Johnny Lee Middleton
Encyclopedia
Johnny Lee Middleton is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the bass guitar
player for Savatage
and Trans-Siberian Orchestra
.
As a bass player, however, Middleton is largely self-taught. At age 14, he joined the high-school jazz band. With the bass rig behind him, he quickly discovered "the way the bass moves the earth" – and just as quickly realized "you could get more girls by playing bass instead of trumpet." He invested $35 in his first bass, locked himself in his bedroom with REO Speedwagon
, Cheap Trick
, and Black Sabbath
records, and learned to play along. Among his influences, Middleton counts Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler
, Phil Lynott
(Thin Lizzy
), Geddy Lee
(Rush
), Chris Squire
(Yes
), John Entwistle
(The Who
), and Paul McCartney
(The Beatles
).
Another influential experience – also at age 14 – was his first concert: Blue Öyster Cult
. Middleton left the show knowing he wanted to be a professional bass player. "After that first concert, I was hooked. I was like, 'I want to be up there. I want to do that.
Later in high school, Middleton and two friends formed his first band, Mariah. The trio performed regularly at high-school parties and other events. After graduation, Middleton played in several local bands before joining Lefty, a glam band that was already fairly well known on the Florida club circuit. Middleton soon found himself onstage nearly every night, decked out in makeup and spandex, playing to packed clubs across Florida and the South. "We got a lot of stage experience," he says. "We did a lot of covers, and some original. We were like a Poison
before Poison. Everyone had bleached blonde hair, and wore a lot of makeup and hairspray. We were bizarre, but we would pack the clubs."
, a decidedly un-glam metal band
based in the Tampa, Florida area, near his hometown of St. Petersburg.
By 1984, Savatage had released several albums, but guitarist Criss Oliva
and drummer Steve Wacholz were losing patience with bass player Keith Collins. That year, Wacholz spotted Middleton onstage with Lefty at a local club. Although the Lefty image was a far cry from that of the hard-edged Savatage, Middleton's talent and stage presence caught Wacholz' attention. Wacholz passed Middleton's name to Savatage founder and singer Jon Oliva
. Like Wacholz, Oliva had little interest in the Lefty look, but he too was impressed with Middleton's performance.
When invited to join Savatage, however, Middleton turned the offer down. The members of Savatage all worked other jobs, and Middleton's Lefty gig paid well enough to live on without the need for outside work. "Steve [Wacholz] approached me and offered me the bass gig. I said, 'I'm not going to [work] a day job – I'm making $250 a week.' For me, being 19-20 years old, that was good money. I said, 'When you can offer me a salary, come back and see me.
But eventually, playing cover songs with Lefty lost its appeal. "We did well, but it got old," Middleton says. Late in 1985, Savatage approached Middleton again. Preparing to record their next album, they were still looking to replace Collins. This time, Middleton agreed: "Somehow I was fed up with this bar-band-shit, even though it was a good living, getting through the week with $250, even if it meant we had to work each night for it. At the time I was only 20, 21 years old. The guys from my band would have loved to have lynched me, when I stepped out. Four weeks later I couldn't have cared less. I was in London with Savatage – and had a fuckin' great time!"
Middleton's first appearance on a Savatage recording was 1986's Fight for the Rock
, an album the band now refers to as "Fight for the Nightmare." "We recorded a great record," he says, but the record label "took our record, mangled the hell out of it, and tried to make us into something we weren't, when they thought the market was going more poppy. It was a learning experience." The experience improved with 1987's breakthrough Hall of the Mountain King
, which marked the band's first collaboration with producer Paul O'Neill
. The title track received significant airplay on hard-rock radio and MTV's Headbanger's Ball. Gutter Ballet
(1989) and Streets
(1991) continued and solidified the partnership with O'Neill. During this time, Savatage embarked on several American and European tours, opening for bands such as Motorhead, Dio
, and Megadeth
.
