Jonathan Richman

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Jonathan Michael Richman (born May 16, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist.

He formed the Modern Lovers, a influential proto-punk band, in 1970.

Richman has worked solo or with low-key, acoustic, and electric support since the mid-1970s.

At this time, he appears only as a acoustic to shield his hearing.

He is known for his wide-eyed, unaffected, and childlike outlook, as well as rock and roll's music that, although rooted in rock and roll, is influenced by world music.

Early life

Richman, a Boston, Massachusetts, boy, and raised in Natick, Massachusetts, began playing and writing his own songs in the mid-1960s. He was obsessed with the Velvet Underground, and in 1969, he moved to New York City, where his boss, Steve Sesnick, worked odd jobs and tried to break into professional music. He returned to Boston after being rejected at this point.

Richman founded the Modern Lovers, a Boston, Massachusetts-based proto-punk garage rock band. Jerry Harrison, a keyboard player, and drummer David Robinson, who later joined Talking Heads and the Cars, respectively, were among the group's most notable players.

They began recording a string of demos with producer John Cale (formerly of the Velvet Underground) in 1972. The seminal "Roadrunner" and "Pablo Picasso," which were later released on the group's post-breakup album, The Modern Lovers, were among these songs. The album was unusual for its time, with Velvets-inspired basic three-chord rock ("Roadrunner" – based on just two chords – as an homage to "Sister Ray") at a time when glam and progressive rock were common.

The group re-recorded some songs, as well as other stuff with producer Kim Fowley later in 1972. These demos were eventually released in 1981 as The Original Modern Lovers LP. Despite playing live, the Modern Lovers had a difficult time obtaining a recording deal. Richman wanted to delete the recorded tracks and start over with a more mellower, more lyrical sound, inspired by the band's laid-back local music from early in the year. The original Modern Lovers' breakup in February 1974 led to the breakdown of the original Modern Lovers.

Richman, a 1975, moved to California to record as a solo artist/songwriter on Beserkley Records. His first recorded recordings appeared on Beserkley Chartbusters compilation in 1975, where he was backed by Earth Quake and the Rubinoos. Beserkley's four songs on the compilation also appeared on singles.

Richman produced a new version of the Modern Lovers in January 1976, which featured original Modern Lovers drummer David Robinson, former Rubinoos bassist Greg 'Curly' Keranen, and Leroy Radcliffe on guitar. Richman's new band, now known as Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers, is moving away from the original Modern Lovers' harder, Velvet Underground-influenced rock of the 1960s to a more subtle sound mixing pop with a greater emphasis on harmony vocals. During this period, Richman released a collection of original songs and stories by other writers, including Chuck Berry's "Back in the United States," "Angels Watching Over Me," and "Lydia" and "Empower," as well as older pop hits "Buzz, Buzz, and Buzz."

Richman's songs continued to mix straightforward love tales with more colorful topics such as Martians ("Here Come the Martian Martians"), Leprechauns ("Rockin' Rockin' Leprechauns"), the Abominable Snowman ("Abominable Snowman in the Market"), and mosquitoes ("I'm Nature's Mosquito"); Richman's 1977 recording of the children's music standard "The Wheels on the Bus" made it clear that he wanted to make music for listeners of all ages.

Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers were recorded in May 1976, three months before the older The Modern Lovers sessions were released. David Robinson, a drummer, left the group shortly after, due to frustration with Richman's search for lower volume, and joined Ric Ocasek in forming the Cars.

Richman discovered D. Sharpe, an avant-garde jazz musician on the Boston scene who later went on to become a member of pianist Carla Bley's band, after several months as a trio.

The Modern Lovers were born in 1977, and Keranen dropped the group in Europe as this record began to climb the charts. In 1978, Asa Brebner on bass, released a new live album, Modern Lovers Live.

Richman was regarded as a progenitor of the punk rock scene in the United Kingdom, and several of his albums have gone viral. "Roadrunner" debuted at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart, and its sequel, the dramatic "Egyptian Reggae," debuted at number 5 in late 1977. "Egyptian Reggae" was a port of Jamaican musician Earl Zero's "None Shall Escape the Judgment," and Zero was listed as co-writer on Richman's later iterations of the song.

Back in Your Life was released in 1979 under the banner "Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers" moniker, but only half of the album featured a backup band. Richman's solo album made the majority of the album. Richman went on sabbatical for a few years, living in Appleton, Maine, and playing in local bars in Belfast, Maine, following this version of The Modern Lovers' final breakup.

Richman was recording and touring again under the band name Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers by 1981. During 1981, the touring band was as strong as five backup singers, as well as drummer Michael Guardabascio, keyboardist and guitarist Ellie Marshall, and vocalist Beth Harrington for a gig at Bottom Line in New York. This enlarged Modern Lovers band will continue to record a significant portion of Jonathan Sings (1983), Rockin' & Romance (1985), and Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers (1986) albums.

