Biography
Johnny Depp first rose to prominence through acting, converting his standing as a cult icon into status as one of Hollywood's most reliable box-office draws. His breakthrough arrived with the 2003 feature Pirates of the Caribbean, the Disney theme-park adaptation in which he portrayed Captain Jack Sparrow, shaping the character's slurred, roguish manner after Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones and thereby revealing the depth of his musical affinities. While sustaining an acting career, Depp maintained his guitar playing, an instrument first acquired at age twelve, and cultivated ties with rock musicians through video appearances, guest spots on releases, and instrumental contributions to several film scores. He also launched direct musical ventures, co-founding P alongside Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers in 1993, converting the 1970s Sunset Strip circle known as the Hollywood Vampires into a functioning band in 2012, and issuing the 2022 duet album 18 with Jeff Beck.
Born in Owensboro, Kentucky, on June 9, 1963, Depp relocated with his family to Miramar, Florida, in 1970. At twelve his mother presented him with a guitar that soon absorbed his full attention. He moved through successive groups, ultimately leaving school at sixteen to concentrate on the Kids; the band traveled to Los Angeles, renamed itself Six Gun Method, and pursued an elusive recording deal. Depp later joined Rock City Angels, who included the co-written track "Mary" on their 1988 debut Young Man's Blues, yet his rock ambitions receded after an introduction to acting. Makeup artist Lori Allison, his spouse in the early 1980s, connected him with Nicolas Cage, who encouraged an audition for Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street. The role led to steady demand, bolstered by his lead part in the Fox series 21 Jump Street and subsequent performances in Tim Burton films.
In 1993 Depp and 21 Jump Street colleague Sal Jenco established the Viper Room, the notorious Sunset Strip nightclub. That year the pair also assembled P with Butthole Surfer Gibby Haynes and Bill Carter. While performing at the venue on October 30, 1993, the group witnessed River Phoenix's fatal overdose on the premises. Despite the attendant notoriety, P persisted and delivered its self-titled Capitol Records album in 1995 before disbanding soon afterward.
By the mid-1990s Depp began appearing on other artists' recordings, contributing guitar to Shane MacGowan's 1994 release The Snake with the Popes, a re-recording of Oasis' "Fade Away" for the 1995 HELP charity compilation, slide guitar on "Fade In-Out" from Oasis' 1997 album Be Here Now, and a B-side from Iggy Pop's Avenue B. He also figured prominently on Bliss, the 2000 album by then-partner Vanessa Paradis.
In the early 2000s Depp's musical activity centered on film soundtracks, supplying guitar for Chocolat in 2000 and Once Upon a Time in Mexico in 2003 before assuming the title role in Tim Burton's 2007 screen version of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Guest appearances resumed in 2008 on Glenn Tilbrook's Pandemonium Ensues and two albums by British pop eccentric Babybird. During 2012 he added background vocals to Aerosmith's Music from Another Dimension!, performed on Marilyn Manson's rendition of "You're So Vain," and contributed to the West of Memphis documentary soundtrack.
Subsequent projects included the Hal Wilner-produced 2013 anthology Son of Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys, where he joined Patti Smith on "The Mermaid," and The New Basement Tapes, T Bone Burnett's 2015 collection setting music to unfinished Bob Dylan songs from the late 1960s. Depp's energies increasingly focused on Hollywood Vampires, the supergroup named after the 1970s drinking circle that once included Alice Cooper, Harry Nilsson, Keith Moon, and Ringo Starr. With Cooper and Aerosmith's Joe Perry forming the nucleus, the band issued a star-studded self-titled debut in 2015 and followed it with Rise in 2019.
A friendship with Jeff Beck developed in the late 2010s, leading the pair to record together; their version of John Lennon's "Isolation" surfaced in 2020, preceding the full-length album 18 released in June 2022.
Born in Owensboro, Kentucky, on June 9, 1963, Depp relocated with his family to Miramar, Florida, in 1970. At twelve his mother presented him with a guitar that soon absorbed his full attention. He moved through successive groups, ultimately leaving school at sixteen to concentrate on the Kids; the band traveled to Los Angeles, renamed itself Six Gun Method, and pursued an elusive recording deal. Depp later joined Rock City Angels, who included the co-written track "Mary" on their 1988 debut Young Man's Blues, yet his rock ambitions receded after an introduction to acting. Makeup artist Lori Allison, his spouse in the early 1980s, connected him with Nicolas Cage, who encouraged an audition for Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street. The role led to steady demand, bolstered by his lead part in the Fox series 21 Jump Street and subsequent performances in Tim Burton films.
In 1993 Depp and 21 Jump Street colleague Sal Jenco established the Viper Room, the notorious Sunset Strip nightclub. That year the pair also assembled P with Butthole Surfer Gibby Haynes and Bill Carter. While performing at the venue on October 30, 1993, the group witnessed River Phoenix's fatal overdose on the premises. Despite the attendant notoriety, P persisted and delivered its self-titled Capitol Records album in 1995 before disbanding soon afterward.
By the mid-1990s Depp began appearing on other artists' recordings, contributing guitar to Shane MacGowan's 1994 release The Snake with the Popes, a re-recording of Oasis' "Fade Away" for the 1995 HELP charity compilation, slide guitar on "Fade In-Out" from Oasis' 1997 album Be Here Now, and a B-side from Iggy Pop's Avenue B. He also figured prominently on Bliss, the 2000 album by then-partner Vanessa Paradis.
In the early 2000s Depp's musical activity centered on film soundtracks, supplying guitar for Chocolat in 2000 and Once Upon a Time in Mexico in 2003 before assuming the title role in Tim Burton's 2007 screen version of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Guest appearances resumed in 2008 on Glenn Tilbrook's Pandemonium Ensues and two albums by British pop eccentric Babybird. During 2012 he added background vocals to Aerosmith's Music from Another Dimension!, performed on Marilyn Manson's rendition of "You're So Vain," and contributed to the West of Memphis documentary soundtrack.
Subsequent projects included the Hal Wilner-produced 2013 anthology Son of Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys, where he joined Patti Smith on "The Mermaid," and The New Basement Tapes, T Bone Burnett's 2015 collection setting music to unfinished Bob Dylan songs from the late 1960s. Depp's energies increasingly focused on Hollywood Vampires, the supergroup named after the 1970s drinking circle that once included Alice Cooper, Harry Nilsson, Keith Moon, and Ringo Starr. With Cooper and Aerosmith's Joe Perry forming the nucleus, the band issued a star-studded self-titled debut in 2015 and followed it with Rise in 2019.
A friendship with Jeff Beck developed in the late 2010s, leading the pair to record together; their version of John Lennon's "Isolation" surfaced in 2020, preceding the full-length album 18 released in June 2022.
Albums
Singles
The Death And Resurrection Show
2022
Caroline, No
2022
Venus In Furs
2022
This Is A Song For Miss Hedy Lamarr
2022
Isolation
2020
Heroes
2019
The Boogieman Surprise
2019
Who's Laughing Now
2019
Live