1993 saw the first significant change in the Savatage lineup since Middleton's arrival in 1985. Singer Jon Oliva departed, and the remaining members of Savatage recorded and released Edge of Thorns
with new vocalist Zak Stevens
. Middleton describes Edge of Thorns as "about my favorite record, due to the fact that I like the bass mix in it, and it was the last one me and Criss got to do together. Jon had stepped down to pursue his Broadway thing, and it was me and Criss against the world, really. Everything was against us, and we fought back and won."
The victory was short-lived. On October 17, 1993, Criss Oliva's car was struck head-on by a drunk driver. Oliva was killed instantly.
Middleton did not play on 1994's Handful of Rain
. He entered the studio, saw Criss Oliva's signature white guitar, and – still devastated by Oliva's death only months before – turned around and walked out. But he joined the reunited and rebuilt Savatage for the Handful of Rain tour, and in early 1995 he rejoined the band in the studio to record 1995's Dead Winter Dead
.
", an instrumental medley of the Christmas standards "Carol of the Bells" and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," featuring a string orchestra alongside the electric guitars. In late 1995, "Christmas Eve" was released as a single to hundreds of radio stations across the United States. Station managers – intimidated by the Savatage name, the band believes – largely ignored it.
The Savatage-branded "Christmas Eve" made it on the air in only a few markets that year. But in those markets it garnered an impressive response – so impressive that producer O'Neill decided to build an entirely new project upon the song's larger-than-life combination of hard-rock music and classical arrangements. In the summer of 1996, the members of Savatage, including Middleton, returned to the studio with O'Neill. Joined by a full orchestra and multiple singers, the band recorded Christmas Eve and Other Stories
, a concept album
which told the story of an angel descending to earth to search for the true meaning of Christmas.
In late 1996, an unknown group called Trans-Siberian Orchestra released their first single, "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24," to more than 300 radio stations across the United States. Very few station managers had any idea that the same song had landed on their desks the year before. Even fewer knew that the new Trans-Siberian Orchestra was, in fact, essentially an extension of Savatage. "Christmas Eve" hit the airwaves, and the phone lines lit up nationwide.
Largely on the strength of that song, Christmas Eve and Other Stories has since sold nearly 3 million copies and launched the TSO empire. Since 1996, TSO has released four more albums – The Christmas Attic
(1998), Beethoven's Last Night
(2000), The Lost Christmas Eve
(2004), and Night Castle
' (2009) – all of which feature Middleton on bass. Together, they have sold nearly 4 million copies.
Middleton has also performed with TSO's annual holiday tour since its inception. In 2008 alone, the two Trans-Siberian Orchestra touring companies combined played nearly 150 shows for over 1 million people.
, guitarist Jeff Scott, and drummer Danny Elliott. Plans are to record an album, along with releasing a DVD of the recording process.
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
player for Savatage
Savatage
Savatage is an American heavy metal band founded by the brothers Jon and Criss Oliva in 1978 at Astro Skate in Tarpon Springs, Florida.-Early days :...
and Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Trans-Siberian Orchestra is an American progressive metal band founded in 1993 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel to form the core of the creative team. Since then, TSO sold nearly 8...
.
Musical beginnings
A life-long resident of the St. Petersburg area, Middleton's first experience as a performing musician was as first-chair trumpet in the sixth-grade orchestra. The band director provided early encouragement. "I'd get free lessons from him, so I learned how to play the saxophone, the clarinet, [and] the oboe. He kind of gave me an ear for music."As a bass player, however, Middleton is largely self-taught. At age 14, he joined the high-school jazz band. With the bass rig behind him, he quickly discovered "the way the bass moves the earth" – and just as quickly realized "you could get more girls by playing bass instead of trumpet." He invested $35 in his first bass, locked himself in his bedroom with REO Speedwagon
REO Speedwagon
REO Speedwagon is an American rock band. Formed in 1967, the band grew in popularity during the 1970s and peaked in the early 1980s. Hi Infidelity is the group's most commercially successful album, selling over ten million copies and charting four Top 40 hits in the US...
, Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...
, and Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
records, and learned to play along. Among his influences, Middleton counts Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler
Geezer Butler
Geezer Butler is an English musician and songwriter. Butler is best known as the bassist and lyricist of heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He was also involved in Heaven & Hell from 2006 to 2010.-Career:Butler formed his first band, Rare Breed, with old friend John "Ozzy" Osbourne in the autumn of...
