JULY 19, 2025 INTERVIEWS
Bob Johnston: Dylan, Cohen, Cash, Simon & in the studio with Bob
He's always had big ideas, been involved with big projects and had hits with countless artists in his many decades in the music business. Although Bob will be the first to acknowledge how lucky he's been in his life to work with so many great artists, there is also an unmistakable thread that weaves through all of his records. It is the combination of all of the things that happen during a Bob Johnston session that makes his records so great, and the results continue to speak for themselves. - Jimmy Foot In 2004 the only two records that lived on my turntable were Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde and Leonard Cohen's Songs of Love and Hate. They became obsessions, as did the man who produced them. I soon came to discover that this enigma also produced many of my other favorite records, but I couldn't find much information on the man himself. In February of 2009 I was lucky enough to get tickets to Leonard Cohen's performance in New York City. I showed up at will call and they were flipping through the envelopes for the tickets, and they flipped past an envelope that said "Bob Johnston." I thought, "Holy fuck. I'm going to be in the same room as Bob Johnston!" We sat down at our seats and about three songs in I looked to the left of me and one seat over was Bob Johnston. At intermission I walked up to him and said, "Excuse me. I think you're the greatest record producer of all time." And with his deep Texas drawl he said, "Yep. My name is George Martin." Now I've never met George Martin, but I am pretty sure he's not from Texas. -HB
