Don Johnston

US songwriter and performer from Texas. Teamed up with his mother Diane Johnston, who had written songs for Gene Autry, to write songs for himself and performers like Mac Curtis in the 50s ("My Very Special Baby" and "You Ain't Treatin' Me Right", "Missy Ann", "Blue Jean Heart"). Don's and his mother Diane's songs varied from tough rockabilly to doo wop, ballads and even rhythm and blues and early soul. He was also a publisher with Robert Mellin and a Mercury A&R man. Clyde Otis contributed strongly in these early works. As Don Johnston the artist, his career lasted from 1956 to 1960, during which he recorded fine rockabilly. "Born To Love One Woman" is a nice rockabilly tune in minor scale, which was released on Mercury in 1956 and was covered by Ric Cartey. His last single as an artist (Bobby Johnston) was assumedly "Cajun Queen", on Mercury. By the early 60's, Johnston had moved into production. From 1965 on, his producer talents were met with such classic albums as "Blonde On Blonde" (Bob Dylan), "Sounds Of Silence" (Simon & Garfunkel) and "At San Quentin" (Johnny Cash). Being a staff producer, Bob worked also with Aretha Franklin, Marty Robbins, The Byrds, Leonard Cohen, Willie Nelson, Doug Kershaw, and Moby Grape. With Lindisfarne he was successful on his own. In 1973, Bob wrote a song with Leonard Cohen, "Come Spend The Morning", which was recorded by Lee Hazlewood. He also produced half an album for Carl Perkins' "Go Cat Go" in 1996. He continued producing records, although the demand was gradually lower over the years. In the 2000s, Johnston wrote music for two musicals, "Theda Bara And The Frontier Rabbi" (2002) and "Anne & Gilbert" (2004). In more recent years Bob produced fresh artists, like Natalie Pinks, Eron Falbo, and Friday’s Child.
Born May 14, 1932, Hillsboro, Texas
Died August 14, 2015