, Phil Lynott
Phil Lynott
Philip Parris "Phil" Lynott was an Irish musician who first came to prominence as a founding member, principal songwriter, and frontman of the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy....
(Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...
), Geddy Lee
Geddy Lee
Gary Lee Weinrib, OC, better known as Geddy Lee , is a Canadian musician, best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush...
(Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
), Chris Squire
Chris Squire
Christopher Russell Edward "Chris" Squire , is an English musician, known as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist for the progressive rock group Yes. He is the only member of the group to appear on every album.-Before Yes:...
(Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
), John Entwistle
John Entwistle
John Alec Entwistle was an English bass guitarist, songwriter, singer, horn player, and film and record producer who was best known as the bass player for the rock band The Who. His aggressive lead sound influenced many rock bass players...
(The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
), and Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
(The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
).
Another influential experience – also at age 14 – was his first concert: Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult, often abbreviated BÖC, is an American rock band, most of whose members first came together in Long Island, NY in 1967 as the band Soft White Underbelly...
. Middleton left the show knowing he wanted to be a professional bass player. "After that first concert, I was hooked. I was like, 'I want to be up there. I want to do that.
Later in high school, Middleton and two friends formed his first band, Mariah. The trio performed regularly at high-school parties and other events. After graduation, Middleton played in several local bands before joining Lefty, a glam band that was already fairly well known on the Florida club circuit. Middleton soon found himself onstage nearly every night, decked out in makeup and spandex, playing to packed clubs across Florida and the South. "We got a lot of stage experience," he says. "We did a lot of covers, and some original. We were like a Poison
Poison (band)
Poison is an American glam metal band that achieved great success in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. To date, Poison has sold over 30 million records worldwide and have sold 15 million records in the United States alone. The band has also charted ten singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100,...
before Poison. Everyone had bleached blonde hair, and wore a lot of makeup and hairspray. We were bizarre, but we would pack the clubs."
Savatage
Middleton spent several years with Lefty, the nightly shows honing both his bass chops and his stage presence. And it was during this time that he first crossed paths with SavatageSavatage
Savatage is an American heavy metal band founded by the brothers Jon and Criss Oliva in 1978 at Astro Skate in Tarpon Springs, Florida.-Early days :...
, a decidedly un-glam metal band
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
based in the Tampa, Florida area, near his hometown of St. Petersburg.
By 1984, Savatage had released several albums, but guitarist Criss Oliva
Criss Oliva
Christopher "Criss" Michael Oliva was born in Pompton Plains, NJ. He was the lead guitarist in, and co-founder of, the band Savatage...
and drummer Steve Wacholz were losing patience with bass player Keith Collins. That year, Wacholz spotted Middleton onstage with Lefty at a local club. Although the Lefty image was a far cry from that of the hard-edged Savatage, Middleton's talent and stage presence caught Wacholz' attention. Wacholz passed Middleton's name to Savatage founder and singer Jon Oliva
Jon Oliva
John Nicholas Oliva is best known simply as Jon Oliva and as founder of and lead vocalist for Savatage. He is the third of four children...
. Like Wacholz, Oliva had little interest in the Lefty look, but he too was impressed with Middleton's performance.
When invited to join Savatage, however, Middleton turned the offer down. The members of Savatage all worked other jobs, and Middleton's Lefty gig paid well enough to live on without the need for outside work. "Steve [Wacholz] approached me and offered me the bass gig. I said, 'I'm not going to [work] a day job – I'm making $250 a week.' For me, being 19-20 years old, that was good money. I said, 'When you can offer me a salary, come back and see me.
But eventually, playing cover songs with Lefty lost its appeal. "We did well, but it got old," Middleton says. Late in 1985, Savatage approached Middleton again. Preparing to record their next album, they were still looking to replace Collins. This time, Middleton agreed: "Somehow I was fed up with this bar-band-shit, even though it was a good living, getting through the week with $250, even if it meant we had to work each night for it. At the time I was only 20, 21 years old. The guys from my band would have loved to have lynched me, when I stepped out. Four weeks later I couldn't have cared less. I was in London with Savatage – and had a fuckin' great time!"
