Daniel Johnston
1961–2019
Introduction
Daniel Dale Johnston (January 22, 1961 – c. September 11, 2019) was an American singer, musician and artist regarded as a significant figure in outsider, lo-fi, and alternative music scenes. Most of his work consisted of cassettes recorded alone in his home, and his music was frequently cited for its "pure" and "childlike" qualities.
Johnston spent extended periods in psychiatric institutions and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He garnered a local following in the 1980s by passing out tapes of his music while working at a McDonald's in Dobie Center in Austin, Texas. His cult status was propelled when Nirvana's Kurt Cobain was seen wearing a T-shirt that featured the artpiece "Jeremiah the Innocent" from Johnston's 1983 cassette album Hi, How Are You.
Johnston also created visual art, and his illustrations were exhibited at galleries around the world. His struggles with mental illness were the subject of the 2005 documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston. He died in 2019 of a suspected heart attack.
Wikidata identifier
Q433060
Information from Wikipedia, made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License . Accessed January 2, 2026.
Introduction
Johnston is best known for his lo-fi recordings of songs recounting unrequited love and emotional pain. His album covers often feature his cartoon drawings. Much of Johnston's art is shaped to some degree by his ongoing struggle with manic depression.
Country of birth
United States
Roles
Artist, illustrator, musician, naive artist
ULAN identifier
500125097
Names
Daniel Johnston
Information from the Getty Research Institute's Union List of Artist Names ® (ULAN), made available under the ODC Attribution License. Accessed January 2, 2026.
