Daniel Johnston

Description

Daniel Dale Johnston (b. January 22, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and artist. Johnston was the subject of the 2005 documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston. He currently lives in a house adjacent to his parents' home in Waller, Texas. <p>Johnston has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. His songs are often called "painfully direct," and tend to display a blend of childlike naïveté with darker, "spooky" themes. Johnston's earliest recordings present him singing in a high register. However, throughout the nineties his voice acquired a new character and tone and an altogether different style of delivery and diction. This may have been inspired by a mixture of the damage done by smoking, tooth loss and medication prescribed to control his disorder. His performances often seem faltering or uncertain; one critic writes that Johnston's recordings range from "spotty to brilliant."<p>Johnston was born in Sacramento, California and grew up in the northern panhandle of Chester,...