Richman played in a trio with Keranen and Marshall from 1981 to 1984. The band was reconfigured in 1985, and it was made up of bassist Asa Brebner and drummer Andy Paley. The majority of Richman's concerts were performed with guitarist Brennan Totten and drummer Johnny Avila from 1986 to 1988. Richman's last album, signed to Rounder Records in 1987, under the name "Modern Lovers" group name (Modern Lovers 88). The "Modern Lovers" moniker was withdrawn after this.

Richman performed mostly as a solo act to promote his Rounder albums (1989), Jonathan Goes Country (1990), and Jonathan Richman (1991). He formed his performance team with drummer Tommy Larkins (1992), Giant Sand, Yard Trauma, Naked Prey, etc. ), who will continue to play and record with Richman for more than 25 years.

He contributed the song "Hot Nights" to the Red Hot Organization's AIDS-benefit compilation No Alternative in 1993.

Richman became more popular in the 1990s thanks to a string of appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, who had a strong cult following. Richman and Larkins starred in There's Something About Mary, the Farley Brothers' 1998 film in which Richman and Larkins appeared as a two-man Greek chorus, commenting on the plot while performing their music within the framed action. He appeared in a bar scene in a previous Farley Brothers film, Kingpin, and performed "As We Walk to Fenway Park" for their 2005 comedy, Fever Pitch.

Richman continued to perform albums in the 1990s and 2000s, with the Spanish-language Jonathan, Te Vas a Emocionar! (1994), followed by You Must Ask the Heart (1995), Surrender to Jonathan (1996), I'm So Confused (1998), Her Mystere Not of High Heels and Eye Shadow (2001), and Not So Much to Love (2004). Live at the Long Branch & More was released in 1998. A live album of Modern Lovers recordings from the 1970s was released. In 2002, a live video performance called Take Me to the Plaza was released on DVD.

Richman's most recent albums are focused on the Cleveland, Ohio, based Blue Arrow Records: Ishkode, 2016! Ishkode!, 2018's SA and 2022's Want to Visit My Inner House?

Richman's minimalist songwriting style has been described as whimsical and childish. "I don't write much, really," He himself has said. I just make up songs." Richman has played a variety of electric and acoustic guitars throughout his career. Richman is often seen using a white Fender Stratocaster in promotional and concert photographs from the early 1970s (such as those that were in the album Precise Modern Lovers Order). He wrote a song ("Fender Stratocaster") later expressing his admiration for the Stratocaster design.

Richman performed as a Fender Jazzmaster in the late 1970s while living with his company The Modern Lovers. In the Dutch TV series TopPop, he can be seen playing this guitar. Richman is depicted as a sunburst Stratocaster in a contemporaneous stage picture on the front page of the "Egyptian Reggae" album.

Richman appeared on Late 1970s studio recordings, including the Rock and Roll album with the Modern Lovers. Richman plays a late-1970s Ibanez model 2453CW hollow-body electric guitar, a guitar he would use heavily a decade later.

Richman was often photographed playing a Harmony Hollywood hollow-body electric guitar in the early and mid-1980s, when he was working with The Modern Lovers. This guitar is shown on Richman's It's Time For The Record album's back cover. Richman was playing solo concerts on a blonde 1980s Epiphone Regent hollow-body electric guitar by the late 1980s. On the back cover of Having a Party with Jonathan Richman CD, he can be seen holding this guitar.

When Richman first appeared as a pair with drummer Tommy Larkins in 1992, he was still using his Epiphone Regent on stage. Richman returned to playing nylon-stringed acoustic guitars (of the classical and flamenco styles) in concert after a brief time playing other electric guitars on stage, including a Gibson SG. Richman has performed a number of different nylon-stringed guitars since the mid-1990s.

Richman started with a pick and performed in a way similar to his electric guitar playing. He ceased using both a guitar pick and a guitar strap in concert, preferring to play only with his fingers and alternating between playing guitar, dancing, and playing percussion instruments.

Richman has been seen on various electric and acoustic guitars, and he does not believe that any particular piece of equipment is important to his sound. Richman said in a 2006 interview with musician Chuck Prophet, "It's not the guitar, it's the player." In fact, my most recent Flamenco guitar isn't even a real Flamenco guitar. It isn't made from the right woods. Made from walnut. It's twangy. I bought it and love it."

Richman played tenor saxophone regularly during his appearances with The Modern Lovers in the early and mid 1980s. On "California Desert Party," a song on his Modern Lovers 88 album, he can be heard playing the instrument. In the cover photograph, the guy is also holding the instrument.

In 1982, he married Gail Clook of Vermont, with whom he has a daughter, Jenny Rae, and son, Jason (Gail's uncle from a previous marriage). About a week before the introduction of Surrender to Jonathan (1996), this marriage came to an end.

Richman married Nicole Montalbano of Chico, California, in 2003. She performed backing vocals on the album Not So Much to Be Loved as to Love (2004).

