Hailing from the Mississippi delta, Blackthorn is a strong, intense songwriter and performer with a haunting voice that demands your ear. Johnny first fell in love with music as he experienced the soul of Elvis Presley, the lyrics of Bob Dylan and the pure rock-n-roll storytelling of Bruce Springsteen. A self-taught acoustic guitarist, Johnny bought his first guitar, a Yamaha 12-string, at the age of 16 in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Johnny received a degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Mississippi (Go Rebels!). Through the years of utilizing his degree in the work place, Johnny found himself in Dallas, Texas and could not escape the voice within that told him he was destined for something else. In search of that something, he left his career behind and moved to Richmond, Virginia where he pursued a Master's degree in Theology at Baptist Theological Seminary of Richmond. All the while he was playing, writing, and growing as a musician. These influences of religious study and corporate work can be seen in songs such as “Slave to the System,” "I Belong Here,” and “Detached” which explore the struggle of the artist to survive in a world increasingly hostile to creative minds. During this time, Blackthorn built a repertoire of songs and made a decision to pursue music.

Blackthorn recorded his debut solo acoustic album, I Belong Here, in 1999. The following year was both exciting and challenging. During the birth of his debut CD, Johnny teamed up with talented blues guitarist Brian Fones, an established musician in the Richmond scene. Johnny's infectious lyrics and melodies and Brian's ghostly slide guitar quickly filled the acoustic venues and began to attract other musicians. The Johnny Blackthorn Band was soon formed and an original music mix influenced by the likes of the Allman Brothers, Pearl Jam, Jethro Tull, and The Band was the product. The Johnny Blackthorn Band was well received, and the band made the decision to hire on management. An MP3 site was developed as well as a professional website for Johnny, an extensive email list was created and regularly scheduled shows were put on the calendar. Local newspapers started taking notice and reviewers' opinions were showing up in the press. Johnny's MP3 site began hitting the ranks and within a month of launch, his single, "Mississippi Mojo Queen," was listed as the number one song in the state of Virginia. Other songs were topping the charts, and all the while Johnny was writing new songs, performing acoustically and with the full band, and trying to decide where to go next.

It was the entrance of Dave Hill into Johnny’s life that changed the course of the next four years. Dave had already made a name for himself as the drummer with a John Bonham kick in many local bands, but his genius as a producer and sound engineer proved to be just what Johnny was looking for. Dave built a studio, Green Eye Productions, and began utilizing his talents to record many of the local artists in Richmond. Johnny stopped playing live to focus on the production of his second full-length album, and the members of the band moved on. With Blackthorn at the helm, Brian Fones on electric guitar, Jeffery Hunt on bass, Sonny Bose on keys, and other guest musicians – Hill spun a magic into Johnny's music through countless hours at the studio – recording his own versions of electric lead guitar and bass parts, acoustic rhythm tracks, backup vocals and, of course, drumming the foundation to it all. In the next four years, Johnny and Dave set to the arduous task of capturing their vision for Johnny's music. Resurrection by Degrees, released in October of 2004, was the product of their commitment to this vision. It is, according to one reviewer,

“a musical confluence of intelligent, biting lyrics interposed with an infectious blend of roots rock, folk, blues and country into a distinctive sound that speaks to the strength and fragility of the human condition. It is grand and nostalgic, emotional and dramatic, pleading and sensitive; it is an excellent tribute (or companion, for that matter) to the place where we all convalesce now and again, the place that exists only for us to make clear the division between what just happened and what happens next.”


Johnny Blackthorn relocated to Oxford, Mississippi in the fall of 2004 to expand his fan base and get closer to his roots. He is currently recording two albums: Gibbous Moon with BJ Baartmans in the Netherlands, and The Year of August with Andrew Ratcliffe of Tweed Recording. Both are set to be released by Mission 66 Records in 2013. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.