Johnnyswim is an American
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
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*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
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*** Folk metal
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Arts, entertainment, and media
* Fo ...
,
soul
The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
,
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
, and
pop
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
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* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
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Album ...
music duo consisting of singer-songwriters
Amanda Sudano
Amanda Grace Sudano Ramirez (born August 11, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and model. She is a member of the musical duo Johnnyswim.
Early life
Sudano was born in Los Angeles, California, to singer Donna Summer (1948-2012) and song ...
and Abner Ramirez,
formed in 2005 in
Nashville
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
, Tennessee.
Origin
Ramirez trained as a musician at
Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in his native
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
.
Ramirez and Sudano first met after Sunday service at a church in
Nashville
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
,
Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
.
Four years later, in 2005, Sudano attended a songwriting workshop held by Ramirez and became interested in writing songs with him.
Career
Johnnyswim independently released their first self-titled EP on June 30, 2008.
In 2009, the duo collaborated with
Bruce Sudano
Bruce Charles Sudano (born September 26, 1948) is an American musician and songwriter noted for creating songs for artists such as Michael Jackson, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, and his wife, the Grammy Award-winning singer Donna Summer. Sudano i ...
on the track "Morning Song" which appeared on his record ''Life and the Romantic''.
In 2010, they released their second EP, ''5-8'' and toured around the country.
In 2011, they released the single "Bonsoir".
In September that year, the duo traveled to
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
with VisitingOrphans.org.
Inspired by their experiences there, they wrote the track "Hallelujah" featuring Tulsi. It was released in December 2011 with all profits going to the efforts of the charity.
On April 24, 2012, they saw the release of their third EP ''Home, Vol. 1'', a new collection of songs as well as the release of the single "Annie".
The unsigned duo hit their stride and received support from major brands like
Apple
An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
,
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton Malletier SAS, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ...
and
Tommy Hilfiger
Thomas Jacob Hilfiger ( ; born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger (company), Tommy Hilfiger Corporation.
After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's P ...
.
Johnnyswim were guests on the November 17, 2012 broadcast of the live radio variety show ''
A Prairie Home Companion
''A Prairie Home Companion'' was a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed ''Live from He ...
''. They also appeared on ''
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the fourth and sixth installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Jay Leno, it aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009, replacing ''The Ton ...
'' on July 15, 2013. Johnnyswim performed "Don't Let It Get You Down" from their fourth EP ''Heart Beats'' on ''
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the The Late Late Show (American talk show), ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airi ...
'' on September 13, 2013.
The duo signed a recording contract with Big Picnic Records.
In 2014, Johnnyswim released their first full-length record, ''Diamonds''.
''Diamonds'' held the number one spot on the Singer/Songwriter chart for several weeks.
On February 13, 2014, Johnnyswim were guests on episode 65 of the program ''
Live From Daryl's House'', joining Daryl Hall and the house band in performing seven songs. In April the same year, they performed a Tiny Desk Concert at NPR's ''All Songs Considered''.
In December 2014,
Joanna Gaines announced on
Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
that the Johnnyswim song "Home" would become the theme song for the
HGTV
HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. HGTV Dream Home is an ...
show ''
Fixer Upper''.
In 2016, Johnnyswim released the studio album ''Georgica Pond'' and the live album ''Live at Rockwood Music Hall''.
In 2019, Johnnyswim released their studio album ''Moonlight''. That same year,
Chip Gaines and
Joanna Gaines revealed plans for their own television network,
Magnolia Network
Magnolia Network is an American basic cable network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery in partnership with Chip Gaines, Chip and Joanna Gaines, the founders of lifestyle company Magnolia. It broadcasts personality-based lifestyle programs related ...
, and the first production show with the working title, ''Home on the Road'', which would follow Johnnyswim's Abner Ramirez and Amanda Sudano Ramirez, as well as their kids and band members, on their North American tour. Under the title, ''Home on the Road with Johhnyswim'', the series premiered in January 2021. A second series, ''The Johnnyswim Show'', aired that July.
In May 2021, Johnnyswim announced they were publishing a book called ''Home Sweet Road: Finding Love, Making Music, and Building a Life One City at a Time '' on June 8.
In February 2022, Johnnyswim released "Heaven is Everywhere", the lead single from their
eponymous
An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...
fourth studio album. In support of the album, which was released on April 8, the duo also announced a tour that began on March 24, 2022.
Personal life
In 2009, Sudano and Ramirez married.
Together, they have three children.
Discography
Studio albums
* ''Diamonds'' (2014)
* ''Georgica Pond'' (2016)
* ''Moonlight'' (2019)
* ''Johnnyswim'' (2022)
* ''When the War Is Over'' (2025)
Live albums
* ''Johnnyswim Live at Rockwood Music Hall'' (2016)
Holiday albums
* ''A Johnnyswim Christmas'' (2014)
EPs
* ''Johnnyswim'' (2008)
* ''5-8'' (2010)
* ''Home, Vol. 1'' (2012)
* ''Heart Beats'' (2013)
Singles
* "You're Not Gonna Leave Me Here" (2008)
* "Letting Go" (2008)
* "Why'd You Do It" (2008)
* "Away I Go" (2008)
* "Good News" (2008)
* "Morning Song" (2009) with
Bruce Sudano
Bruce Charles Sudano (born September 26, 1948) is an American musician and songwriter noted for creating songs for artists such as Michael Jackson, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, and his wife, the Grammy Award-winning singer Donna Summer. Sudano i ...
* "Bonsoir" (2011)
* "Hallelujah" (2011)
(charity song with Tulsi)
* "Heart Beats" (2012)
* "Adelina" (2012)
* "Home" (2012)
* "Annie" (2012)
* "Forever On Your Side" (2018) with
Needtobreathe
Needtobreathe (stylized as NEEDTOBREATHE) is an American rock band from Seneca, South Carolina. The group first gained fame for their Christian themes, eventually reaching crossover success. The band is composed of Bear Rinehart (lead vocals, ...
* "Say What You Will (Acoustic) (2019)
* "Bridges" (2019)
* "Souvenir (2019)
* "The Last Time" (2019) with
Michael McDonald
* "Flowers" (2019)
* "Devastating" (2021)
* "Heaven Is Everywhere" (2022)
References
External links
Official site
{{Authority control
American folk musical groups
Indie pop groups from Tennessee
Musical duos from Tennessee
Musical groups established in 2005
Musical groups from Nashville, Tennessee
2005 establishments in Tennessee