Jack Johnson, a Hawaii-born singer/songwriter, achieved a moderate level of fame in late 2001 with his debut album, Brushfire Fairytales.
The singer had been a professional surfer until an accident forced him to take some time off. He learned to play guitar at age 14, but did not seriously pursue a career in music or film until his college years studying film at UC-Santa Barbara, where he graduated with a degree in film. His music caught the ear of Ben Harper’s producer/manager J.P. Plunier. Plunier pushed Johnson to record formal demos, eventually leading to the release of Brushfire Fairytales in 2001.
After touring for almost two years, Johnson released his second album On and On to generally favorable reviews in late 2003. Many of the songs on On and On had previously been released on bootlegs but received full band treatment on the new album.
His third studio album, In Between Dreams, was released on March 1.