Libby Johnson is an American singer-songwriter. She co-founded the indie folk band 22 Brides in 1992, and released her debut solo album, ''Annabella'', in 2006.

Early life and education

Johnson was born on an army base in Germany.Jeremy Leeuwis

Music Remedy, August 15, 2006. She moved around on the East Coast of the United States and moved to

Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a reference to the Nairobi Riv ...

, when she was 13.Jim Bessman
“N.Y.’s 22 Brides Find A Music Biz Mate In Fledgling Independent Label Zero Hour,”
''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', May 28, 1994, pp. 8, 69. She started playing piano at age 7. She and her younger sister, Carrie Johnson, started singing together when they were children. They performed in Kenya, before returning to the United States while in high school. They went to the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

before moving to New York City in 1983.

Career

22 Brides

In 1992, the sisters formed the indie folk duo 22 Brides, and in 1993 they put out the self-released eight-song CD ''Selling Fruit in Cairo''. The band name 22 Brides comes from an Indian folk tale they heard when they were younger. After being spotted during one of their monthly gigs at

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...

's Gallery in New York, the duo signed with indie label Zero Hour Records in 1994. On June 22, 1994, they released their self-titled debut, consisting of remixed songs from their self-released effort plus four new songs. The album was produced by Daniel Wise, with additional production from Godfrey Diamond, and features

Jonathan Mover Jonathan Mover, a.k.a. "Mover", is an American drummer. He is a former member of the bands Marillion and GTR. Early life and career Mover was raised in the Boston area and began playing drums at age thirteen. Primarily self-taught, he stu ...

on drums and Mark Bosch on guitar. On the year-long tour for 22 Brides, and in advance of their second album, '' Beaker'', 22 Brides expanded into a four-member band with John Skehan (guitar, bass) and Ned Stroh (drums) joining Libby Johnson (bass, keyboards, vocals) and Carrie Johnson (guitar, vocals).Jim Bessman
“22 Brides Say ‘I Do’ To New Band Members,”
''Billboard'', August 12, 1995, pp. 10, 16. Produced by

Adam Lasus Adam Lasus (born September 2, 1968 in Mount Kisco, New York, United States) is an American record producer, recording engineer and musician. Career Lasus's credits include albums by Yo La Tengo, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Lilys, Helium, Juliana Ha ...

, the album had a more highly produced feel than the folk influences of the band's debut. Following a Zero Hour distribution deal with

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

, Beaker was released on Zero Hour / Universal. On September 9, 1997, Zero Hour released the 22 Brides EP ''Blazes of Light'', which was a sampler of sorts, with songs from their first two albums, "Purified" from their upcoming third album, and a cover of

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

's "

Hallelujah ''Hallelujah'' (; , Modern ) is an interjection from the Hebrew language, used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Tanakh (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, and four times in the Christ ...

".“Ready To Deliver,”
''Billboard'', September 27, 1997. The band's third LP, ''Demolition Day'', was released in 1998, with a return to the more intimate sound of 22 Brides. In an effort to get back to their folk-pop harmonizing roots, the band worked again with Daniel Wise and recorded their vocal tracks live and switched to a trio formation, with Libby Johnson on bass and vocals, Carrie Johnson on guitar and vocals, and Bill Dobrow on drums. The first single from the album "Another Distant Light" debuted on WNNX (99X) out of Atlanta. In October 1995, 22 Brides toured with

Dick Dale Richard Anthony Monsour (May 4, 1937 – March 16, 2019), known professionally as Dick Dale, was an American Rock music, rock guitarist. He was a pioneer of surf music, drawing on Middle Eastern music scale (music), scales and experimenting wit ...

. 22 Brides played at the 1998

Lilith Fair Lilith Fair was a concert tour and travelling music festival, founded by Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan, Nettwerk Music Group's Dan Fraser and Terry McBride (CEO), Terry McBride, and New York talent agent Marty Diamond. It took place during ...

, and also opened for

Ani DiFranco Angela Maria "Ani" DiFranco (; born September 23, 1970) is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums. DiFranco's music has been classified as folk rock and alternative rock, although it has additional influenc ...

and

Freedy Johnston Freedy Johnston (born Frederic John Fatzer in 1961) is an American singer-songwriter based in New York City. Originally from Kinsley, Kansas, Johnston's songs are often about troubled loners, and cover topics like heartbreak, alienation, an ...

