Commerce singer-songwriter Johnny Guitar to debut new act
Jan. 3—Music and humor have a way of enriching the way people see the world, and some artists have made careers of combining the two.
From Spike Jones to Frank Zappa, or from the Smothers Brothers to Weird Al Yankovic, "singing comedians" have long been finding audiences.
On a more local level, Commerce's Johnny White, who goes by "Johnny Guitar" is preparing to debut his new act, titled "I Wrote Every Song in America," in which he asserts in his folksy persona that he did just that.
"Now that's a pretty bold statement," Johnny said on his website. "But, I would never make a statement that I couldn't prove.
"So how did I write every song in America? Well that's a long story; but basically, it goes like this. There are some 20 different musical genres in American music, according to Wikipedia. I've covered all 20 different musical genres, so that's why I can say I wrote every song in America."
The songs in his "I Wrote Every Song in America" act are indeed diverse as they include a folk ballad about Donald Trump's win in the 2016 presidential election, a bluegrass song about religious tolerance, and a 1950s/early 1960s-style pop song about relatable experiences with online dating.
"I've been playing music for 40 years, but this project is totally new for me, because I've never gotten on stage and performed songs from 20 different genres," Johnny told the Herald-Banner.
Born in Midland, but mostly raised in the Commerce/Cooper area, Johnny has been performing for audiences since age 11. Later, after serving in the U.S. Air Force from 1977-1988, he played bass and guitar in a string of bands before deciding to focus his efforts on being a professional songwriter.
"[His] epiphany came one night at an open mic jam (in Dallas) hosted by radio personality Bruce Kidder. After the show, I asked Bruce Kidder his thoughts on my act (at the time). He replied, 'Well, you write a lot better than you can sing,'" Johnny said.
Since deciding to focus on songwriting, Johnny has tested his songs out at jams at Dallas' Sons of Herman Hall and has pitched some in Nashville, but ultimately returned to Commerce to work up "songs that are unique and don't sound like anybody else."
"My life's ambition is to go out of this world as the top songwriter in Texas," Johnny said. "I started out this year with 250 songs to my credit. Over the last year, I wrote about 30 more songs."
In terms of influences, Johnny credits a diverse range of musicians that include the likes of Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Bob Dylan, Thelonious Monk and B.B. King. In addition to songwriting, he has also taught guitar lessons, including his stint at the (now-closed) Creative Arts Co-op in Commerce. He has also performed as a standup political comedian.
As for the debut of his new act, "I Wrote Every Song in America," Johnny hopes to perform sometime in late January or early February in the Commerce-Campbell area.