Richman also owns Arcane Masonry, a Chico business that also works on other projects.

Richman's work with Modern Lovers' first iteration is a major influence on punk rock. One critic dubbed him the "Godfather of Punk." Brian Eno's songs included Richman's band, and the Sex Pistols and Joan Jett were among the first artists of note to cover the song "Roadrunner" in the 1970s. In the 1984 cult film, Repo Man, Burning Sensations's version of "Pablo Picasso" was included. On his album Reality, David Bowie covered "Pablo Picasso" on his album Reality. On his 1975 album Helen of Troy, Velvet Underground founder John Cale has a version of the song and continues to perform it on his live shows. Iggy Pop has performed "Pablo Picasso" live on stage and wrote an extra verse about it. In concert in 1984 and 1985, Echo and the Bunnymen performed "She Cracked," while Siouxsie and the Banshees have a version of the song on Downside Up.

Richman's music has influenced many alternative rock bands, such as Violent Femmes, Galaxie 500, They Might Be Giants ("Roadrunner" allegedly inspired John Flansburgh to become a guitarist), Brandon Flowers, Art Brut, Craig Finn of the Hold Steady & Lifter Puller, Mac DeMarco, and Nerf Herder, who produced a song about him on the band's second album "How To Meet Girls In 1992, British country rock band the Rockingbirds released the single "Jonathan Jonathan" in honor of Richman. The Silos also covered the Modern Lovers' "I'm Straight." Big D and the Kids Table in Boston also covered Richman's "New England" on their Gypsy Hill EP. If I Were Richman: a Tribute to Jonathan Richman's Music was published by Wampus Multimedia in 2001.

On the soundtrack to the film School of Rock, the Modern Lovers' song "Roadrunner" appears. Director Richard Linklater addresses that it is often described as "the first punk song" and wanted to include it for this purpose, as well as all the other seminal rock songs in the film. Rapper M.I.A. Kala's opening lyrics on her 2007 album, "Roadrunner" in the song "Bamboo Banga."

Richman and drummer Tommy Larkins produced Vic Chesnutt's last album Skitter on Take-Off, which appeared on Vapor Records in 2009. Chesnutt appeared at Richman's concerts numerous times in his later years.

Personal life

In 1982, his first marriage was to Gail Clook of Vermont, with whom he has a daughter, Jenny Rae, and Jason (Gail's son from a previous marriage). This marriage came to an end shortly before the birth of Surrender to Jonathan (1996).

Richman married Nicole Montalbano of Chico, California, in 2003. She appeared on the album Not So Much to Be Loved As to Love (2004).

Richman also owns Arcane Masonry, a restaurant in Chico, which also does other work.

Richman's work with the first Modern Lovers incarnation of Modern Lovers is a major influence on punk rock. One commentator referred to him as the "Godfather of Punk." Brian Eno made mention of Richman's band in his songs, and Sex Pistols and Joan Jett were among the first artists of note to cover the 1970s song "Roadrunner." In the 1984 cult film Refo Man, Burning Sensations included a version of "Pablo Picasso" performed by Burning Sensations. On his album Reality, David Bowie talked about "Pablo Picasso." On his 1975 album, Helen of Troy, Velvet Underground founder John Cale has a recreation of the song and continues to perform the song in his live shows. Iggy Pop has performed "Pablo Picasso" live on television and wrote an extra line for it. "She Cracked" was covered by Echo and the Bunnymen in 1984 and 1985, and Siouxsie and the Banshees have a version of the song on Downside Up.

Richman's music has inspired several alternative rock bands, including Violent Femmes, Galaxie 500, They Might Be Giants ("Roadrunner"), Brandon Flowers, Art Brut, Craig Finn, Nerf Herder, and John Flansburgh, who composed the tribute song "The Man Who Was Too Loud"), Craig Finn of the Hold Steady & Lifter Puller, How To Meet Girls, which appeared on the band's second album "The Man Brut In 1992, British country rock band the Rockingbirds released "Jonathan, Jonathan" in honor of Richman's memory. "I'm Straight" was also published on the Silos. Big D and the Kids Table, a Boston ska-punk band, also covered Richman's "New England" on their Gypsy Hill EP. If I Were a Richman: A Tribute to Jonathan Richman's Music, released by Wampus Multimedia in 2001.

The song "Roadrunner" by the Modern Lovers appears on the soundtrack to the film School of Rock. In the review, director Richard Linklater mentions that it is often referred to as "the first punk song" and that it should be included for that reason. Rapper M.I.A. Kala's opening lyrics featured in the song "Bamboo Banga" from her 2007 album, "Roadrunner."

Richman and drummer Tommy Larkins produced Vic Chesnutt's last album Skitter on Take-Off in 2009, which appeared on Vapor Records as a producer. During his later years, Chesnutt appeared at Richman's concerts many times.

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