Johnny A.

John Antonopoulos (born November 14 1952 in Malden, Massachusetts, United States), known professionally as Johnny A., is an American musician, guitarist, and songwriter.

Johnny A. was born in Malden, Massachusetts, of Greek heritage.

Growing up in the Boston area, he became interested in music, starting with drums at age six.

Upon being exposed to The Beatles in 1964 at the age of 11, Johnny's parents bought him a $49 Lafayette Electronics guitar.

He stated his last name, Antonopoulos, which is of Greek origin, was frequently mispronounced.

"It's always been Johnny A. since age eight.”

Johnny uses the fractal audio system.

In the 1970s, Johnny A. formed a band called The Streets, performing mostly in the Boston area.

They had several popular radio singles, including "What Gives", which reached the top spot on WBCN "The Rock of Boston".

As well as headlining in Boston clubs, The Streets toured with and supported several major artists including Aerosmith and Bob Seger.

They also competed in the first WBCN "Rock 'n' Roll Rumble" in 1979.

In 1980, Johnny formed the band Hidden Secret.

They had a several local hit singles including "No More Lonely Nights", which occupied the top spot on WBCN for 26 weeks.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, while working as a sideman, Johnny played with Santana percussionist Mingo Lewis, blues and soul duo Delaney & Bonnie, Derek & the Dominos keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, and briefly with Creedence Clearwater Revival drummer Doug Clifford.

He then began a seven-year role as guitarist and musical director for the J. Geils Band front man Peter Wolf.

He played on Wolf's albums, co-produced his album Long Line, and joined him on world tours.

His next band, Hearts On Fire, placed second after Gang Green in the 1986 WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble, and continued to produce local hit singles.

In 1999, Johnny A. launched his solo career and independently released his debut CD Sometime Tuesday Morning.

In 2000, Johnny A. signed a licensing deal to re-release his first album with Steve Vai's Favored Nations Entertainment.

In 2001, Sometime Tuesday Morning was re-released on Vai's Favored Nations Entertainment label Sony/RED distribution.

The album spawned the #1 single "Oh Yeah" across the USA on the AAA radio format.

It marked the first time in over a decade that an instrumental had achieved the top spot on radio.

Sometime Tuesday Morning sold over 150,000 copies.

In 2003, Sometime Tuesday Morning was then picked up for distribution by Danny Goldberg at Artemis Records, and Gibson Custom Guitar company, in close collaboration with Johnny, released a "Johnny A."

Signature Model guitar, designed to the artist's specifications.

"Creating an artist signature model guitar is not something we take lightly. But sometimes a player comes along who is not only a musical innovator and artist of the highest-caliber, but has innovative ideas about designing a totally new instrument. And that's Johnny, who just knocked us off our feet."

In 2003, Johnny A. signed a multi-record contract with Steve Vai's Sony/Red distributed Favored Nations Entertainment and saw the release of the "radio-only" promotional Johnny A. Christmas single "Sleigh Ride", released on the label.

In 2004, Get Inside was released on the Favored Nations Label, yielding two radio singles, "I Had To Laugh", which made the Grammy nominations ballot, and a radio edit of the title track "Get Inside".

In 2006, Warner Bros./Alfred Publishing released a Johnny A. instructional DVD entitled Taste, Tone, Space.

In 2007, Gibson Custom guitar company released a second Johnny A. signature guitar, the Johnny A. Standard.

In 2010, Johnny A. released One November Night (2010 Aglaophone Records), a live DVD/ CD set recorded at Sculler's Jazz Club in his hometown of Boston, Massachusetts.

In 2010, Johnny also became the recipient of The Boston Music Award's Blues Artist of the Year 2010.

In June 2014, Johnny A. released, Driven, marking his engineering debut as well as mixing, producing and playing all the instruments on the album.

On December 14, 2014, Johnny was inducted into the Boston Music Hall of Fame at the Boston Music Awards.

The same year, Gibson custom released a "new" version of the Johnny A. Standard.

In 2015, Johnny A. joined The Yardbirds, touring and playing with the group as lead guitarist.

In 2017, Epiphone guitar company released the limited edition Johnny A. Custom Outfit, which comprised a guitar, case, and autographed certificate of authenticity.

On July 23 2018, after playing with the band for three years, he announced on his website that he would not be appearing at any future Yardbirds performances.

In 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown, Johnny A. broadcast a 90-minute free morning livestream from his Facebook page.

This ran for 5 days a week, producing over 300 episodes.