<strong>Freedy Johnston</strong> (born 1961) is a New York City-based <a target='_blank' href="http://www.last.fm/tag/singer-songwriter" class="bbcode_tag" rel="tag">singer-songwriter</a> originally from Kinsley, Kansas. Johnston's first album, &quot;<a target='_blank' title="Freedy Johnston - The Trouble Tree" href="http://www.last.fm/music/Freedy+Johnston/The+Trouble+Tree" class="bbcode_album">The Trouble Tree</a>&quot; was released in 1990, and features the guitar playing of the roots musician and author, <a target='_blank' href="http://www.last.fm/music/David+Hamburger" class="bbcode_artist">David Hamburger</a>. Johnston sold some of his family's farmland to finance the recording of his second album, <a target='_blank' title="Freedy Johnston - Can You Fly" href="http://www.last.fm/music/Freedy+Johnston/Can+You+Fly" class="bbcode_album">Can You Fly</a> (an event he wrote about in a song on that album, &quot;<a target='_blank' title="Freedy Johnston &ndash; Trying to Tell You I Don't Know" href="http://www.last.fm/music/Freedy+Johnston/_/Trying+to+Tell+You+I+Don%27t+Know" class="bbcode_track">Trying to Tell You I Don't Know</a>&quot;). Johnston followed up with his 1994 major label debut <a target='_blank' title="Freedy Johnston - This Perfect World" href="http://www.last.fm/music/Freedy+Johnston/This+Perfect+World" class="bbcode_album">This Perfect World</a>, which received rave reviews and led to Rolling Stone Magazine naming him &quot;songwriter of the year&quot;. That album also spawned a minor alternative hit with the song &quot;<a target='_blank' title="Freedy Johnston &ndash; Bad Reputation" href="http://www.last.fm/music/Freedy+Johnston/_/Bad+Reputation" class="bbcode_track">Bad Reputation</a>&quot;. Johnston's songs are often about <a target='_blank' href="http://www.last.fm/tag/troubled" class="bbcode_tag" rel="tag">troubled</a> <a target='_blank' href="http://www.last.fm/tag/loners" class="bbcode_tag" rel="tag">loners</a>, and cover topics like <a target='_blank' href="http://www.last.fm/tag/heartbreak" class="bbcode_tag" rel="tag">heartbreak</a>, <a target='_blank' href="http://www.last.fm/tag/alienation" class="bbcode_tag" rel="tag">alienation</a> and <a target='_blank' href="http://www.last.fm/tag/disappointment" class="bbcode_tag" rel="tag">disappointment</a>. Known for the craftsmanship of his songs, he has sometimes been called a &quot;<span title="Unknown tag" class="bbcode_unknown">songwriter's songwriter</span>&quot;. He has contributed songs to the soundtracks for movies including <em>Kingpin</em> and <em>Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead</em>. Johnston and fellow musicians <span title="Unknown artist" class="bbcode_unknown">Jay Moran</span>, James &quot;Pie&quot; Cowan, <a target='_blank' href="http://www.last.fm/music/Duke+Erikson" class="bbcode_artist">Duke Erikson</a>, and <a target='_blank' href="http://www.last.fm/music/Butch+Vig" class="bbcode_artist">Butch Vig</a> perform occasional shows as a <a target='_blank' href="http://www.last.fm/tag/covers" class="bbcode_tag" rel="tag">covers</a> band called &quot;<span title="Unknown artist" class="bbcode_unknown">The Know-It-All Boyfriends</span>.&quot; Johnston latest release is a covers album titled &quot;<a target='_blank' title="Freedy Johnston - Rain on the City" href="http://www.last.fm/music/Freedy+Johnston/Rain+on+the+City" class="bbcode_album">Rain on the City</a>&quot;, It includes selections from Tom Petty, Paul McCartney, Matthew Sweet and The Hollies. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL.