Jack Johnson

Jack Singing (Google (The Photographer))

"Run my dear son, Until we get to the trees, And then keep on going all the way, We've got to get right down to the sea," This song stands It's about a father leading his son to a place where he can hypothetically dive deeper and try to understand himself less as a child and more as an individual in society. Almost eighty-five percent of his songs are written about being on the sea. He was born in Oahu, Hawaii on May 18, 1975 and rode his first surfboard since he was a toddler (about 2) when his father Jeff Johnson would take him out in the nearby reef just on the outside of their city. Jack says that his father Jeff is a big inspiration and is why he got to where he is because of his dad.

Jack is my hero because not only is he an inspirational figure in his community, he does a lot for others as well. He has set up three different organizations that are funding hospitals for the youth, kind of like St. Jude Mercy Hospital. The reason for this was he had suffered a near fatal surfing accident from where he had crashed into a shallow reef causing him to lose his front teeth, break his nose and go into shock almost causing him to almost drown. "I was conscious, then I'd start to doze off. It was like when you keep pushing snooze on your alarm clock," he had recalled later on. Upon recovering, Jack had received 150 stitches in his head alone. He had wrote songs in his hospital bed but had not yet committed to being a musician.

Despite losing his father, almost losing his life to the sea at 17, Jack had decided to study film making when he enrolled at University of California and graduated with the degree. In 1999, Jack along with some friends released a surfing documentary titled "Thicker Than Water" and followed it up with another one, "The September Session" the next year. Even though Jack had followed what he had set his life one and completed college with, he never lost his passion for writing lyrics and composing songs. Next thing Johnson knew, his demo tapes ended up on the hand of Ben Harper's producer, J.P. Plunier. In 2001, a debut album from Johnson was released under the title "Brushfire Fairy Tales". It was enough an album to put him into nationwide attention but it was the second effort, however, that really got him the cash flow and applauds from music critic.

Jack has had more than one occasions when what he has done has paid him back. He has won the ESPN Film Festival award, two time ESPN Sports & Music award, Surfer Magazine (Filming), Brit Awards, Billboard Music Award, and the ASCAP College Vanguard Award. Since his list has a wide range of awards from film to music, it shows that if you really want to put your mind to something that it will come to you in a matter of time. He has been working hard for more than 12 years and then finally he got noticed in the year 2000. He has also won several Wildlife Conservation Awards and Humanitarian Awards as well. So he is a perfect example of putting your mind to work and going passed some road blocks in your life to succeed and make great things come from them.

Jack has not only been an inspiration to me, but to many others as well. He was fortunate enough to be able to go to hospitals and make kids that really need help, get the help that they needed. He has helped organized many other events that have often generated thousands of dollars that was all put in to help these less fortunate children. Jack has been an inspirational figure to me because he has put himself aside in many times of his life to be there for others even if they weren't there for them. That is what a true hero looks like to me.