Middleton's first appearance on a Savatage recording was 1986's Fight for the Rock
Fight for the Rock
Fight for the Rock is the fourth album released by the band Savatage, their first with new bass player Johnny Lee Middleton, who has since become the only ever-present member on each Savatage record released since....
, an album the band now refers to as "Fight for the Nightmare." "We recorded a great record," he says, but the record label "took our record, mangled the hell out of it, and tried to make us into something we weren't, when they thought the market was going more poppy. It was a learning experience." The experience improved with 1987's breakthrough Hall of the Mountain King
Hall of the Mountain King
-Personnel:At this point, Savatage remained essentially intact from their original group. Interesting to note is that in the liner notes for the album, they gave themselves roles instead of listing their instruments.*Jon Oliva – "The Grit"...
, which marked the band's first collaboration with producer Paul O'Neill
Paul O'Neill (rock producer)
Paul O'Neill is an American music composer, lyricist, producer, and songwriter.-Early years:A New York City native, O'Neill began playing guitar with a number of rock bands in high school and quickly graduated to folk guitar gigs at downtown clubs...
. The title track received significant airplay on hard-rock radio and MTV's Headbanger's Ball. Gutter Ballet
Gutter Ballet
-Song information:On the original cassette and CD releases, "Thorazine Shuffle" was a bonus track.Had the band originally stuck with the story set-out in Paul O'Neill's original 1979 story, the song "When the Crowds are Gone" would have followed Streets track "A Little Too Far".Two videos from the...
(1989) and Streets
Streets: A Rock Opera
-Production:The album was originally due to be a double CD record, but record label Atlantic Records lost reels of the sessions in their vaults. These "lost tracks" were re-written over the years and eventually formed parts of songs on Edge of Thorns and later works...
(1991) continued and solidified the partnership with O'Neill. During this time, Savatage embarked on several American and European tours, opening for bands such as Motorhead, Dio
Dio (band)
Dio was an American heavy metal band from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Formed in 1982 and led by vocalist Ronnie James Dio, after he left Black Sabbath with intentions to form a new band with fellow former Black Sabbath member, drummer Vinny Appice. Naming the band Dio made sense from a commercial...
, and Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
.
1993 saw the first significant change in the Savatage lineup since Middleton's arrival in 1985. Singer Jon Oliva departed, and the remaining members of Savatage recorded and released Edge of Thorns
Edge of Thorns
-Band members:*Zachary Stevens – lead vocals*Criss Oliva – guitars*Johnny Lee Middleton – bass guitar*Steve Wacholz – drums -Additional musicians:...
with new vocalist Zak Stevens
Zachary Stevens
Zachary "Zak" Stevens , is best known as the former lead vocalist of the band Savatage. He is also a drummer and has a degree in psychology but is not, as is often reported, a licensed, practicing psychologist....
. Middleton describes Edge of Thorns as "about my favorite record, due to the fact that I like the bass mix in it, and it was the last one me and Criss got to do together. Jon had stepped down to pursue his Broadway thing, and it was me and Criss against the world, really. Everything was against us, and we fought back and won."
The victory was short-lived. On October 17, 1993, Criss Oliva's car was struck head-on by a drunk driver. Oliva was killed instantly.
Middleton did not play on 1994's Handful of Rain
Handful of Rain
-Personnel:Due to the shake-up in the band following Criss's death, the line-ups were somewhat unclear at the time. Drummer Steve Wacholz left the band and did not play on the album, but he is pictured in the album to maintain a more "classic" Savatage line-up. Bassist Middleton was apparently...
. He entered the studio, saw Criss Oliva's signature white guitar, and – still devastated by Oliva's death only months before – turned around and walked out. But he joined the reunited and rebuilt Savatage for the Handful of Rain tour, and in early 1995 he rejoined the band in the studio to record 1995's Dead Winter Dead
Dead Winter Dead
- Story :In the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo, there is a town square surroundedby buildings that were constructed during the Middle Ages. Thesquare has a beautiful stone fountain at its center and at one...
