A Bite of Jonathan Richman 🍪

Why I smile whenever I listen to this cult rock star’s playful music

Apr 29, 2024

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• 3 min read •

There’s something about Jonathan

Every time I hear his voice, I smile. There’s an unmistakable sincerity and lovability to his songs.

I want to open up my lunch box
And find a peanut butter
and jelly sandwich in there
Just like when I was 6 years old
and someone loved me

His wholesomeness doesn’t stop at his songwriting. On tour, he usually travels by train to reduce his carbon footprint and he reportedly doesn’t play electric guitar on the road for similar reasons. (And according to his ex-bassist Ernie Brooks, one reason he moved away from loud music in the 70s was to preserve fans’ hearing.)

Not only is he considerate, he’s a creative legend.

Before “punk” was a codified genre, Jonathan Richman helped pioneer it with his band the Modern Lovers. Then he turned toward a more tender, stripped-down sound that creates plenty of space for his ultra-sincere lyrics to shine.

Richman’s music can be described as whimsical, personal, sometimes funny, and always earnest. And when he sings, he can’t help but dance.

Jonathan Richman

The basics

🤝 American singer, songwriter, and guitarist

🤝 b. 1951 (Boston, Massachusetts)

🤝 Founder of the Modern Lovers, considered by some to be the godfather of punk

Why you should know him: His open-hearted songs will remind you to notice the beauty in everyday life; his early work was a major influence on punk rock

If you like

✨ Weezer

✨ Vampire Weekend

✨ Pixies

✨ Mac Demarco

✨ Violent Femmes

Known for

🏆 Founding & fronting influential proto-punk garage rock band the Modern Lovers as a teen heavily under the influence of the Velvet Underground

🏆 Pivoting to a warmer, mellower musical style in the mid-70s

🏆 Unabashed sincerity, vulnerability, positivity, lightheartedness, directness, humor, whimsy, and bittersweet wisdom

🏆 Joyous, highly improvisatory live shows in which he never attempts to recreate his studio sound

🏆 Appearing in 1998 comedy There’s Something About Mary with his drummer Tommy Larkins, serving as a two-man Greek chorus

CDN media — *There’s Something About Mary*

Bite-sized facts

🍪 Tried to break in as a musician in NYC in the late 60s, initially failed, returned home to Boston and founded The Modern Lovers in 1970

🍪 After the original Modern Lovers lineup broke up in ‘74, moved to California to record as a solo singer/songwriter

🍪 Much of his late-70s work sounds like it was written for children; sings about leprechauns, Martians, roller coasters, and monsters

🍪 Performed mostly as a solo act from ‘88-‘92; had a passionate cult following but became better known in the 90s

🍪 Still recording and touring; has a stone masonry business on the side (if you’re in the market for a bread oven…); meditates, reads poetry, speaks 4 languages, doesn’t use computers or own a cell phone

We love Jonathan

💗 David Bowie, Joan Jett, Iggy Pop, John Cale, and the Sex Pistols have performed covers of Richman’s music

💗 Black Francis, the Pixies’ lead singer, recorded a tribute to him on one of his solo albums

💗 Bob Dylan played one of his songs on Theme Time Radio Hour

Songs & dates

♫ 1972 The Modern Lovers record a series of demos with producer John Cale (founding member of the Velvet Underground), 6 of which were on their debut album The Modern Lovers released in 1976

♫ 1977 “Roadrunner” reaches No. 11 on the UK Singles Chart; now considered a rock standard and proto-punk anthem; in 2021 Rolling Stone ranks “Roadrunner” #77 on its list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time

♫ 1977 “Egyptian Reggae” becomes a UK No. 5 hit, a version of Jamaican musician Earl Zero's reggae song “None Shall Escape the Judgment”

♫ 1989 Releases the spoken-word “I Eat With Gusto, Damn! You Bet” off his 1st solo album Jonathan Richman, provided percussion with his feet

♫ 1992 Releases his 4th solo album, I, Jonathan; widely-regarded as one of his best works, considered an influential album in the lo-fi genre

He said

⭐ “When I sing, I dance.”

⭐ “When I was a teenager, I thought I would be a painter, and then sound overtook me. I made up songs because I had to. I had the need to express how I felt.”

⭐ “Don't forget, I know what it's like to be real sad. A lot of my happiest songs, have their roots in deep sorrow. In fact, I don't trust happy music, myself, unless I can hear at least a hint of sorrow.”

My Jonathan Richman Playlist

I gathered my fav Jonathan songs, from me to you with love. Like & save on Spotify and listen all week 💗

Save on Spotify

Where to start

With The Modern Lovers

Performing on TopPop (September 16, 1978)

〰️

An important Late Night moment

This 1993 appearance helped increase Richman’s cultural profile; performs “I Was Dancing In The Lesbian Bar” and “Just Because I'm Irish.”

Down the rabbit hole

If you wanna dive even deeper:

Wax! Crackle! Pop! Show #15: Jonathan Richman Celebrates Velvet Underground on Lou Reed’s Birthday

Enjoy two hours of music, stories & observations (Aug. 2017). Listen here.

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