Davey Johnstone | |
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 Johnstone in concert with Elton John, 2023 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | David William Logan Johnstone [1] |
| Born | 6 May 1951 Edinburgh, Scotland |
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| Years active | 1968–present |
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David William Logan Johnstone (born 6 May 1951) is a Scottish rock guitarist and vocalist, best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band. [2]
Johnstone was born in Edinburgh. At the age of seven, at primary school, he volunteered to learn the violin. But by the time he was 10 he was playing it "sideways like a guitar". One of his sisters then bought him a guitar for Christmas and by the age of 12 he was organising bands at his secondary school, Forrester High School. He had already decided he wanted to be a musician when he grew up. [3] [4]
Johnstone's first work was with Noel Murphy in 1968, where he received his first album credit on the album Another Round. By 1969, Johnstone had secured regular work as a session musician, where he began to branch out and explore differing genres of music, and experiment with a variety of instruments. In 1970, when Lyell Tranter (one of the two guitarists in the acoustic British folk group Magna Carta) left the band, Johnstone took his place as a member. He recorded several albums with them beginning in 1970 on Seasons (1970), and continued to contribute to Songs from Wasties Orchard (1971) (named after the street where he lived in Long Hanborough, Oxfordshire), and a live album entitled In Concert.
During his stint with Magna Carta, Johnstone played a wide variety of instruments including guitar, mandolin, sitar, and dulcimer. He also caught producer Gus Dudgeon's attention during this time – Dudgeon asking Johnstone to play on Bernie Taupin's eponymous 1971 solo album, which resulted in a meeting with Elton John, and ultimately, Johnstone's playing on John's 1971 album Madman Across the Water , after which he was invited to join Elton John's band as a full member. [5] Previously, the Elton John Band consisted of John himself, bassist Dee Murray, and drummer Nigel Olsson.
Johnstone's debut album as a full-time member with John's band, was the 1972 Honky Chateau , on which he played electric and acoustic guitars, slide guitar, banjo, and mandolin, and also sang backing vocals alongside Murray and Olsson. In 1972 he worked with Joan Armatrading and Pam Nestor on their Gus Dudgeon-produced debut album Whatever's for Us , playing acoustic and electric guitar on several tracks, and sitar on the song "Visionary Mountains".
Johnstone released a solo album, Smiling Face, in 1973 through The Rocket Record Company and created a short-lived band called China that released an eponymous album in 1977.
Even while playing alongside other artists such as Stevie Nicks, Meat Loaf and Alice Cooper during the late 1970s and early 1980s, Johnstone was never very far from Elton's projects, and following his reunion with original bandmates Nigel Olsson and Dee Murray full-time for 1982's "Jump Up" tour, has rarely been absent from an Elton John album track or tour. [6]
In 1990, Johnstone collaborated for the first time with lyricist Steve Trudell. With music and lyric in place, the two formed Warpipes, which included past and present Elton John band members Nigel Olsson on drums, Bob Birch on bass, Guy Babylon on keyboards, along with Billy Trudel as vocalist. In 1991, Warpipes released their only album, Holes in the Heavens, on the label Artful Balance Records. When Artful Balance Records folded, Bridge Recordings released an eponymous album (with cover-art showing a space in the name: "War Pipes") which included all bar "Satellite City" from the "Holes..." album. The track order was also changed and three new tracks included: "Little Persuader", "Dust On My Boots" and "One Love True". Additionally, some of the tracks from the "Holes..." album were edited with consequent duration changes.
In 1991, Johnstone produced Addison Steel's Stormy Blue in which he played guitar, mandolin, sitar, and banjo, and performed vocals. Co-producer Guy Babylon joined with keyboard arrangements, alongside drummer Nigel Olsson and Billy Trudell adding percussion and vocals respectively.
In 1996, Johnstone released an instructional guitar video titled Davey Johnstone: Star Licks Master Sessions for Star Licks Productions, in which he plays a wide variety of John classics, joined by Billy Trudel on vocals and Bob Birch on bass. In 1997, while on tour with John, Johnstone and then Elton John bandmate and former Hellecasters guitarist John Jorgenson spent much of their off time creating Crop Circles, an album of acoustic instrumentation released in 1998.
On 10 June 2009, Johnstone played a landmark 2000th show as a member of the Elton John Band at the SECC in Glasgow, Scotland. He is currently serving as John's musical director, in addition to his guitar work, playing along with Nigel Olsson and John Mahon; he also performed with Bob Birch before Birch's death in August 2012.
In 2014, he played on "Belle Fleur" and "If You Were My Love" from Stevie Nicks' album 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault . He knew Nicks from when he played guitar on several songs from her 1981 album Bella Donna . [7]
On 1 October 2019, Johnstone performed his 3,000th show with Elton John at the first of two Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour stops at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. [8]
On 25 June 2023, he played with John at the Glastonbury Festival. The set was one of the headline acts and was billed as John's last live UK performance. [9]
Johnstone lives in Los Angeles with his wife. The couple have seven children. [3] [10]
With Elton John
With Alice Cooper
With Joan Armatrading
With Eric Carmen
With Belinda Carlisle
With B.B. King
With Shaun Cassidy
With Ryan Malcolm
With Jimmy Webb
With Rick Astley
With Kiki Dee
With Brian Cadd
With Olivia Newton-John
With Bernie Taupin
With Rod Stewart
With Yvonne Elliman
With Vonda Shepard
With Leo Sayer
With Stevie Nicks
Empty Sky is the debut studio album by British singer-songwriter Elton John, released on 6 June 1969. It was not issued in the United States until January 1975, with different cover art, well after John's fame had been established internationally.
