JD McPherson

Jonathan David "JD" McPherson (born April 14, 1977), is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He is known for a retro sound rooted in the rock and roll, rockabilly, and rhythm and blues music of the 1950s. Among influences such as Little Richard and Fats Domino, McPherson also draws inspiration from artists as diverse as the Wu-Tang Clan, Pixies, and Led Zeppelin.[2][3][4]

JD McPherson
Background information
Birth name	Jonathan David McPherson
Born	(1977-04-14) April 14, 1977 Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States
Origin	Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Genres	Rock and roll, rhythm and blues, rockabilly[1][2]
Instruments	Guitar, vocals
Labels	Hi-STYLE, Rounder
Associated acts	The Starkweather Boys The Poison Okies
Website	http://www.jdmcpherson.com/
Members	JD McPherson (vocals, guitar) Jimmy Sutton (upright bass) Jason Smay (drums) Ray Jacildo (keys) Doug Corcoran (saxophone, guitar, keys)

Biography

McPherson was born as the youngest child in his family in rural southeastern Oklahoma, growing up on the family’s cattle ranch near the town of Talihina.[5] His father was a farmer and ex-army while his mother was a church minister.[6][7] He took up the guitar at age 13.[3] In high school he played in a number of local punk rock bands and began writing his own songs.[8] He has stated that he has always been in a band of some sort since he was 16 years old.[9]

Of his youth growing up in a quiet rural area, he said that this allowed him to involve himself in the pursuit of music:

But where I actually grew up was just completely removed from anything resembling a town or a city. It was an hour away from the nearest supermarket. What that granted me was a lot of isolation and when you are bored you tend to work really hard on your interests. I was granted a lot of opportunity to play the guitar, listen to music and read about music. So it probably would have been a different story if I grew up in a town somewhere.[9]

During this time, McPherson also developed a strong interest in 1950s rock and roll after being exposed to the music of Buddy Holly. This went on to shape his song writing and sound for bands he was in such as The Poison Okies and The Starkweather Boys.

JD McPherson and band in 2016

He studied visual arts in college, earning a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Tulsa, and later worked as an art and technology teacher.[3] After deciding to pursue music more seriously, McPherson sent a demo to Jimmy Sutton of the small independent record label Hi-STYLE Records, which specialized in roots music. Sutton agreed to produce McPherson's debut album: this became 2010's Signs and Signifiers.[4] On 19 November 2012, Rolling Stone labelled McPherson an "Artist to Watch" in a 3½ star (out of 5) review of Signs and Signifiers after its wider release through Rounder Records.[10]

The band played the acoustic stage at the Glastonbury Festival 2015 on Friday June 26, before continuing their European tour in the Netherlands.

The band at the Minnesota State Fair

In October 2015, JD McPherson and band appeared (in animated form) as musical guests performing a new and original song "Crazy Horse" for the DreamWorks animated TV series, The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show on Netflix.[11][12]

Discography

McPherson in 2017

Albums

Title	Details	Peak chart positions
		US Rock [13]	US [14]	US Heat [15]
Signs and Signifiers	Release date: April 17, 2012 Label: Rounder	47	161	1
Let the Good Times Roll	Release date: February 10, 2015 Label: Rounder	17	142	1
Undivided Heart & Soul	Release date: October 6, 2017 Label: New West	19	130	—
Socks	Release date: November 2, 2018 Label: New West	—	—	5

Signs & Signifiers

His debut album Signs and Signifiers was released in 2010 on Hi-STYLE Records. The album was given a major-label release by Rounder Records on April 17, 2012,[3] debuting at number one on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart and number 161 on the Billboard 200 the week of June 2, 2012. It also reached number 47 on the Billboard Rock Albums chart.[16]