. In 1996,

Joe Quesada Joseph Quesada (; born January 12, 1962'' Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; page 107) is an American comic book artist, writer, editor, and television producer. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books, ...

and

Jimmy Palmiotti James Palmiotti (born August 14, 1961) is an American writer and inker of comic books, who also does writing for games, television and film. Early life Palmiotti attended the High School of Art and Design in New York City. Career Palmiotti star ...

introduced characters based on Libby and Carrie Johnson in their comic book series ''

Ash Ash is the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash is the ...

''. They then created a four-book miniseries, ''22 Brides'', published by

Event Comics Event Comics was an American independent comic book publisher founded by veteran artists Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada. The company published during the years 1994 to 1999. In 1998, it was contracted to form the Marvel Knights imprint for Marv ...

, revolving around the characters based on the sisters. Palmiotti later created a spinoff series, ''

Painkiller Jane Painkiller Jane is a fictional superheroine created by Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada for Event Comics in 1995. Originally a five-issue mini-series, the character went on to star in numerous crossover titles with the likes of the Punisher, ...

''. The first issue, "The 22 Brides", was published on June 4, 2014. The band recorded a cover of the

Graham Parker Graham Thomas Parker (born 18 November 1950) is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the British band Graham Parker & the Rumour. Life and career Early career (1960s–1976) Parker was born in Hackney, East L ...

song "You Can't Be Too Strong" for the 2013 tribute album ''Piss & Vinegar: The Songs of Graham Parker''.

Solo

In 2006, after hearing Johnson's upcoming album, "Annabella", writer-director

Bart Freundlich Bartholomew Freundlich (born 1970) is an American film director, television director, screenwriter, and film producer. Early life Freundlich was born and raised in Manhattan, the son of Debbie, a marketing consultant, and Larry Freundlich, a wr ...

decided to use four of her songs in his film ''

Trust the Man ''Trust the Man'' is a 2005 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Bart Freundlich. The film is set in New York and centers around two couples as they deal with relationship issues such as intimacy and commitment. Plot The ...

'', starring

David Duchovny David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, and musician. He received his breakthrough with the role of Fox Mulder in The X-Files franchise, earning Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards a ...

Billy Crudup William Gaither Crudup (; born July 8, 1968) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead for his performance in '' Jesus' Son'' (1999). He went on to star in numerous high-profile films, including ...

Julianne Moore Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress and children's author. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent ...

and

Maggie Gyllenhaal Margalit Ruth "Maggie" Gyllenhaal ( , ; born November 16, 1977) is an American actress and filmmaker. Part of the Gyllenhaal family, she is the daughter of filmmakers Stephen Gyllenhaal and Naomi Achs, and the older sister of actor Jake Gylle ...

. He said that he re-edited scenes around her songs. Johnson also wrote a new song, "Indelible Mark", which plays over the film's end credits, and features

Shawn Pelton Shawn Pelton is an American drummer and percussionist. He has recorded with a wide range of artists and has been a first call player since moving to New York in the late 1980s. Pelton has recorded with artists such as Sheryl Crow, Shawn Colvin, N ...

on drums. The soundtrack and Johnson's solo debut, ''Annabella'', were both released on September 5, 2006, on Wrong Records. ''Annabella'' features Steve Jordan on drums, and guitarists Mark Bosch,

Steve Conte Steve Conte is an American musician, songwriter, guitarist, music producer, and lead singer of the band Steve Conte NYC. He has worked with Japanese composer Yoko Kanno on a variety of anime soundtracks including ''Wolf's Rain'', ''Cowboy Bebop ...

and John Putnam. Johnson's solo follow-up, ''Perfect View'', was released in 2010 on Wrong Records. It was produced by Daniel Wise, with Mark Boquist on drums, Mick Hargreaves on bass, and guitarists Mark Bosch and Jimi Zhivago, as well as appearances by

Lucy Wainwright Roche Lucy Wainwright Roche (born December 16, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter. Preceded by two EPs, ''8 Songs'' and ''8 More'', Roche released her debut album, ''Lucy'' in October 2010. In 2013, she starred as Jeri in the ''Stuff You Should Kno ...

and

Garland Jeffreys Garland Jeffreys (born June 29, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter in rock and roll, reggae, blues, and soul music. Career Jeffreys is from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, of African American and Puerto Rican heritage. He majored in art histo ...

Personal life

Johnson lives in New York City with her husband and their two children.Eric R. Danton
“Two Shows With Libby Johnson,”
''

Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is advertised as the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven and ...

'', November 16, 2006.

Discography

22 Brides

Solo

Singles

Film/TV soundtrack appearances

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Libby Living people American women singer-songwriters Singers from New York City American folk singers Americana musicians Year of birth missing (living people) Berklee College of Music alumni Singer-songwriters from New York (state) 21st-century American women Painkiller Jane