Kevin Johnson (singer)
Kevin Johnson (born July 3, 1942 in Rockhampton , Queensland ) is an Australian singer and songwriter . His song Rock 'n Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life) made him famous around the world in the mid-1970s .
biography
Johnson began his career in his hometown with a band called The Candymen . In his spare time he wrote songs that earned him a contract with a music publisher .
Johnson later moved to Sydney , where he released his first singles , including Woman You Took My Life (1968). In 1969 he recorded his first LP In the Quiet Corners of My Mind . In 1971 he went on his first tour of Australia . That year he had his breakthrough in his homeland with his second single, Bonnie Please Don't Go (She's Leaving) - the song climbed to number 15 on the Australian charts , a cover version by Jim Ed Brown became a success in country music - Charts in the USA .
In 1973 he released his song Rock 'n Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life) . The single debuted at # 4 on the charts and went over the next two years in the US, the UK (there 1975 Jonathan Kings UK Records ) and many countries in Europe in the charts . The song has since been covered by many artists around the world and sold tens of millions of times. He was also heard on Kevin's second LP of the same name. The songwriter Hannes Wader wrote a German version of it, which he published under the title Damals on his album Glut am Horizont (1985). In 1975, Johnson went on tour of Australia as a supporting act for Roberta Flack .
Only in 1976, after the release of his third LP A Man of the 20th Century , did he give concerts outside of Australia; he went on a tour through Europe and performed in Germany and Switzerland , among others .
Since then, Johnson has written many well-known songs that he himself recorded on a number of albums, but also by artists as diverse as Cliff Richard , Des O'Connor , Gary Glitter , Harry Chapin , Joe Dassin , John Leyton , Mac Davis , Roger Whittaker , Sonny Curtis , Terry Jacks , The Cats , Tom Jones , Travis Tritt or Val Doonican have been covered.
Kevin Johnson was also active in the field of film ; he wrote the music for Jungle Trip into Chaos with Sally Kellerman (1987), for Fatal Bond - The fatal principle of chance with Linda Blair (1992 - Johnson also has a short appearance in this film) and for the Australian television film The Finder (2001).
During the second half of the 1970s and 1980s, Johnson was a regular guest on television shows in Australia and Europe. He presented the title " Rock & Roll, I Gave You the Best Years of My Life " live with the Jochen Brauer Sextet in 1979 on the TV show Die Mondagsmaler (in which Chris Howland and Roy Black also participated). In Germany in 1982, he took two songs with James Last in, My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean and Rolling Home on Load LP, the Take me with Captain James on the journey appeared on 16 September 1982 in the eponymous TV show of ZDF of were presented to him. In the same year, Kevin Johnson appeared on ZDF's Show Express , which was broadcast live from the Freiheitshalle in Hof on September 9, 1982. Kevin Johnson sang the songs Rock 'n Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life) and Night Rider on this show .
Discography
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Albums
- 1969: In the Quiet Corners of My Mind
- 1974: Rock & Roll, I Gave You the Best Years of My Life
- 1976: A Man of the 20th Century
- 1978: Journeys
- 1979: The Best of Kevin Johnson (compilation)
- 1980: Kevin Johnson - Profiles (Compilation)
- 1980: Night Rider
- 1985: In the Spirit of the Times
- 1996: The Sun Will Shine Again
- 2006: Songs from a Troubled World
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)
- 1971: All Our Favorite Songs
- 1973: Rock 'n Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life)
- 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 (chart hit in Ireland)
- 1977: All I Ever Needed
- 1979: Next Plane to New Mexico
- 1979: Paraguayan Sunset
- 1979: Shaney Boy
- 1980: He Was Just a Boy
- 1981: Night Rider
- 1982: Reasons
- 1984: Hard Act to Follow
- 1985: Night Comes
Web links
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Johnson, Kevin |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Australian singer / songwriter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 3, 1942 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Rockhampton , Queensland , Australia |