The single "Your Love (All That I'm Missing)", from the album Signs and Signifiers, was released by Rounder/Hi-STYLE in the UK on June 18, 2012.[17]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"North Side Gal"	JD McPherson	2:31
2.	"Country Boy"	Big Tiny Kennedy	2:44
3.	"Fire Bug"	JD McPherson	2:18
4.	"Signs & Signifiers"	McPherson / Sutton	4:46
5.	"Wolf Teeth"	McPherson / Sutton	2:57
6.	"Scratching Circles"	McPherson / Sutton	2:10
7.	"A Gentle Awakening"	McPherson / Sutton	3:26
8.	"Dimes For Nickels"	JD McPherson	2:43
9.	"B.G.M.O.S.R.N.R."	McPherson / Sutton	2:59
10.	"I Can't Complain"	McPherson / Sutton	2:37
11.	"Your Love (All That I'm Missing)"	Joseph Simeone (of The Bellfuries)	3:01
12.	"Scandalous"	JD McPherson	2:28
Total length:			34:34

Let the Good Times Roll

McPherson's second album, Let the Good Times Roll, was released on February 10, 2015.[18]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Let the Good Times Roll"	JD McPherson	3:04
2.	"Bossy"	JD McPherson	3:18
3.	"It's All Over But the Shouting"	JD McPherson / Mark Neill	3:03
4.	"Bridgebuilder"	Dan Auerbach / JD McPherson	3:57
5.	"It Shook Me Up"	JD McPherson	2:25
6.	"Head Over Heels"	JD McPherson	3:18
7.	"Shy Boy"	JD McPherson	2:55
8.	"You Must Have Met Little Caroline?"	JD McPherson	3:36
9.	"Precious"	McPherson / Sutton	4:53
10.	"Mother of Lies"	JD McPherson	3:37
11.	"Everybody's Talking ‘Bout the All-American"	JD McPherson	2:11
Total length:			36:17

Undivided Heart and Soul

JD McPherson's third album Undivided Heart and Soul was released on October 6, 2017. The song "Under the Spell of City Lights" is featured in the soundtrack of MLB The Show 18.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Desperate Love"	2:56
2.	"Crying’s Just a Thing You Do"	3:15
3.	"Lucky Penny"	3:34
4.	"Hunting for Sugar"	4:15
5.	"On the Lips"	3:41
6.	"Undivided Heart & Soul"	3:18
7.	"Bloodhound Rock"	4:21
8.	"Style (Is A Losing Game)"	3:47
9.	"Jubilee"	4:41
10.	"Under the Spell of City Lights"	3:27
11.	"Let's Get Out of Here While We’re Young"	3:07
Total length:		40:22

Socks

JD McPherson's fourth album Socks, a holiday album, was released on November 2, 2018. In Matt Collar's AllMusic review, he asserted that the album is "a jubilantly rockin' production, rife with humor and the Oklahoma-born singer's knack for old-school '50s R&B."[19]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"All the Gifts I Need"	2:44
2.	"Bad Kid"	3:14
3.	"Hey Skinny Santa!"	2:54
4.	"Socks"	3:34
5.	"Every Single Christmas"	2:28
6.	"Ugly Sweater Blues"	2:57
7.	"Holly, Carol, Candy & Joy"	3:25
8.	"Santa's Got a Mean Machine"	2:35
9.	"What's That Sound?"	2:33
10.	"Claus vs. Claus (feat. Lucie Silvas)"	3:40
Total length:		29:58

Singles and EPs

Title	Details	Peak chart positions
		US Rock [13]	US [14]	US Heat [15]
North Side Gal	Release date: 2010 Label: Witchcraft International
Your Love (All That I'm Missing)	Release date: 2012 Label: Decca Records
Dimes For Nickels	Release date: 2012 Label: Decca Records
North Side Gal / Abigail Blue	Release date: 2012 Label: Hi-STYLE Records
Twinkle (Little Christmas Lights)	Release date: Dec 11, 2012[20] Label: New Rounder
Fire Bug / A Gentle Awakening	Release date: 2013 Label: Rounder Records
I Wish You Would / Steal Away	Release date: 2014 Label: Vee-Jay Records
The Warm Covers EP	Release date: Oct 14, 2014 Label: New Rounder
Bossy / Rome Wasn't Built In A Day	Release date: Nov 10, 2014 Label: Rounder Records
A Little Respect	Release date: Jan 26, 2017 Label: Amazon Music
Lucky Penny	Release date: August 8, 2017 Label: New West Records

