John Jackson is a musician and record label executive, known for being the guitarist for the Jayhawks. [1] [2] He plays guitar, mandolin and violin. [1]
Before joining the Jayhawks, Jackson had been the senior vice president of A&R at Legacy Recordings where he had co-produced The Jayhawks' “Best Of” album. [3] Jackson spoke to Gary Louris when he was on a solo acoustic tour and asked if he could open for him and began to play with the band. [3] Jackson has described the Jayhawks as "the best American band of the last 30 years." [3] Jackson's connections led to the band getting to work with Ray Davies for their Americana album. [4] Jackson co-produced the band's tenth studio album Back Roads and Abandoned Motels at Flowers Studio in Minneapolis. [5]
Since 2010 Jackson has been the vice president of A&R and Content Development for Sony's Commercial Music group. [2] As part of his work, he oversaw the Elvis Presley back catalog, as well as the catalogs of Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash. [6] [7] He worked on a box set for the 50th anniversary of the 1970 Presley sessions, and he’s supplied the master tapes for Baz Luhrmann's Presley biopic. [6]
Jackson went to Indiana University where he majored in the history of rock music, creating what IU calls "the world's first bachelor's degree in rock history." [7]
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blues, leading to what is considered "classic" rock and roll. Some have also described it as a blend of bluegrass with rock and roll. The term "rockabilly" itself is a portmanteau of "rock" and "hillbilly", the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style. Other important influences on rockabilly include western swing, boogie-woogie, jump blues, and electric blues.
The Jayhawks are an American alternative country and country rock band that emerged from the Twin Cities music scene during the mid-1980s. Led by vocalists, guitarists and songwriters Gary Louris and Mark Olson, its country rock sound was influential on many bands who played the Twin Cities circuit during the 1980s and 1990s like Uncle Tupelo, the Gear Daddies and the Honeydogs. They have released eleven studio albums with and without Olson who left the band in 1995, including five on the American Recordings label. On hiatus from 2005 to 2009, the 1995 lineup of the band reunited, releasing the album, Mockingbird Time, in September 2011. After the tour, Olson again left the band. After another hiatus in 2013, the 1997 lineup led by Louris reunited to play shows in 2014 to support the reissue of three albums released between 1997 and 2003. The band has remained active touring and recording since, including the release of the albums Live at The Belly Up in 2015, Paging Mr. Proust, produced by Peter Buck in 2016, Back Roads and Abandoned Motels in 2018 and XOXO in 2020.
Gary Louris is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter of alternative country and pop music. He was a founding member of the Minneapolis-based band the Jayhawks and their principal songwriter and vocalist after the departure of Mark Olson. Louris is often credited with the band's subsequent move from folk-country toward a more progressive, pop sound.
Elvis Presley is the debut album by American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley. It was released on RCA Victor, catalog number LPM-1254, on March 23, 1956. The recording sessions took place on January 10 and January 11 at the RCA Victor recording studios in Nashville, Tennessee, and on January 30 and January 31 at the RCA Victor studios in New York. Additional material originated from sessions at Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, on July 5, August 19 and September 10 of 1954, and on July 11, 1955.
Golden Smog is an alternative country-rock supergroup of loosely connected musicians mostly from the Minneapolis area. At various times, members of Soul Asylum, The Replacements, Wilco, The Jayhawks, Run Westy Run, The Honeydogs and Big Star have worked with Golden Smog. Given the fluid collaborative nature of Golden Smog the lineup has often changed, but relative constants who appear on all the recordings are guitarists Kraig Johnson, Dan Murphy and Gary Louris, along with bassist Marc Perlman.
Hollywood Town Hall is the third studio album by American rock band The Jayhawks. It peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and number 192 on the Billboard 200. The cover art for the album was shot in Hollywood Township, Carver County, Minnesota by British photographer Andrew Catlin.
Smile is the sixth studio album by American rock band The Jayhawks, released on May 9, 2000. It reached number 129 on the Billboard 200 and number 14 on Billboard's Top Internet Albums chart.
Rainy Day Music is the seventh studio album by American rock band The Jayhawks, released on April 8, 2003. It debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 51, selling 19,000 copies that week.
"Everybody Knows" is a country–pop song written and performed by the American band Dixie Chicks. It was released as the second physical single from their seventh studio album, Taking the Long Way (2006).
"One Night" is a song written by Dave Bartholomew, Pearl King, and Anita Steinman. It was an R&B hit for Smiley Lewis in 1956, before being recorded with greater commercial success by Elvis Presley in 1957.
Jonathan Wilson is an American musician and record producer based in Topanga, California, United States.
The Jayhawks is a 1986 album by The Jayhawks. It is also known as the Bunkhouse Tapes. The 1986 pressing was limited to 2,000 copies.
Mockingbird Time is the eighth studio album by the alt country band The Jayhawks, released on September 20, 2011. The album marked the returns of the original front man Mark Olson, who had left the group in 1995 after the release of Tomorrow the Green Grass, and long-time keyboard player Karen Grotberg. Mockingbird Time was the first new studio album by The Jayhawks since 2003's Rainy Day Music. The album entered the Billboard 200 album chart at #38, becoming the highest-charting release of their career to date. It also charted at #2 on Billboard's Folk Albums chart, #6 on the Tastemaker Albums chart, and #11 on the Rock Albums chart.
"A Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" is the lead single and fourth track from The Kinks' 1978 album Misfits. Written by Ray Davies, the song was inspired by the band's then-tumultuous state at the time, with two members leaving the band during the recording of Misfits. Released as the first single from the album, the track was the band's most successful single in years, reaching number 30.
Live at the Belly Up is a digital-only live album recorded in January 2015 by The Jayhawks, released on February 10, 2015 as an exclusive download from the Belly Up Live website. The album went into wider digital release in April 2015 including a high-resolution audio version.
Paging Mr. Proust is the ninth studio album by the alt country band The Jayhawks, released in 2016.
"It's Midnight" is a 1974 song recorded by Elvis Presley. It was written by Jerry Chesnut and Billy Edd Wheeler.
Americana is an album by English rock musician Ray Davies, released by Legacy Recordings in April 2017. Like Davies' 2013 book of the same name, it explores his lifelong fascination with the music and culture of the United States, and his experiences of touring and living there. The album features contributions from members of American country rock band the Jayhawks.
Back Roads and Abandoned Motels is the tenth studio album by the alt country band The Jayhawks, released on July 13, 2018.
Americana Act II is an album by English rock musician Ray Davies, released by Legacy Recordings in June 2018. It serves as a follow-up and sequel to Davies' 2017 album Americana, the album is made up of material recorded during the sessions for its predecessor, with American country rock band the Jayhawks once again contributing. As with the previous album, Americana Act II also explores the themes relating to Davies' experiences of American culture and of living and touring in the United States.