Daniel Johnston, one of the greatest songwriters of his – or any – generation, has died at the age of 58. There are many memoirs and biographies of Daniel, so I’ll keep this part relatively short, skip it if you know it. Born into a religious family in Sacramento in 1961, Daniel was raised in West Virginia, and in his teens, he began to write and record his own songs, influenced especially by The Beatles. By his own reckoning, he had his first bout of mental illness (he was eventually diagnosed with both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia) at junior high; this would go on to shape his career and, especially, the public perception of it. After high school, he started recording cassettes in his parents’ basement while studying art at the nearby East Liverpool, Ohio branch of Kent State University. It was here that he was to meet the girl, Laurie, who unsuspectingly was to become his muse for the rest of his life and who was the subject of his most celebrated work… read more >
