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, rhythm and blues, and rockabilly 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.

McPherson grew up in rural southeastern Oklahoma, on a cattle ranch near the town of Talihina. His father was a farmer and ex-army while his mother was a church minister. He took up the guitar at age 13. In high school he played in a number of local punk rock bands and began writing his own songs. He has stated that he has never not been in a band of some sort since he was 16 years of age.

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.

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. 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. 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.

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

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.

Albums

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, 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.

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.

Let the Good Times Roll

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

Singles and EPs

The Warm Covers EP

Music videos

• Independent Music Awards 2012: Signs & Signifiers - Best Rock/Hard Rock Album

• "11th Annual Independent Music Awards Winners Announced!". Independentmusicawards.com. Retrieved 2015-06-26.