Jonathan Michael Richman was born on May 16,1951 and is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist.
25 Facts About Jonathan Richman
2.
Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic and electric backing.
3.
Jonathan Richman now plays only acoustic to protect his hearing.
4.
Jonathan Richman is known for his wide-eyed, unaffected, and childlike outlook, and music that, while rooted in rock and roll, is influenced by music from around the world.
5.
Jonathan Richman became infatuated with the Velvet Underground and, in 1969, he moved to New York City, lived on the couch of their manager, Steve Sesnick, worked odd jobs, and tried to break in as a professional musician.
6.
Jonathan Richman formed the Modern Lovers, a proto-punk garage rock band, in Boston, Massachusetts.
7.
Jonathan Richman's first released recordings appeared on 1975's Beserkley Chartbusters compilation, where he was backed by members of Earth Quake and the Rubinoos.
8.
In January 1976, Jonathan Richman put together a new version of the Modern Lovers, which included original Modern Lovers drummer David Robinson, former Rubinoos bassist Greg 'Curly' Keranen and Leroy Radcliffe on guitar.
9.
Jonathan Richman's 1977 recording of the children's music standard "The Wheels on the Bus" made explicit his interest in making music for listeners of all ages.
10.
From 1986 to 1988, most of Jonathan Richman's concerts were played with guitarist Brennan Totten and drummer Johnny Avila.
11.
From 1988 to 1992, Richman performed mostly as a solo act to support his Rounder albums Jonathan Richman, Jonathan Goes Country, and Having a Party with Jonathan Richman.
12.
Always possessing an ardent cult following, Jonathan Richman became better known in the 1990s thanks to a series of appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
13.
Jonathan Richman appeared briefly in a bar scene in a previous Farrelly Brothers film, Kingpin, and performed the song "As We Walk to Fenway Park" for their 2005 comedy, Fever Pitch.
14.
Jonathan Richman contributed backing vocals to the album Not So Much to Be Loved as to Love.
15.
Jonathan Richman has played a variety of electric and acoustic guitars throughout his career.
16.
In promotional and concert photos from the early 1970s, Jonathan Richman is frequently seen using a white Fender Stratocaster.
17.
Jonathan Richman later wrote a song expressing his affection for the Stratocaster design.
18.
Jonathan Richman can be seen playing this guitar in the Dutch TV program TopPop filmed on September 16,1978.
19.
Late-1970s studio recordings, such as the Rock and Roll with the Modern Lovers album, featured Jonathan Richman playing nylon-stringed acoustic guitar.
20.
Jonathan Richman can be seen holding this guitar on the back cover of the Having a Party with Jonathan Richman CD.
21.
Jonathan Richman was still using his Epiphone Regent on stage when he began performing as a duo with drummer Tommy Larkins in 1992.
22.
Jonathan Richman has played a number of different nylon-stringed guitars since the mid-1990s.
23.
Jonathan Richman has been photographed playing a Fender Telecaster and other electric and acoustic guitars, and he does not consider any specific instrument to be essential to his sound.
24.
Jonathan Richman can be heard playing the instrument on "California Desert Party", a song on his Modern Lovers 88 album.
25.
Jonathan Richman's work with the first incarnation of Modern Lovers is a major influence on punk rock.