Dear Daniel, I am 17 years old and have recently discovered you through videos of Kurt Cobain wearing you're "Hi, How Are You" album shirt. I also just the other day saw, and watched your biography movie. I instantly fell in love with your music, your art, and your poetic lyrics. Seeing videos of you and the emotion put into the music you perform and write is something that took my breath away. You truly understand what music is, and it exudes from you. From watching and listening to you play online, along with watching your life story it has shown me that expensive software and equipment is not necessary to record music. I have started writing music about a few months back and you have given me in two days more confidence than i could have gained in a life-time. I only wrote to you to pay my full respect and appreciation to you. You are the definition of an artist and everything music could possibly want to be. Your music and art give me a sense of happiness and bring smiles to my face, the emotion is indescribable. I only wish and hope your life is everything you ever expected it to be, and i hope it continues to live out to your expectations.

Sincerely, and respectfully, Joseph O'Donnell

         I just wanted to tell you and Daniel THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for the wonderful package you sent my way! I really appreciate the effort you all put into it and I just wanted to let you know that it means A LOT to me. 
         Honestly I was having a pretty rough day when I opened my mail and when I saw the HiHowAreYou frog-man-thing, I practically screamed. Daniel Johnston made my day!

Thanks again                         Gregory Merkel                     See FAN PHOTOS

HI musician of feelings ! I'm writing you from Bretany in France (sorry for my English...). My friend told me once that you were like someone who extract jewels from the rocks, beautiful diamonds full of feelings ! And even if they are then sculpted to be more "conventional" they are still the most wonderful when they are in your hands, because they just come from your heart, from the deep and true feeling of human beings !
What we mean is that music is not good because it "sounds perfect" , but it's good when it makes you shiver and even cry or laugh because emotions come straight on to you without your needing to come up to them.
We hope to see you Daniel ! at " La Route du Rock" in St Malo !
Bye and lots of love !

Hi, Daniel!
I've been a fan since I first heard the KIDS soundtrack in 1995. You can often find me blasting your music dancing around here at the flowershop. Impossible Love is one of my favorite songs of all time!
I love your art! I tried to buy a piece last week and couldn't remember my paypal password...so I tried again today and holy moly! I had no idea that the NYTimes was doing a story about you. So...I guess you aren't my little secret anymore. I'll be checking your site to see when more art is available...drat. I can't believe the difference a few days can make. Congrats on your success!
I love your brain!
I'm glad you are back in good health,
Your friend,
Sue

 
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Hi Daniel,

I hope your feeling better. I am really enjoying this website dedicated to your work. I must admit I have been somewhat out of touch with what you have been doing the last few years. Lately I have been wanting to hear again one of your records, Hi How Are You, so I was searching out a copy when I came upon this website of yours. I will never forget the first time I heard your music. I was with a friend out at Stonybrook College in Long Island, NY and he was doing his weekly radio show. I was in the record library pulling LPs for the show, when over the library speaker system came your "Walking The Cow" song. I remember being totally blown away by it. I dashed into the control room and quickly grabbed the LP cover, which equally blew me away!! I listen to ALOT of music, I am a record dealer, and I can say that when I think of the few times in my life that I have really been MOVED by a particular piece of music, I mean really mesmerized, that time stands out as one of the most memorable!! Thank you, Sir. Recently I have had a similar reaction to a obscure artist from Hong Kong who recorded in the 1970's, a young girl named Chan-gel. Very, very interesting mixture of sounds going on on her records. Organs that sound like a 1950's Sci-Fi movie soundtrack, twangy Duane Eddy-esque guitars, marimbas and unusual percussion. I'd be glad to send you a tape if you'd like, just let me know. I'll be checking out some of your more recent works as well.

God Bless You Daniel!! Allen
 

Hi Daniel,

I've purchased the Yip / Jump music LP a time ago from a former radio station in the U.S.

The funny thing is that those people really didn't understand a thing about it. I've made some pictures of the LP as it arrived to me in the Netherlands. Also I've made a picture of the comments.

Too bad you had to end the European Tour. I hope to see you in Amsterdam some time.

