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Johnson comes home for New Year's show
Published December 31, 2005
On Dec. 31, 1985, singer Rick Nelson made his last appearance at a Guntersville nightspot before dying in a plane crash in Texas a few hours later. Geraldine native and popular musician, Damon Johnson will remember Nelson in his performance 20 years later at Cheers in Guntersville on Dec. 3.
“The ironic part of that,” said Johnson in an interview Wednesday, “is that I played with the Nelson Band that night. That was when Pat Upton owned the popular nightspot and was a regular member of the Nelson Band before owning the club.”
Damon Johnson was raised in Geraldine and his mother, Eujenia Rogers Collings, still lives there. He said it was like coming home to him. He graduated from Geraldine High School in 1982 and then attended Snead State. From there, he began a musical career that has moved him up the charts in the musical world.
Now living and working from his home in Birmingham, Johnson has become a top recording star, playing with well-known groups and individuals of rock music. He was heralded in his early 20’s as one of the best guitarists in the southern U. S. He formed his own band, Chyld, in 1990 and worked with different lead singers. Hearing him, Virgin Records signed him to a contract that same year. The recording company also made him the lead singer and front man of the group. A name change to Brother Cane would lead the band to the Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles in the summer of 1992. A year later, Brother Cane would yield three Top 10 rock tracks and a number one single, “Got No Shame.”
High profile tours with Aerosmith, Robert Plant and Lynyrd Skynyrd over the next 14 months pushed their album to 250,000 copies sold. Their song, “And Fools Shine On,” held an eight-week reign as number one on rock radio in the U. S. and Canada. “Fools” also became the theme song for the horror film, “Halloween 6.” The band also toured Europe as an opening act for Van Halen. Brother Cane’s third album, “Wishpool,” was released in 1998.
“It was certainly my most personal statement as a lyricist and the body of work that I am most proud of,” said Johnson.
In November of 1998, after six years of hard touring, Brother Cane disbanded. By the new millennium, Johnson recorded and released an all-acoustic solo album, “Dust.” He briefly became a member of Damn Yankees with Ted Nugent, Jack Blades, Tommy Shaw and Michael Cartelone. Then, in March of 2001 Fleetwood Mac vocalist, Stevie Nicks recorded Johnson’s composition, “Everyday.” Later the same year, Johnson became the lead guitarist for the British rock vocalist, John Waite. The year 2002 saw another debut album and Johnson’s distinctive guitar work was featured on Faith Hill’s smash hit single, “Cry.” Other collaborations were with Ted Nugent once again.
In 2003, Johnson opened his own recording studio. Now married, he and wife Linda have two sons and two daughters. Johnson said the children and his family were the main reason he decided to discontinue the long tours. However, in August of 2004 he became guitarist for Alice Cooper’s new album, “Dirty Diamonds.”
The Dec. 31st show at Cheers will begin around 9 p.m. Johnson said he planned to play a few of his favorite Nelson hits. “Travelin’ Man,” and “Garden Party,” are just two of those favorites. He hopes to see a lot of Sand Mountain folks at the show and is looking forward to returning to North Alabama for the show.
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