The Warm Covers EP

The Warm Covers EP, an EP consisting of four cover versions of other artist's songs, was released on the 14th of October, 2014.[21]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original artist	Length
1.	"I Wish You Would"	Billy Boy Arnold	Billy Boy Arnold	2:45
2.	"Steal Away"	Jimmy Hughes	Jimmy Hughes	3:08
3.	"Rome Wasn't Built In a Day"	Nick Lowe	Nick Lowe	3:00
4.	"Why Lady Why"	Richard Edward Scott & Teddy Gentry	Alabama	3:01
Total length:				11:54

Music videos

Year	Video	Director
2012	"North Side Gal"	JD McPherson
	"Fire Bug"
	"A Gentle Awakening"
	"Scratching Circles"
2015	"Head Over Heels"	JD McPherson
	"Let the Good Times Roll"
	"It's All Over But the Shouting"
2017	"Lucky Penny"	George Salisbury
	"Style (Is a Losing Game)"	Sean Dejecacion
2018	"On the Lips"	George Salisbury

Awards

• Independent Music Awards 2012: Signs & Signifiers – Best Rock/Hard Rock Album[22]

References

1. Collar, Matt. "JD McPherson: Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
2. "JD McPherson: When A Punk Goes Vintage". NPR. May 18, 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
3. Lang, George (May 18, 2012). "Oklahoman JD McPherson shows 'Signs' of success". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
4. Orr, Gillian (May 12, 2012). "Observations: Rockabilly revivalist brings it on home from the Northside". The Independent. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
5. "A Roots And Rockabilly Holiday Concert With JD McPherson And His Band". NPR Fresh Air. December 24, 2019. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
6. "JD McPherson". Hi-STYLE Records. Hi-STYLE Records. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
7. "StreetStyled: Talking with JD McPherson". YouTube. StreetStyled.com. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
8. Schlansky, Evan (April 30, 2012). "JD McPherson". American Songwriter. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
9. "JD McPherson :: Interview". Libel Music. 26 February 2016. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
10. Doyle, Patrick (November 19, 2012). "JD McPherson: Signs & Signifiers". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
11. "The sonics of Rock 'n Roll – JD McPherson in session on The Inside Sleeve". Radio National. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 19 February 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
12. ""Crazy Horse" Music Video – JD McPherson – The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show". YouTube. 25 December 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
13. "JD McPherson Album & Song Chart History – Rock Albums". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
14. "JD McPherson Album & Song Chart History – Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
15. "JD McPherson Album & Song Chart History – Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
16. "Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
17. Steffen Hung (2012-06-18). "JD McPherson feat. Jimmy Sutton and Alex Hall – Your Love (All That I'm Missing)". uk-charts.com. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
18. "JD McPherson's Top 10 Post-50s Rockabilly Albums – Features". CMJ. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
19. "Socks – JD McPherson – Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
20. Jon Blistein (November 28, 2012). "JD McPherson Swings Into the Holidays With 'Twinkle (Little Christmas Lights)'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
21. "JD McPherson's The Warm Covers Digital EP out today on Rounder Records". Red Light Management. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
22. "11th Annual Independent Music Awards Winners Announced!". Independentmusicawards.com. Retrieved 2015-06-26.

External links

• Official website
• JD McPherson at Hi-STYLE Records
• Doyle, Patrick (March 25, 2015). "How Fired Schoolteacher JD McPherson Brought New Life to Old-School Rock". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 24, 2019.