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The singer has found success in folk, pop and country music. He opens the season at Octagon Arts, known as a folk venue.
By CAROL LOVE
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 5, 2000
Saturday night, singer Michael Johnson kicks off the 2000/2001 concert series at the Octagon Arts center in Clearwater. This is the center's biggest name act so far -- marking the beginning of its biggest season to date.
"The real reason we're upping the bar with the concert series this season is because it's our 50th anniversary," said Elly Kelly Baker, past president of the Unitarian Universalists Congregation, home to Octagon. "We've been in the community this long and realize a lot of people don't realize we're here. And we want to raise the community's awareness of us as an option not only for their cultural events but also for their religious conversations."
Kim Richey, Colin Hay (former front man for Men at Work), Christine Lavin and several other major acoustic acts will play the octagonal arena this season.
Johnson had a folk career in the '60s including a stint with John Denver and the revamped Chad Mitchell Trio. He charted in pop music during the '70s with hits such as Bluer than Blue and This Night Won't Last Forever. In the '80s he took on country music and hit No. 1 with both Give Me Wings and The Moon Is Still Over Her Shoulder. A constant through all these changes has been his clear, soul-rending voice and knack for picking great material to showcase his vocals and razor-sharp acoustic guitar.
In his genre-leaping career, he's shared the stage with everyone from Cheech & Chong to Alison Kraus.
Johnson recently chatted with the Times by phone from his home in Nashville.
Q: You started in folk, then you went into pop, then into country, now you're playing down here in a traditional folk venue.
A: Well, it does seem like a series of unrelated events. The thing that has been the thread that hopefully went through the whole thing is my guitar and my vocal . . . (But) I can understand where anyone else would look at this and say, "This guy sounds like three people who have never met."
Q: I have to ask you about living with Steve Martin (back in the late '60s).
A: There were balloon animals all over the apartment, and there were a couple of zany moments in restaurants. (But) aside from that -- Steve was a serious, thoughtful guy and he plays a hell of a banjo. He was really a fine banjo player, and it was part of his act before he was the wild and crazy guy.
Q: Let's talk about the Bluer than Blue experience.
A: When I heard the song I thought, "Well, it's pretty, it's got some integrity -- it's got some good chord changes. There's nothing really typical about it." So I said, "Yeah, let's do that one." It was really a fantasy story at the time because I spent my life savings on the demo of Bluer than Blue and that's what they released. It changed my life. (But) I had people walk up to me who'd known me as an acoustic guy and saying, "Are you sure this is what you want?" I had interviewers saying, "At what point did you realize you were selling out?" But I always say, before you're worried about selling out -- be sure you have something to sell.
Q: How much of what you perform is your material?
A: Very little. I'm just not one who has to do his own stuff. You can be criticized for that, too. But I don't care. I do say this, to myself at least, and I try to be true to it, if I don't think I can do the definitive version of a song -- then I don't really have any business doing it.
Michael Johnson with Mindy Simmons, Saturday at 8 p.m., Octagon Arts center, 2470 Nursery Road, Clearwater. Tickets: $12 advance, $15 day of show. Call (727) 531-7440.