Take care,

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Stefan

Dear Daniel Johnston,

Although I'm not famous like many of your other admirers I ,nevertheless, have grown attached to your music.  I first heard "Rejected Unknown" and then "1990".  I picked up copies of a few of your other CD's and have really enjoyed them.   There is something in your music that I certainly can relate too.  Thanks.  Keep up the good fight and I hope to hear more of you in the future.
 
Drew

Dear Daniel Johnston,

I've never felt the need to write somebody fan-mail before. This is actually my first one. But the other day I was listening to "Don't let the sun go down on your grievience" and I just felt good. I felt better than I had in a very long time, actually.  For the period that you're CD was on, I was in a good place. I then realized it was because your music inspires me. I guess that sounds really corny and lame, but I just don't know another way to word it. I haven't felt this way about music since I discovered Springsteen, and that was five years ago. I guess I'm one of your younger fans, cause I'm only fifteen, but my family life isn't really buckets of fun right now. When I put on your music, though, it's my own therapy session. I just felt that you should know somewhere out there you're music makes someone's life a little more bearable.  Thank you for that, and for sharing something so lovely.

Love,
Ernestine

hi, daniel.

just wanted to let you know that i recently discovered your songs. don't know if you approve or not, but i was reading a book called "songs in the key of z" and i was intrigued by the description of your music, and by luck i recently found a copy of "the late great daniel johnston" soon after. at first, i was a little upset, because i thought you'd died, and was greatly relieved to find that this was not the case.

anyway, i was deeply moved by the loveliness of your songs. your songwriting is extraordinary. and while the cover versions of the songs add a glossy sheen and listenability, i truly enjoyed your originals, especially "like a monkey in a zoo".

just wanted to express my appreciation. i'm really looking forward to listening to more.

good luck and best wishes.

lucy

p.s. i love your artwork too. and cows.

dear mr johnston

life sucks in general, gets really really awful at other times and is usually more like purgatory than hell.  sometimes it's punctuated by moments of sheer joy that are all that make the whole bloody affair remotely worthwhile, such as the first time i read a book by larry brown or the first time i listened to the originals disc of the recent tribute to you and it was like prometheus showing me fire he stole from the gods, and in the several days that i've had the record i have played it at least 10 times, and the originals are better than the covers by the big name stars.  do yrself a favor and become yr own savior?  that line does something different to me every time, depending on the mood, whether it's jump up and down or weep.  and you have all those other lines that are that good.  the only 2 times that come immediately to mind in a pop song where the vocal delivery perfectly punctuates the lyrics are on pennyroyal tea where kc screams that he's so tired that he can't sleep, and then on yr version of rock this town where you sing that yr more dead than alive and you sound more dead than alive.  the record also depressed me in that i have gone this long (too long) without owning any of yr catalog.  i could go on and on forever, but i won't.  just keep doing what you do, writing immaculate songs and helping one wounded soul at a time.  joe scum, sc

joe scum sc

Dear Dejected,

 

Is Danny dead?  My sadness will not be contained.  Please help me.

 

-frightful

Dear frightful

Please do not be alarmed.  Daniel Johnston is NOT dead.   He is alive and well, and lives in Waller, Texas.  He still spends his days drawing and writing songs.  He still plays at gigs near home, and on occasion he can be persuaded  to travel for a performance somewhere in the USA, Canada, Japan, or Europe.

The album title "The Late Great Daniel Johnston" is intended to mimic (in fun) the album name often used to celebrate the music of someone who is STILL ALIVE.  

Happily, that is the case with this album.   Daniel is alive and doing well.

Thank you for inquiring.

-dejected

Daniel,

 

Many years ago, you helped me through a very depressed time. I had a

cassette of Hi, How Are You that I taped from a great radio station in

Davis, CA (KDVS) and I played it when I felt lonely. That meant I

played it pretty often. I found transcendence through that album. It

didn't bring me out of depression, but it made me feel good. And

understood.

 

Over the years, I have brought your music out and played it for various

people. Usually it's someone I start to get close to and I want to

share this part of myself with. Once in a great while, I find someone

who really "gets" your music, and other times people just hear the

surface sound and think it's a joke album. I feel bad saying that, but

by this point you must have heard that angle.

