Kevin Johnson (singer)
Encyclopedia
Kevin Stephen Johnson is an Australian singer-songwriter
, most active in the 1970s, and is best known for his 1973 song "Rock and Roll I Gave You the Best Years of My Life", which peaked at #4 on the Australian singles charts. In Australia, Johnson had a top 20 hit with "Bonnie Please Don't Go" (aka "She's Leavin'") in 1971.
who signed him to his publishing company. Johnson relocated to Sydney
and recorded his first single, "Hayman Island" in 1967 on Joye's ATA label. He followed with "Woman You Took My Life" in 1968 but neither single had any chart success. In 1969, he signed with independent label, Sweet Peach. His first hit single "Bonnie Please Don't Go" aka "She's Leavin'" from 1971, peaked at #12 in Melbourne
, #2 in Sydney and #15 nationally.
and told them he was about to leave. Johnson was informed that other artists had already recorded his song, so he quickly recorded and released his own version on the Australian-based Good Thyme label through Festival.
According to a 2002 interview with music journalist
, Debbie Kruger
:
Johnson wrote about a singer recalling his childhood dream of being a star and followed his life through his musical work, with some close breaks until he is faced with the ultimate realisation that he is not destined to become a star. It ends on an upbeat note from the would-be celebrity proclaiming "I thank the lord for giving me the little that I knew".
According to rock music historian
, Ian McFarlane, it is one of the most covered
songs written by an Australian with 27 different artists recording it in 1975 alone. Covers include fellow Australians Col Joye
and Digby Richards and international artists such as Mac Davis
, Terry Jacks
, Gary Glitter
, Joe Dassin
(in French) and Tom Jones
. Some cover artists, including Mac Davis, leave out the lyric "... I'd never be a star" for a happier ending. Others, like Gary Glitter, leave out the upbeat ending in the Johnson version for a more somber ending. In the U.S., Johnson's single went to #73 on the Billboard
singles chart in 1973, Jacks's went to #97 in 1974 and Davis's became the biggest hit, reaching #15 in 1975.
Johnson re-wrote this song to be "Aussie Rules
I Thank You for the Best Years of Our Lives", for the official Australian Football League
(AFL) Centenary Song in 1996 and was used as an anthem before AFL games.
("Winter in America" aka "Leave Love Enough Alone") and Mike McClellan ("Song and Dance Man"). They have toured around Australia through the 2000s.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, most active in the 1970s, and is best known for his 1973 song "Rock and Roll I Gave You the Best Years of My Life", which peaked at #4 on the Australian singles charts. In Australia, Johnson had a top 20 hit with "Bonnie Please Don't Go" (aka "She's Leavin'") in 1971.
Early years
Johnson is the only son of Richard Johnson (timber contractor) and Elinor Johnson (post office / telephone exchange operator) and began his singing career in Rockhampton with the Candymen. In the early 1960s he worked for the Queensland Department of Roads as a clerk; playing and singing at night and writing songs in any spare time. Some of his songs came to the notice of rock and roll star Col JoyeCol Joye
Colin Frederick Jacobsen AM , better known by his stage name Col Joye, is an Australian popular entertainer and entrepreneur...
who signed him to his publishing company. Johnson relocated to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and recorded his first single, "Hayman Island" in 1967 on Joye's ATA label. He followed with "Woman You Took My Life" in 1968 but neither single had any chart success. In 1969, he signed with independent label, Sweet Peach. His first hit single "Bonnie Please Don't Go" aka "She's Leavin'" from 1971, peaked at #12 in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, #2 in Sydney and #15 nationally.
"Rock and Roll"
Johnson moved to the United States and wrote songs for Tree International for two years while vainly attempting to record his own songs. Johnson's best known song, which charted in several countries, was "Rock and Roll I Gave You the Best Years of My Life" in 1973. It peaked at #10 in Melbourne, and at #4 on the Australian singles charts. The song was written by Johnson, who became frustrated with his US record label, Dial Records, in Nashville, TennesseeNashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
and told them he was about to leave. Johnson was informed that other artists had already recorded his song, so he quickly recorded and released his own version on the Australian-based Good Thyme label through Festival.
