Christopher Cross and producer David Tickle recommended Johnson to the label. Johnson's career rebounded in 1984 when he was signed to Warner Bros.
While a session musician, Johnson continued to perform locally in Austin. Unable to secure a new management contract, Johnson began working as a session guitarist for some well-known acts, including Cat Stevens, Carole King, and Christopher Cross. Contract disputes followed, and Seven Worlds was not released until 1998 on Ark21 Records. From 1976–1978, Johnson recorded Seven Worlds, his debut album, at Odyssey Studios in Austin. Seven Worlds įollowing the Electromagnets' demise, Johnson formed a touring trio, the Eric Johnson Group, with drummer Bill Maddox and bassist Kyle Brock. The strength of Johnson's playing, however, attracted a small cult following to the group's early recordings and, decades later, their two albums were given wide release on compact disc. The group toured and recorded regionally but did not attract attention from major record labels and disbanded in 1977. He eventually returned to Austin and in 1974, joined a local fusion group called Electromagnets. The Electromagnets with Johnson (left) performing at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, 1976Īfter graduating from high school, Johnson briefly attended the University of Texas at Austin and traveled with his family to Africa. The recording became a prized collector's item years later. In 1970, Johnson and the group recorded a demo, which saw an extremely limited release.
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At the age of 15, he joined his first professional band, Mariani, a psychedelic rock group. Johnson started learning the guitar at age 11 and rapidly progressed while listening to the musicians that would heavily influence his future style, including Mike Bloomfield, Chet Atkins, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Ric Bailey, Wes Montgomery, Jerry Reed, Bob Dylan, and Django Reinhardt, among others. Music career Early life īorn into a musically inclined family, Eric Johnson and his three sisters studied piano, while his father was a whistling enthusiast.