Eric Johnson (born August 17, 1954) is an American guitarist, vocalist and composer. His 1990 album Ah Via Musicom was certified platinum by the RIAA, and the single “Cliffs of Dover” won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Best known for his electric guitar skills, Johnson is also a proficient player of acoustic, lap steel, and resonator guitar, as well as an accomplished bassist, pianist, and vocalist. He plays many musical genres, including rock, blues, jazz fusion, soul, folk, new-age, classical, and country.Keyboard called him “one of the most respected guitarists on the planet” in 2006. Born into a musically inclined family, Eric Johnson and his three sisters studied piano, while his father was a whistling enthusiast. Johnson started learning the guitar at age 11 and rapidly progressed while listening to the musicians who would heavily influence his future style, including Mike Bloomfield, Chet Atkins, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Ric Bailey, Wes Montgomery, Jerry Reed, Bob Dylan, and Django Reinhardt, among others. At the age of 15, he joined his first professional band, Mariani, a psychedelic rock group. In 1970, Johnson and the group recorded a demonstration, which had an extremely limited release. The recording became a prized collector’s item years late.
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