Johnny Rodgers (singer)

Johnny Rodgers (born John Daniel Rodgers on June 5, 1974) is a singer-songwriter, pianist, Broadway star, and recording artist whom The New York Times described as an entertainer “[who] can't be found anywhere else” with “fused elements of Billy Joel, Peter Allen and Johnny Mercer.”

Johnny Rodgers was born and grew up in Miami, FL. Musical performance and stage productions were things he really liked early in life (and still does!). He attributes his grandmother's piano playing side by side as what started him down the music path as a youngster. Grandma Brown, who always wanted to be a Ziegfeld Girl, picked out melodies on the piano for four-year-old Johnny to sing. K-K-K-Katy, beautiful Katy/You’re the only g-g-g-girl that I adore (Geoffrey O’Hara) rang through the Rodgers house in what one can only imagine were tenuous high pitched tones. Beginning in 7th grade, then high school, Johnny took ballet, tap (his parents set up a piece of plywood on the grass so he could practice) and jazz dance, voice, and finally found his way back to piano. His teacher, Mrs. Warren, assigned Bach. Johnny would show up with The Root Beer Rag by Billy Joel or an Elton John number. Every year he’d perform in musicals. Paula Wayne, who’d starred in Golden Boy (Lee Adams/Charles Strouse) with Sammy Davis Jr., was a valued mentor. At Carnegie Mellon Pre-College Summer Program, Johnny wrote his first song, We May Be Young, But We’re Not Blind. He still excels in love songs.

Johnny attended New World School of the Arts in Miami and started college with a scholarship to Florida State’s prestigious Musical Theater program. Unfortunately, the head of the program was on sabbatical, Johnny felt the syllabus was redundant, and— he was lonely. Back to Miami for a year at community college and then The Jazz Program at the University of Miami. He eventually followed one of his instructors to and graduated from Western Michigan University.

Johnny Rodgers tours as Ambassador of American Music around the world on behalf of the U.S. State Department:

2010 - Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands including Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Philippines

2011 - Middle East and North Africa. Performances and workshops in Bahrain, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Djibouti, and Egypt

2012 - Malaysia. A special invitation from the Embassy to perform at the KK Kota Kinabalu Jazz Festival and other events.

2013 - Russia. Performances and workshops in Tula, Kaluga, Tomsk, Moscow, Sochi and Yaroslavl

2014 - Russia. St. Petersburg and Moscow for The Triumph of Jazz festival hosted by Igor Butman

2014 - Malaysia. US Embassy and the US Department of State's American Music Abroad tour in Malaysia. (with special guest Michelle Lambert).

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