 

I'm glad to hear that you're touring again, and I hope that you will

some day come to San Francisco. I drag all my friends to see Jonathan

Richmond when he comes to town, even through he doesn't really shake it

with the honesty he had back in the "Summer Morning" days. I would made

a special point to come to see you.

 

Over the years I have heard some second hand stories about you being in

institutions and getting reckless and so forth. I can relate. That

hasn't been my path, but I have manic depression in my family, so I can

hum the tune even if I don't know the exact words. I wish you peace,

even as a man who struggles with that, himself.

 

I hope that it gives you some pleasure to read that you have touched

the heart of a man in California. You have improved my life. Maybe it

would make you happier if this letter were from a girl, but, well, we

each do what we can.

 

There's a heaven, and there's a star for you, Daniel.

 

Gary

dear daniel,
 

keep on rockin you crazy hombre, always throw caution to the wind.eat ya greens an all that.......

lots of love,

 

south shields, ENGLAND.

Daniel

I would like to marry you if you want

Daniel

move your ass up to austria, please. i don't had the money for a journey to germany and i'm sure i'm not the only one......

it would be a pleasure!!!

hopefully

Dear Daniel,

When I was at the Roskilde festival with my wife I listened to your concert. The second to last song you played you sang about true love and how it won�t find you unless you go out looking for it because true love is looking too. I thought that was really beautiful. Please keep on making you r sensitive and heartfull music!

Much love M and K in Sweden

Dear Daniel

I am a 17-year-old boy from Denmark who has spent the past 8 days on the Roskilde Festival where you played last Saturday. I didn't know anything about you and your music until i read in the festivalprogram that you were going to play. I took the chance and went to see you instead of the marvelous rapartists El-P, Aesop Rock and Rjd2 who were playing at the same time. I had been looking forward to the rap show for a long time so it was a hard descission to make.

You didn't disappoint me. Your concert is the most moving thing i've ever seen. Simply amazing. Your lyrics and your performance left some serious marks on my consciousness. Now I have to get Fear Yourself so I can hear if you're as great on record as on stage.

Bottom line: You've given me one of the most beautiful concert experiences ever. Thank you very much Daniel. I hope you're well and that love isn't too tough on you.

L 

Daniel:

We were all very sad to have missed you at the Piccadilly in Vancouver on the 20th and want to send our best wishes so that you might feel better soon. As always you are in our hearts and minds and ears. Incredibly, almost everyone stuck around even after hearing that you had canceled the gig. Someone must have brought a copy of "Fun" with them to have you autograph and somehow talked the bartender into putting it on the stereo. So we all sat around and had an impromptu listening party at the club. Even through our disappointment, it turned out to be a very touching and fun evening. I wish that you could have been there to share it with us, but there is always a next time.

The next time you have a moment, drop by my website and listen to my cover of "Silly Love" that I've contributed for the tribute album that Seth Graves is trying to put together. I hope you approve. We do it out of love.

http://www.artists-in-residence.com/~tihstudio

Kyle T (Headrush Stroll)    

Get well soon

I hope you're feeling better today, Daniel.  Your music and art has meant a lot to me in times of trouble.  I also suffer from depression, so alot of the time it seems like you're singing about me.  I wish I lived in Waller, Texas so we could get together and jam.  You seem like you'd be a pretty cool guy to hang out with. 

Sebastian     

Daniel

Your music I believe is some of the purest most honest music ever to have been written from what I've heard in the 17 years of my life. Your not afraid to be different with your lyrics and your music. I'm not even sure if you realize that you are different, which makes your music even more beautiful.  It would be a memory i would never forget if you could take a listen at my music also. you can hear some songs on www.geocities.com/lockjawliketodance  thanks a lot!..

 Kurt B

Dan

I am a professional artist and have followed your writing and life for several years. I find your writing wonderfully visual. One verse that particularly sticks in my head is from an old cassette of yours that I have. the line is ...."The sun is shining brightly, and the birds are singing pretty. What's the matter with me?"....brilliant. That is perhaps one of the most honest and enlightened sentences I have ever heard. Anyway, I will not pine on about you, as JD Salinger said, "Don't tell me I am a good writer."

Danny D

You Suck!

Simone M.

[editors note: this the only email of this kind ever received, and so somehow it seems worthy of printing to remind ourselves that 'not everyone gets it']