Jonathan Richman
Protopunk / Indie Rock
Born to a Jewish family in Natick, Massachusetts, Richman began playing music and writing his own songs in the mid-1960s. Richman became infatuated with the Velvet Underground, and in 1969 he moved to New York City, living on the couch of their manager, Steve Sesnick, while working odd jobs and trying to break in as a professional musician. Failing at this, he returned to Boston.
Having moved back, he formed The Modern Lovers, a proto-punk garage rock band. Other notable members of the group were keyboard player Jerry Harrison and drummer David Robinson, who later joined Talking Heads and The Cars, respectively. In 1972 they recorded a series of demos with producer John Cale (formerly of the Velvet Underground). Among these songs were the seminal "Roadrunner" and "Pablo Picasso" which were eventually released on the group's postbreak-up album Modern Lovers in 1976. The album was unique for its time, featuring Velvets-influenced basic three-chord rock ("Roadrunner" - based on just two chords - is a clear homage to "Sister Ray") at a time when glam and progressive rock were the norm.
Later in 1972 the group also recorded with producer Kim Fowley; these demos were eventually released in 1981 as "The Original Modern Lovers". Despite their continued success as a live act, the Modern Lovers had a difficult time securing a record deal. By late 1973, Richman wanted to scrap the recorded tracks and start over with a mellower, more lyrical sound. This stymied efforts to complete a debut album, and led to the breakup of the original Modern Lovers in February 1974.
In 1975, Richman moved to California to record as a solo singer/songwriter with Beserkley Records. His first released recordings appeared on 1975's "Beserkley Chartbusters" compilation, where he was backed by members of Earth Quake and the Rubinoos; these four songs also appeared on singles on the independent Beserkley label. (Although this is a supposedly a singles compilation, it is possible that the LP preceded the singles.)
In early 1976, Richman put together a new version of the Modern Lovers, but all the members were different. The new incarnation were essentially his backing band, and were billed as Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers. The albums produced by the new group found Jonathan turning away from electric rock music towards gentler acoustic textures, with a strong rooting in 50's rock and roll (Chuck Berry's "Back in the USA" was part of his repertoire at this time), while his lyrical focus became more self-consciously childlike and naive. The album Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers was released in January 1977, Rock and Roll with the Modern Lovers followed a month later, and Modern Lovers Live in 1978.
In Britain, Richman was recognised as a progenitor of the punk rock scene, and several of his singles became hits - "Roadrunner" reached #11 in the UK pop charts, and its follow-up, the instrumental "Egyptian Reggae", made #5 in late 1977.
1979's Back in Your Life was released under the "Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers" moniker, but only about half the disc featured a backup band — the rest was solo work. This album was probably the most extreme detour by Richman into eclecticism; after the traditional acoustic rock of the previous albums, this one's solo tracks showed off a string bass and glockenspiel as main instruments.
Modern Lovers Live (autographed)
Richman went on sabbatical for a few years staying in Belfast, Maine and playing at a local dinner called Barb's Place. Returning in 1983 with Jonathan Sings!. This was followed up with a series of pop efforts (Rockin' and Romance, It's Time for Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers, and Modern Lovers 88 from 1985, 1986 and 1988 respectively). After the latter release, the "Modern Lovers" moniker was finally retired, and having begun a true "solo" career, he returned to swooping madly around the musical landscape: country music with 1990's Jonathan Goes Country, and Spanish translations of his earlier work (as well as traditional Spanish songs) with 1993's Jonathan, Te Vas a Emocionar!
Always possessing an ardent cult following, Richman has become better known in recent years thanks to a series of appearances on fan Conan O'Brien's show; also helping was a major part in the 1998 movie There's Something About Mary, where he played half of a two-man Greek chorus that commented on the plot while performing in the framed action itself - Jonathon is shot at the end of the movie. (He also appeared in a previous Farrelly Brothers film, Kingpin.)
He has continued his release schedule all along, with You Must Ask the Heart in 1995, Surrender to Jonathan in 1996, I'm So Confused in 1998, Her Mystery Not of High Heels and Eye Shadow in 2001 and Not So Much To Be Loved As To Love in 2004. In 1998 a live album of Modern Lovers recordings from the early '70s was released, Live at the Long Branch & More. There is also a DVD of a live performance Take me to the Plaza 2002. A tribute album, If I Were a Richman: a Tribute to the Music of Jonathan Richman, was released by Wampus Multimedia in 2001. In live 'solo' shows, he frequently tours with drummer Tommy Larkins, the other part of the two-man chorus mentioned above. Richman makes use of the flexibility allowed by the two-man format to keep his shows loose and spontaneous, frequently punctuating his songs with extemporaneous ruminations on life and love, on-the-spot transpositions of songs into any of five languages (English, Spanish, French, Italian and Hebrew), and unaccompanied dancing. This charisma as a performer has enabled him to maintain his devoted cult following into the present day. His fans call Richman by his nickname, "Jojo."
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