Johnny Lee Middleton | |
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 Middleton with Savatage in 2015 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Lee Middleton III |
| Born | May 7, 1963 St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Instrument(s) | Bass guitar |
| Member of | Savatage, Trans-Siberian Orchestra |
| Website | johnnyleemiddleton |
Johnny Lee Middleton (born May 7, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the bass guitarist for the heavy metal bands Savatage and Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Middleton was born in St. Petersburg, Florida. His first experience as a performing musician was as first-chair trumpet in the sixth-grade orchestra. [1] The band director provided early encouragement. "I'd get free lessons from him, so I learned how to play the saxophone, the clarinet, [and] the oboe. He kind of gave me an ear for music." [2]
As a bass player, however, Middleton is largely self-taught. At age 14, he joined the high-school jazz band. With the bass rig behind him, he quickly discovered "the way the bass moves the earth" [1] – and just as quickly realized "you could get more girls by playing bass instead of trumpet." [3] He invested $35 in his first bass, locked himself in his bedroom with REO Speedwagon, Cheap Trick, and Black Sabbath records, and learned to play along. [1] Among his influences, Middleton counts Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler, Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy), Geddy Lee (Rush), Chris Squire (Yes), John Entwistle (the Who), and Paul McCartney (the Beatles). [3]
Another influential experience – also at age 14 – was his first concert: Blue Öyster Cult. Middleton left the show knowing he wanted to be a professional bass player. "After that first concert, I was hooked. I was like, 'I want to be up there. I want to do that.'" [2]
Later in high school, Middleton and two friends formed his first band, Mariah. The trio performed regularly at high-school parties and other events. After graduation, Middleton played in several local bands before joining Lefty, a glam band that was already fairly well known on the Florida club circuit. Middleton soon found himself onstage nearly every night, decked out in makeup and spandex, playing to packed clubs across Florida and the South. "We got a lot of stage experience," he says. "We did a lot of covers, and some original. We were like a Poison before Poison. Everyone had bleached blonde hair, and wore a lot of makeup and hairspray. We were bizarre, but we would pack the clubs." [2]
Middleton spent several years with Lefty, the nightly shows honing both his bass chops and his stage presence. And it was during this time that he first crossed paths with Savatage, a decidedly un-glam metal band based in the Tampa, Florida area, near his hometown of St. Petersburg.
By 1984, Savatage had released several albums, but guitarist Criss Oliva and drummer Steve Wacholz were losing patience with bass player Keith Collins. [4] That year, Wacholz spotted Middleton onstage with Lefty at a local club. Although the Lefty image was a far cry from that of the hard-edged Savatage, Middleton's talent and stage presence caught Wacholz' attention. Wacholz passed Middleton's name to Savatage founder and singer Jon Oliva. Like Wacholz, Oliva had little interest in the Lefty look, but he too was impressed with Middleton's performance.
When invited to join Savatage, however, Middleton turned the offer down. The members of Savatage all worked other jobs, and Middleton's Lefty gig paid well enough to live on without the need for outside work. "Steve [Wacholz] approached me and offered me the bass gig. I said, 'I'm not going to [work] a day job – I'm making $250 a week.' For me, being 19-20 years old, that was good money. I said, 'When you can offer me a salary, come back and see me.'" [2]
But eventually, playing cover songs with Lefty lost its appeal. "We did well, but it got old," Middleton says. [2] Late in 1985, Savatage approached Middleton again. Preparing to record their next album, they were still looking to replace Collins. This time, Middleton agreed: "Somehow I was fed up with this bar-band-shit, even though it was a good living, getting through the week with $250, even if it meant we had to work each night for it. At the time I was only 20, 21 years old. The guys from my band would have loved to have lynched me, when I stepped out. Four weeks later I couldn't have cared less. I was in London with Savatage – and had a fuckin' great time!" [4]
Middleton's first appearance on a Savatage recording was 1986's Fight for the Rock , an album the band now refers to as "Fight for the Nightmare." "We recorded a great record," he says, but the record label "took our record, mangled the hell out of it, and tried to make us into something we weren't, when they thought the market was going more poppy. It was a learning experience." [2] The experience improved with 1987's breakthrough Hall of the Mountain King , which marked the band's first collaboration with producer Paul O'Neill. The title track received significant airplay on hard-rock radio and MTV's Headbanger's Ball. Gutter Ballet (1989) and Streets (1991) continued and solidified the partnership with O'Neill. During this time, Savatage embarked on several American and European tours, opening for bands such as Motörhead, Dio, and Megadeth.
1993 saw the first significant change in the Savatage lineup since Middleton's arrival in 1985. Singer Jon Oliva departed, and the remaining members of Savatage recorded and released Edge of Thorns with new vocalist Zak Stevens. Middleton describes Edge of Thorns as "about my favorite record, due to the fact that I like the bass mix in it, and it was the last one me and Criss got to do together. Jon had stepped down to pursue his Broadway thing, and it was me and Criss against the world, really. Everything was against us, and we fought back and won." [2]
The victory was short-lived. On October 17, 1993, Criss Oliva's car was struck head-on by a drunk driver. Oliva was killed instantly.
Middleton did not play on 1994's Handful of Rain . He entered the studio, saw Criss Oliva's signature white guitar, and – still devastated by Oliva's death only months before – turned around and walked out. But he joined the reunited and rebuilt Savatage for the Handful of Rain tour, and in early 1995 he rejoined the band in the studio to record their ninth album Dead Winter Dead , and has remained in Savatage since then.
Among the tracks on Dead Winter Dead was "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)", an instrumental medley of the Christmas standards "Carol of the Bells" and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," featuring a string orchestra alongside the electric guitars. In late 1995, "Christmas Eve" was released as a single to hundreds of radio stations across the United States. Station managers – intimidated by the Savatage name, the band believes – largely ignored it. [5]
The Savatage-branded "Christmas Eve" made it on the air in only a few markets that year. But in those markets it garnered an impressive response – so impressive that producer O'Neill decided to build an entirely new project upon the song's larger-than-life combination of hard-rock music and classical arrangements. In the summer of 1996, the members of Savatage, including Middleton, returned to the studio with O'Neill. Joined by a full orchestra and multiple singers, the band recorded Christmas Eve and Other Stories , a concept album which told the story of an angel descending to earth to search for the true meaning of Christmas.
In late 1996, an unknown group called Trans-Siberian Orchestra released their first single, "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24," to more than 300 radio stations across the United States. Very few station managers had any idea that the same song had landed on their desks the year before. Even fewer knew that the new Trans-Siberian Orchestra was, in fact, essentially an extension of Savatage. "Christmas Eve" hit the airwaves, and the phone lines lit up nationwide. [1]
Largely on the strength of that song, Christmas Eve and Other Stories has since sold nearly 3 million copies and launched the TSO empire. Since 1996, TSO has released four more albums – The Christmas Attic (1998), Beethoven's Last Night (2000), The Lost Christmas Eve (2004), and Night Castle (2009) – all of which feature Middleton on bass. Together, they have sold nearly 4 million copies.
Middleton has also performed with TSO's annual holiday tour since its inception. In 2008 alone, the two Trans-Siberian Orchestra touring companies combined played nearly 150 shows for over 1 million people. Savatage started Trans Siberian Orchestra because of some issues and difficulties.
In early 2008, Middleton began to try his hand at making music on his own. He soon discovered that songwriting "was like opening up another side of my mind that I never knew existed." [1] He took several raw tracks to singer and long time friend John Haikara who added lyrics, vocals and lead guitar. The tracks were then mixed by Jim Morris at Tampa,Fl famed Morrisound Studios. Drums were added by Mike Dillon veteran Tampa Bay rocker. His first two solo singles, "Tennessee" and "Broken Wings," were released in late 2008.
Savatage
| Trans-Siberian Orchestra
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Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American heavy metal band founded in 1996 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel to form the core of the creative team. The band gained in popularity when they began touring in 1999 after completing their second album, The Christmas Attic, the year previous. In 2007, The Washington Post referred to them as "an arena-rock juggernaut" and described their music as "Pink Floyd meets Yes and the Who at Radio City Music Hall." TSO has sold more than 10 million concert tickets and over 10 million albums. The band has released a series of rock operas: Christmas Eve and Other Stories, The Christmas Attic, Beethoven's Last Night, The Lost Christmas Eve, their two-disc Night Castle and Letters From the Labyrinth. Trans-Siberian Orchestra is also known for their extensive charity work and elaborate concerts, which include a string section, a light show, lasers, moving trusses, video screens, and effects synchronized to music.
Hall of the Mountain King is the fourth studio album by the American heavy metal band Savatage, released in 1987 under the direction of producer Paul O'Neill. It is their first album produced by O'Neill, who was assigned to the band after the tour in support of Fight for the Rock. O'Neill's influence pushed Savatage to adopt a conceptual progressive metal style beginning with this album.
Dead Winter Dead is the ninth studio album by the American heavy metal band Savatage, released in 1995. It is a concept album, that tells a story from the perspectives of a Serb boy, a Bosniak girl and an old man. The story of the album is set during the Bosnian War, which was ongoing at the time.
Edge of Thorns is the seventh studio album by the American heavy metal band Savatage, released on April 2, 1993, by Atlantic Records. It was the last Savatage album to feature guitarist Criss Oliva, who died six months after its release, and their first release with Zachary Stevens on lead vocals, following the departure of Jon Oliva from his role as singer in Savatage, although he did produce and write songs for the album.
Streets: A Rock Opera is the sixth studio album by the American heavy metal band Savatage and is a rock opera dealing with the rise and fall of the fictional musician DT Jesus. It was originally released in October 1991 on Atlantic Records. The album took almost a year to record, with pre-production beginning in October 1990. It was also Jon Oliva's last album as lead vocalist until 1995's Dead Winter Dead and 1997's The Wake of Magellan, where he shared lead vocal duties with Zak Stevens. He resumed lead vocal duties exclusively on 2001's Poets and Madmen.
Savatage is an American heavy metal band founded by brothers Jon and Criss Oliva in 1979 in Tarpon Springs, Florida. The band was first called Avatar, but, shortly before the release of their debut album Sirens (1983), they changed their name to Savatage, as Avatar was already taken by at least one other band. Savatage is considered to be an integral part of the American heavy metal movement of the early-to-mid-1980s and has been cited as a key influence on numerous heavy metal subgenres.
Al Pitrelli is an American guitarist, best known for his work with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Megadeth, Alice Cooper and Savatage. He has performed with various acts as a band member, session musician and touring member, including Michael Bolton, Celine Dion, Asia, Dee Snider, Kathy Troccoli, Taylor Dayne, Blue Öyster Cult, Exposé and Joe Lynn Turner.
Handful of Rain is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band Savatage, released in 1994. This is the first album since the death of the band's founding member and lead guitarist Criss Oliva. who had contributed to writing on its songs "Taunting Cobras" and "Nothing's Going On" before his death.
Gutter Ballet is the fifth full-length album produced by the American progressive metal band Savatage. This was the second album created under the direction of producer Paul O'Neill and was initially released in December 1, 1989.
Ghost in the Ruins – A Tribute to Criss Oliva is a live album by the American heavy metal band Savatage, recorded between 1987 and 1990. Many of the tracks on this album have since been added to the re-releases of other albums in the Savatage discography by the German label SPV in 2002. The Japanese version of the album, titled Final Bell – Tribute to Christopher Michael Oliva and released by Zero Corporation in 1997, shows the track "Criss Intro" as "Criss Oliva Guitar Solo" on the track listing.
Jeff Plate is an American professional hard rock/heavy metal drummer. He plays with the group Trans-Siberian Orchestra. He is best known as drummer for American heavy metal band Savatage on their albums since Japan Live '94, and was also a member of Metal Church from 2006 to their break up in 2009 and again from their reunion in 2012 to 2017.
John Nicholas "Jon" Oliva is an American singer and musician. He is best known as the co-founder, keyboardist and lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Savatage, which he co-founded with his younger brother Criss Oliva. Since 1996 he has also been a songwriter, musician and vocalist in Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Producer Paul O'Neill referred to Oliva in numerous interviews as the single greatest vocalist/musician he has ever worked with.
Robert Kinkel is an American professional session keyboardist and music engineer most known for his role as a co-creator/co-producer/co-composer and touring keyboardist with Trans-Siberian Orchestra along with extensive studio work with the progressive metal band Savatage. He attended Hamilton College and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in music with a minor in physics.
Christopher Michael Oliva was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and co-founder of the heavy metal band Savatage. During his lifetime, he released seven studio albums and one EP with the band.
Zachary Trussell, known professionally as Zachary "Zak" Stevens, is an American singer, best known as the second lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Savatage. He currently performs with the heavy metal band Circle II Circle. Stevens also has a degree in psychology but is not, as is often reported, a licensed, practicing psychologist.
The Christmas Attic is the second studio album by the American rock band Trans-Siberian Orchestra, released in 1998. The cover art is by Edgar Jerins.
Christopher Caffery is an American heavy metal guitarist, best known for his work as a member of Savatage and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Caffery has been releasing solo records singing and playing guitar for almost 20 years, releasing nine albums and many singles since 2004.
Paul O'Neill was an American composer, lyricist, record producer, and guitarist. He was the producer of the progressive metal band Savatage, and the founder of the rock band Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Night Castle is the fifth studio album by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. It was released on October 28, 2009 as a double CD with a 60-page booklet illustrated by Greg Hildebrandt, and debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard charts and No. 1 on the rock music charts. It was certified gold in eight weeks and is currently a platinum album.
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