Daniel Johnston, Eccentric Austin Cult Singer-Songwriter, Dead At 58

Daniel Johnston (Photo: Rich Jones licensed via CC 2.0)

DANIEL JOHNSTON, the eccentric singer-songwriter whose battle with mental health issues, passed away in his hometown AUSTIN, from a heart attack at age 58 on TUESDAY night, according to reports from the AUSTIN CHRONICLE and his one-time manager, JEFF TARTAKOV. 

JOHNSON released 17 albums and was revered by artists like KURT COBAIN, TOM WAITS, SONIC YOUTH, MATT GROENING and YO LA TENGO's IRA KAPLAN, many of whom covered his songs of whimsy and angst. He was also the subject of a well-regarded 2005 documentary, “The Devil and DANIEL JOHNSTON.”

COBAIN, who stated in interviews that JOHNSTON was among the “greatest” songwriters, wore a T-shirt emblazoned with his "Hi, How Are You" album to the 1992 MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS, and artists including FLAMING LIPS, DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE, LANA DEL REY, BRIGHT EYES and BECK have all covered his songs.

JOHNSTON was known for his tenor warble and child-like expressions of love and life on songs like “Life in Vain,” “True Love Will Find You in the End,” and “Walking the Cow.”

His 2017 tour was his farewell, though he denied it in a NEW YORK TIMES profile. The idea of him quitting the road isn’t unreasonable. He has battled manic depression and schizophrenia most of his adult life, and in recent years endured multiple physical ailments, including diabetes, a kidney infection and hydrocephalus, a condition in which fluid on his brain caused him to frequently lose his balance. In the last year, his mental health also worsened. … Mr. JOHNSTON’s psychiatric treatment has required extended stays at inpatient facilities, and although he now lives with some degree of independence, he requires considerable assistance.”

For his own part, JOHNSTON seemed surprised at the assertion it would be his final live performances, though he insisted he would never stop writing songs, “If I did stop, there could be nothing,” he told the TIMES. “Maybe everything would stop. So I won’t stop. I’ve got to keep it going.”

Although he had moved to HOUSTON, JOHNSTON remained a beloved figure in AUSTIN, which  designated an annual “Hi, How Are You? Day” in his honor, on his birthday.

“When I was growing up, after church, everybody shook hands and would say, ‘Hi. How are you?'” JOHNSTON told THE CHRONICLE last year about the album title which became his pet phrase. “I always heard it, even at the funeral home when there was some dead person who died of old age. The undertaker said to me, and I was just a little boy, ‘Hi. How are you?’ That’s how that started.”

His most recent album was “Beam Me Up!” in 2010. He told the CHRONICLE that he had been working on a new, as-yet-unreleased album with BRIAN BEATTTIE..

(Photo: Rich Jones via Flickr licensed via CC 2.0)

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