbo’s album 73 was issued in 2013. His final production effort involved co-producing Evolution: Live at the Saxon Pub for Austin band Hector Ward and The Big Time in 2015; this project was released posthumously in 2016.

Death

Johnston spent his final days in a memory care and hospice center located in Nashville, where he passed away on August 14, 2015. His spouse, Joy Johnston (née Byers), passed away in May 2017.

Selective discography as producer

Patti Page: "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte" US #8 (1965), Patti Page Sings America's Favorite Hymns (1966)
Bob Dylan: Highway 61 Revisited (excluding "Like a Rolling Stone") (1965), Blonde on Blonde (1966), John Wesley Harding (1967), Nashville Skyline (1969), Self Portrait (1970), New Morning (1970)
Simon & Garfunkel: Sounds of Silence (1966), Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966)
Marty Robbins: Tonight Carmen (1967), Christmas with Marty Robbins (1967), By the Time I Get to Phoenix (1968), I Walk Alone (1968), It's A Sin (1969), Today (1971), No Signs of Loneliness Here (1975)
Flatt and Scruggs: Changin' Times (1967), The Story of Bonnie and Clyde (1968), Nashville Airplane (1968), Final Fling (1969), Lester Flatt's solo LP Flatt Out (1970), Earl Scruggs' solo LP Nashville's Rock (1970)
Johnny Cash: At Folsom Prison (1968); The Holy Land (1969); At San Quentin (1969); Hello, I'm Johnny Cash (1970); The Johnny Cash Show (1970); soundtrack albums: I Walk the Line (1970) and Little Fauss and Big Halsy (1971)
Burl Ives: The Times They Are A-Changin' (1968)
Leonard Cohen: Songs from a Room (1969), Songs of Love and Hate (1971), Live Songs (1973)
The Byrds: Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde (1969)
Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks: self-titled album also known as Original Recordings (1969)
Lindisfarne: albums Fog on the Tyne and Dingly Dell, both released in 1972
Esther Ofarim: self-titled album released in 1972; credited as composer for "You're always looking for the rainbow"
Graham Bell: self-titled album issued in 1972
Michael Murphey: produced three albums in 1973 — Geronimo's Cadillac, Cosmic Cowboy Souvenir, and self-titled; also worked on 1975's Blue Sky - Night Thunder and 1976's Swans Against the Sun
Hoyt Axton: albums titled Less Than the Song (1973) and Road Songs (1977)
Pete Seeger: produced the albums Rainbow Race (1973) and later, in 1996, Link in the Chain
Loudon Wainwright III: album titled Attempted Mustache, released in 1973
Tracy Nelson: produced her self-titled album in 1974 and followed with Sweet Soul Music in 1975
New Riders of the Purple Sage: contributed to the albums Oh, What a Mighty Time, self-titled, and Who Are Those Guys? between 1975 and 1977
Alvin Lee: album titled Rocket Fuel, released in 1978
Jimmy Cliff: produced the album Give Thankx, released in 1978
Joe Ely: album titled Down on the Drag, released in 1979
John Mayall: produced the album called Bottom Line, released in 1979
The Waterboys: worked on the album Fisherman's Blues released in 1988; additionally produced fifteen tracks included in the 2013 box set release
Willie Nelson: produced the album titled The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories? released in 1992
Carl Perkins: produced the album named Go Cat Go!, issued in 1996
Eron Falbo: album titled 73, released in 2013
Hector Ward and The Big Time: live album titled Evolution: Live at the Saxon Pub, released in 2016

References

Black, Louis. "Honoring Bob Johnston: That's So Cool," The Austin Chronicle, August 20, 2015.

External links