He started making music in the late 1970s and gained a large fan base in indie circles during the 1980s, while spending long periods at various institutions for his mental illness. Among his best-known fans was Kurt Cobain, who in a series of photographs from the 90's wore t-shirts with Daniel Johnston's record cover.
Johnston was born in California, but has come to be associated with the music scene in Austin, Texas. His first album "Songs of pain", came in 1980 and five years later he was featured in the MTV program "The cutting edge".
His most famous songs are "Life in vain" and "True love will find you in the end". 2005 came a documentary about his life, "The devil and Daniel Johnston". His latest album was "Space ducks: Soundtrack" in 2012. He announced that he would quit touring 2017 and made his last gigs that year.
Daniel Johnston turned 58 years old.