Eric Johnson

The tone perfectionist whose violin-like leads redefined instrumental rock

Eric Johnson grew up in Austin, Texas, in a musical household, studying piano as a child before switching his focus to guitar. He developed fast: as a teenager he played in the psychedelic rock band Mariani, whose rare album later became a collector's item. In the 1970s he co-led the Electromagnets, a jazz-rock fusion band that built a strong regional following in Texas and released an album in the middle of the decade, showcasing his already remarkable technique.

After the Electromagnets ended, he recorded the solo album Seven Worlds in the late 1970s, but contractual problems kept it shelved for about twenty years. He spent the early 1980s doing session work and building a reputation among musicians as a hidden master. A widely seen 1988 appearance on Austin City Limits helped spread the word, and his major-label album Tones had already arrived in 1986, earning a Grammy nomination for the instrumental Zap.

His commercial peak came with Ah Via Musicom in 1990. The album's instrumental Cliffs of Dover became a rock radio staple and won the Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, making Johnson one of the few instrumental guitarists to reach a mainstream audience. The follow-up, Venus Isle, took years to finish because of his exacting standards, arriving in 1996. That same year he joined Joe Satriani and Steve Vai on the first G3 tour.

Later he explored a looser, jazzier sound with the side project Alien Love Child, whose live album appeared in 2000, and released solo records including Bloom, Up Close and Europe Live. He recorded a collaborative album with jazz guitarist Mike Stern, an all-acoustic record titled EJ, and further studio albums in the late 2010s and early 2020s. Fender honored him with a signature Stratocaster, and he remains a revered figure for guitarists obsessed with tone.

The 10 greatest Eric Johnson solos

1. 1
   Cliffs of Dover

   Eric Johnson · solo by Eric Johnson · 1990
2. 2
   Trademark

   Eric Johnson · solo by Eric Johnson · 1990
3. 3
   Zap

   Eric Johnson · solo by Eric Johnson · 1986
4. 4
   Manhattan

   Eric Johnson · solo by Eric Johnson · 1996
5. 5
   Desert Rose

   Eric Johnson · solo by Eric Johnson · 1990
6. 6
   Righteous

   Eric Johnson · solo by Eric Johnson · 1990
7. 7
   S.R.V.

   Eric Johnson · solo by Eric Johnson · 1996
8. 8
   High Landrons

   Eric Johnson · solo by Eric Johnson · 1990
9. 9
   Emerald Eyes

   Eric Johnson · solo by Eric Johnson · 1986
10. 10
    Friends

    Eric Johnson · solo by Eric Johnson · 1986

The sound

Johnson is famous for a pure, singing lead tone that guitarists often compare to a violin, achieved with vintage Strats, germanium fuzz and loud Marshall amplifiers, with a separate pristine clean channel for chordal work. His technique combines fast, sweeping pentatonic sequences that cascade across the neck in groups of notes, hybrid picking borrowed from country players, and wide-interval chord voicings inspired by jazz and piano. He switches instantly between glassy clean arpeggios and soaring overdriven lines, and his attention to every detail of the signal chain is legendary.

• Fender Stratocaster (vintage 1950s and signature model) (guitar) His defining instrument; Fender introduced an Eric Johnson signature Strat in 2005.
• Gibson ES-335 (guitar) Used for warmer, jazzier lead sounds, including parts of Cliffs of Dover.
• Marshall 50-watt plexi-era heads (amp) Provide his famous overdriven lead tone.
• Fender Twin Reverb (amp) Supplies his sparkling clean sound in a multi-amp setup.
• Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face (effect) A germanium fuzz that is core to his smooth, sustaining leads.
• Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer (effect) Adds midrange push to his lead sound.
• Echoplex tape delay (effect) Used to add warmth and depth to his lead lines.

Covers

• Red House, originally by The Jimi Hendrix Experience Traded slow-blues choruses with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai during the tour's closing jam.
• Going Down, originally by Freddie King A rollicking all-star jam where his tone stood out against his two tourmates.
• My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama, originally by Frank Zappa A playful nod to Zappa played as part of the G3 finale.
• Mrs. Robinson, originally by Simon & Garfunkel An intimate acoustic rendering on his all-acoustic album.
• The Wind Cries Mary, originally by The Jimi Hendrix Experience A heartfelt tribute to one of his earliest guitar heroes.

Timeline

• 1954 Born in Austin, Texas
• 1970 Plays with the psychedelic band Mariani as a teenager
• 1975 The Electromagnets release their album
• 1978 Records Seven Worlds, which stays shelved for two decades
• 1986 Major-label album Tones released
• 1988 Appears on Austin City Limits
• 1990 Releases Ah Via Musicom
• 1992 Cliffs of Dover wins a Grammy
• 1996 Releases Venus Isle and joins the first G3 tour
• 2005 Fender launches his signature Stratocaster

Facts

1. He studied piano before focusing on guitar.
2. He was a teenage member of Mariani, a psychedelic band whose album is now highly collectible.
3. His album Seven Worlds sat unreleased for about twenty years.
4. Cliffs of Dover won the Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.
5. Zap from Tones earned him a Grammy nomination.
6. He is famous for claiming he can hear tonal differences caused by different batteries in effects pedals.
7. He was part of the very first G3 tour with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai in 1996.
8. Venus Isle took several years to finish because of his perfectionism.
9. He recorded a collaborative album called Eclectic with jazz guitarist Mike Stern.
10. Fender released an Eric Johnson signature Stratocaster in 2005.