.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Among the tracks on Dead Winter Dead was "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24
Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24 is an instrumental medley of "Carol of the Bells" and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" first released on the Savatage album Dead Winter Dead in 1995 as "Christmas Eve ." It was re-released by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, a side project of several Savatage members, on...
", an instrumental medley of the Christmas standards "Carol of the Bells" and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," featuring a string orchestra alongside the electric guitars. In late 1995, "Christmas Eve" was released as a single to hundreds of radio stations across the United States. Station managers – intimidated by the Savatage name, the band believes – largely ignored it.
The Savatage-branded "Christmas Eve" made it on the air in only a few markets that year. But in those markets it garnered an impressive response – so impressive that producer O'Neill decided to build an entirely new project upon the song's larger-than-life combination of hard-rock music and classical arrangements. In the summer of 1996, the members of Savatage, including Middleton, returned to the studio with O'Neill. Joined by a full orchestra and multiple singers, the band recorded Christmas Eve and Other Stories
Christmas Eve and Other Stories
Christmas Eve and Other Stories is a rock opera and Christmas album by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The story is about a young man who wanders into a bar on Christmas Eve where he encounters a mysterious old man who tells him a tale about the magical effect of Christmas day on the human race...
, a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
which told the story of an angel descending to earth to search for the true meaning of Christmas.
In late 1996, an unknown group called Trans-Siberian Orchestra released their first single, "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24," to more than 300 radio stations across the United States. Very few station managers had any idea that the same song had landed on their desks the year before. Even fewer knew that the new Trans-Siberian Orchestra was, in fact, essentially an extension of Savatage. "Christmas Eve" hit the airwaves, and the phone lines lit up nationwide.
Largely on the strength of that song, Christmas Eve and Other Stories has since sold nearly 3 million copies and launched the TSO empire. Since 1996, TSO has released four more albums – The Christmas Attic
The Christmas Attic
The Christmas Attic is the second album by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, a rock opera, and the second installment of their Christmas Trilogy, the sequel to Christmas Eve and Other Stories and the prequel to The Lost Christmas Eve...
(1998), Beethoven's Last Night
Beethoven's Last Night
Beethoven's Last Night is a concept album by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, released in 2000. The album tells the fictional story of Ludwig van Beethoven on the last night of his life, as the devil, Mephistopheles, comes to collect his soul...
(2000), The Lost Christmas Eve
The Lost Christmas Eve
-References to other media:"Back to a Reason " is a sequel to the Savatage song "Back to a Reason", on their 2001 release Poets and Madmen....
(2004), and Night Castle
Night Castle
- Disc two :- Personnel :* Paul O'Neill - Producer* Robert Kinkel - Producer* Dave Wittman - Recording & Mix Engineer- Vocals :Solo:* Jay Pierce - "Childhood Dreams", "The Safest Way Into Tomorrow"* Tim Hockenberry - "Sparks", "Believe"...
' (2009) – all of which feature Middleton on bass. Together, they have sold nearly 4 million copies.
Middleton has also performed with TSO's annual holiday tour since its inception. In 2008 alone, the two Trans-Siberian Orchestra touring companies combined played nearly 150 shows for over 1 million people.
Solo project
In early 2008, Middleton began to try his hand at making music on his own. He soon discovered that songwriting "was like opening up another side of my mind that I never knew existed." His first two solo singles, "Tennessee" and "Broken Wings," were released in late 2008.Big Shooter
In the summer of 2011, Middleton and Kenny McGee formed a new band called Big Shooter. Other than Middleton and McGee, the band includes John CorabiJohn Corabi
John Corabi is a heavy metal singer and guitarist who has worked with such bands as Angora, The Scream, Mötley Crüe, Union and ESP , Ratt , Twenty 4 Seven , Zen Lunatic, Brides of Destruction, and Angel City Outlaws John Corabi (born on April 26, 1959 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a heavy...
, guitarist Jeff Scott, and drummer Danny Elliott. Plans are to record an album, along with releasing a DVD of the recording process.