According to a 2002 interview with music journalist
Music journalism
Music journalism is criticism and reportage about music. It began in the eighteenth century as comment on what is now thought of as 'classical music'. This aspect of music journalism, today often referred to as music criticism , comprises the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of...
, Debbie Kruger
Debbie Kruger
Debbie Kruger is an Australian music journalist and pop-culture writer, she wrote Songwriters Speak in August 2005, which contains interviews with 45 Australian and New Zealand songwriters about their craft...
:
Johnson wrote about a singer recalling his childhood dream of being a star and followed his life through his musical work, with some close breaks until he is faced with the ultimate realisation that he is not destined to become a star. It ends on an upbeat note from the would-be celebrity proclaiming "I thank the lord for giving me the little that I knew".
According to rock music historian
Music history
Music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is the highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies the composition, performance, reception, and criticism of music over time...
, Ian McFarlane, it is one of the most covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
songs written by an Australian with 27 different artists recording it in 1975 alone. Covers include fellow Australians Col Joye
Col Joye
Colin Frederick Jacobsen AM , better known by his stage name Col Joye, is an Australian popular entertainer and entrepreneur...
and Digby Richards and international artists such as Mac Davis
Mac Davis
Mac Davis is a country music singer, songwriter, and actor originally from Lubbock, Texas who has enjoyed much crossover success...
, Terry Jacks
Terry Jacks
Terrence Ross "Terry" Jacks is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer and environmentalist.-Early life:...
, Gary Glitter
Gary Glitter
Gary Glitter is an English former glam rock singer-songwriter and musician.Glitter first came to prominence in the glam rock era of the early 1970s...
, Joe Dassin
Joe Dassin
Joseph Ira Dassin , more commonly known as Joe Dassin, was an American singer-songwriter best known for his French songs of the 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:...
(in French) and Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
. Some cover artists, including Mac Davis, leave out the lyric "... I'd never be a star" for a happier ending. Others, like Gary Glitter, leave out the upbeat ending in the Johnson version for a more somber ending. In the U.S., Johnson's single went to #73 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
singles chart in 1973, Jacks's went to #97 in 1974 and Davis's became the biggest hit, reaching #15 in 1975.
Johnson re-wrote this song to be "Aussie Rules
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
I Thank You for the Best Years of Our Lives", for the official Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
(AFL) Centenary Song in 1996 and was used as an anthem before AFL games.
JAM
Johnson formed JAM (Johnson Ashdown McClellan) with Doug AshdownDoug Ashdown
-External links:* * [ Doug Ashdown] at Allmusic...
("Winter in America" aka "Leave Love Enough Alone") and Mike McClellan ("Song and Dance Man"). They have toured around Australia through the 2000s.
Albums
- In the Quiet Corners of My Mind (1969)
- Rock and Roll I Gave You the Best Years of My Life (1974)
- Man of the 20th Century (1976)
- Journeys (1978)
- The Best of Kevin Johnson (1979 compilation)
- Night Rider (1980)
- In the Spirit of the Times (1985)
- The Sun Will Shine Again (1996)
- Songs from a Troubled World (2006)
Singles
- 1967: Hayman Island
- 1968: Woman You Took My Life
- 1970: It Was Good While It Lasted
- 1971: Bonnie Please Don't Go (She's Leaving) (AUS #15/1971)
- 1971: All Our Favourite Songs
- 1973: Rock 'n Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life) (AUS #4/1973; DE #47/1974; UK #23/1975)
- 1974: Kedron Brook
- 1975: Man of the 20th Century
- 1975: Someday Sam
- 1976: Over the Hills and Far Away
- 1976: Grab the Money and Run (Charthit in Irland)
- 1977: All I Ever Needed
- 1979: Next Plane to New Mexico
- 1979: Paraguayan Sunset
- 1980: He Was Just a Boy
- 1981: Night Rider
- 1982: Reasons
- 1984: Hard Act to Follow
- 1985: Night Comes