Madman Across the Water is the fourth studio album by English musician Elton John, released in 1971 through DJM and Uni Records. The album was his third album to be released in 1971, at which point John had been rising to prominence as a popular music artist. John's first progressive rock album, Madman Across the Water contains nine tracks, each composed and performed by John and with lyrics written by songwriting partner Bernie Taupin. Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman plays Hammond organ on two songs.
Honky Château is the fifth studio album by English musician Elton John. It was released on 19 May 1972, and was titled after the 18th century French chateau where it was recorded, Château d'Hérouville. The album reached number one in the US Billboard 200, the first of John's seven consecutive US number one albums.
Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player is the sixth studio album by English musician Elton John. Released in January 1973 by DJM Records, it was the first of two studio albums he released in 1973, and was his second straight No. 1 album in the US and first No. 1 album in the UK.
Caribou is the eighth studio album by English musician Elton John, released on 24 June 1974 by MCA Records in the US and on 28 June by DJM Records in the UK. It was his fourth chart-topping album in the United States and his third in the United Kingdom. The album contains the singles "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", which reached number 16 in the UK Singles Chart and number two in the US, and "The Bitch Is Back", which reached number 15 in the UK and number four in the US. Both singles reached number one in Canada on the RPM 100 national Top Singles Chart, as did the album itself.
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy is the ninth studio album by English musician Elton John. The album is an autobiographical account of the early musical careers of Elton John and his long-term lyricist Bernie Taupin. It was released in May 1975 by MCA Records in America and DJM in the UK and was an instant commercial success. The album was certified gold before its release, and reached No. 1 in its first week of release on the US Billboard 200, the first album to achieve both honours. It sold 1.4 million copies within four days of release, and stayed in the top position in the chart for seven weeks.
Rock of the Westies is the tenth studio album by English musician Elton John, released on 24 October 1975. The title is a spoonerism on the phrase "West of the Rockies", the album having been recorded at Caribou Ranch in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
Blue Moves is the eleventh studio album by English musician Elton John. It was released on 22 October 1976 through John's own Rocket Record Company, alongside MCA Records in certain countries. John's second double album, it was recorded at EMI Studios, Brother Studios, Eastern Sound and Sunset Sound Recorders, and was his last to be produced by longtime collaborator Gus Dudgeon until Ice on Fire (1985). Additionally, the album would be the last collaboration between John and lyricist Bernie Taupin for the next few years until a partial resumption of their working partnership with 21 at 33 (1980).
Nigel Olsson is an English rock drummer best known for his long-time affiliation with Elton John. A dynamic drummer and backing vocalist, Olsson helped establish the Elton John sound as a member of the Elton John Band alongside bassist Dee Murray.
Breaking Hearts is the eighteenth studio album by English musician Elton John, released in 1984. It features the quartet of John, Davey Johnstone, Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson. There were four top-40 singles from the album: "Sad Songs ", "Who Wears These Shoes", "In Neon", and the UK No. 5 hit "Passengers".
"Crocodile Rock" is a song written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, and recorded in summer 1972 at the Château d'Hérouville studio in France, where John and his team had previously recorded the Honky Château album. It was released on 27 October 1972 in the UK and 20 November 1972 in the U.S., as a pre-release single from his forthcoming 1973 album Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player, and became his first U.S. number-one single, reaching the top spot on 3 February 1973, and staying there for three consecutive weeks. In the U.S., it was certified Gold on 5 February 1973 and Platinum on 13 September 1995 by the RIAA.
David Murray Oates, known as Dee Murray, was an English bass guitarist. He was best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band.
Taupin is the debut studio album by longtime Elton John lyricist Bernie Taupin.. It is a spoken word album of his poetry with music that revolves around the theme. The album was produced by Gus Dudgeon and coordinated by Steve Brown.
"Someone Saved My Life Tonight" is a song, with music by English musician Elton John and lyrics by Bernie Taupin, from John's 1975 album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. It was released as a single on 23 June 1975, the only single released from the album. Like the rest of the album, the song is autobiographical, and addresses an attempted suicide by John.
The Elton John Band is the band that backs singer, composer and pianist Elton John on both studio and live recordings. The band has gone through several lineup changes, but Nigel Olsson, Davey Johnstone, and Ray Cooper have been members since 1970, 1971 and 1973 respectively. The various lineups of the band have consisted of both British, American, and European musicians. The band is often not recognised as a formal entity, and is instead referred to simply as the Elton John Band.
"Skyline Pigeon" is a ballad composed and performed by English musician Elton John with lyrics by Bernie Taupin. It is the eighth track on his first album, Empty Sky. It was originally released by Guy Darrell and Roger James Cooke simultaneously as a single in August 1968.
Caleb Quaye is an English rock guitarist and studio musician best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s with Elton John, Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney, Hall & Oates and Ralph McTell, and also toured with Shawn Phillips in the 1970s. He is the son of singer/pianist Cab Kaye, younger brother of musician Terri Quaye, and elder half-brother of singer Finley Quaye.
17-11-70 is the fifth official album release for English musician Elton John and his first live album.
The Rocket Record Company is a record label founded by Elton John, along with Bernie Taupin, Gus Dudgeon, Steve Brown and others, in 1973. The company was named after the hit song "Rocket Man". The label was originally distributed in the UK by Island and in the US by MCA Records, both of which Elton John was also signed to.
"Rocket Man" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin and performed by John. It was originally released on 17 April 1972 in the US, as the lead single to John's album Honky Château. The song first charted in the UK on 22 April, rising to No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 6 in the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming a major hit single for John.
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