September 11, 2019, American songwriter and artist Daniel Johnston died of a suspected heart attack at his home in Waller, Texas, at 58. Kurt Cobain once described him as ‘the best songwriter on earth’ and famously wore one of Johnston’s t-shirts promoting Johnston’s Hi, How Are You to the 1992 MTV Awards. Other musicians who have covered Johnston’s songs include Pearl Jam, Tom Waits, Wilco, Death Cab for Cutie, Sufjan Stevens, and Yo La Tengo, and artists including Flaming Lips, Death Cab for Cutie, Bright Eyes, and Beck.
I’ve got something to live for because I always wanted to be an artist; I always wanted to be famous.
Daniel Johnston
He made his first album, Songs of Pain, in 1980, and got his commercial breakthrough just three years later with Hi, How Are You, which came out on indie label Homestead.
Johnston’s brother said in the past they found a massive trove of unreleased recordings and other documents in their father’s home after his death, including letters Johnston’s father wrote that shed new light on the singer’s mental illnesses.
“His struggle was always more serious than I was sensitive to,” Dick said.
He added. “We’ll be spending a long time sorting out what he’s left behind. We have lots more to share.”
