Eric Johnson

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For other people named Eric Johnson, see Eric Johnson (disambiguation).

Eric Johnson

Background information

Also known as "EJ"

Born August 17, 1954 (age 58)

Austin, Texas, United States

Genres rock, instrumental rock

Occupations Musician, songwriter, producer

Instruments Guitar, vocals, piano

Years active 1969–present

Labels Ark21, Warner Bros., Capitol, Favored Nations

Associated acts G3, Joe Satriani, Alien Love Child, Electromagnets, Mariani, Doyle Dykes, John Petrucci

Website http://www.ericjohnson.com

Notable instruments

Fender Stratocaster, Fender Eric Johnson Signature Stratocaster, Dunlop Eric Johnson Signature Fuzz Face, Eminence EJ1250 Guitar Speaker

Eric Johnson (born August 17, 1954) is an American musician, songwriter, and vocalist from Austin, Texas. Best known for his electric guitar skills, Johnson is also a highly proficient acoustic, lap steel, resonator, and bass guitarist as well as an accomplished pianist and vocalist.

Johnson has mastered a wide array of musical genres evidenced by the many different styles incorporated in both his studio and live performances including rock, blues, jazz, fusion, soul, folk, New Age, classical, and country and western.[1]

Guitar Player magazine has called Johnson "one of the most respected guitarists on the planet".[2] His 1990 platinum-selling, full-length album, Ah Via Musicom, produced the single, "Cliffs Of Dover", for which Johnson won the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.[3] Born into a musically inclined family, Johnson and his three sisters studied piano and his father was a whistling enthusiast. Johnson started learning the guitar at age 11 and rapidly began progressing through the music that would heavily influence his future style, including Mike Bloomfield, Chet Atkins, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Wes Montgomery, Jerry Reed, Bob Dylan and Django Reinhardt, among others. At the age of 15, he joined his first professional band—Mariani, a psychedelic rock group. In 1968, Johnson and the group recorded a demo, which saw extremely limited release; years later the recording became a prized collector's item.[1][4][5][6][7]

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