Daniel Johnston

Daniel Dale Johnston is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and artist. The once aspiring singer/songwriter whose playful, symbol-heavy sketches have graced the covers of may of his releases. Art soon became a large part of his career and life.

Drawing for a long time before he took up music, Daniel grew to appreciate such artists John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Bob Dylan, David Bromberg, Queen, Neil Young, the Sex Pistols, and especially The Beatles. "When I was 19, I wanted to be The Beatles. I was disappointed when I found out I couldn't sing."

Daniel gained his widest public exposure to date when, at the 1992 MTV Music Awards, Nirvana leader Kurt Cobain (who constantly acknowledged Daniel in interviews) wore a Johnston T-shirt displaying the album art for Hi, How Are You (one of Johnston's sketches).
This music blog has an information page about the famous lo-fi album, Hi, How Are You

As a teenager, Daniel and his friends began to record their own tapes and trade them among themselves. After high school, he attended an art program at a branch of Kent State near his family's home. This was a prolific period of his life. Unemployed, and attending classes sporadically, he began to spend most of his time in his family's cellar, writing and recording.

Throughout his career, Daniel's songs and drawings have been informed to some degree by his ongoing struggle with manic depression, lending an added distress during his soul-searching times. His five-month stint with the carney left him in Austin, Texas, where he decided to stay.