Grammy Award Winner to Offer Local Community Presentation

The staff, faculty and students of Mount Marty college welcome Grammy Award winner Bill Johnson to campus for a special presentation in Marian Auditorium Thursday, February 21st at 7:30 p.m.   His presentation, “What Does it Mean to be an Artist?” is open to the public and will conclude Johnson’s week of serving as an artist in residence at the college. 

Since leaving his Yankton hometown roots, Johnson has had a variety of design experience in books, magazines, corporate design and the music industry.  He began in Omaha as a junior designer of advertising and books with the Roderick R. Ross Design Firm.  At the age of 23 he became art director for Northern Gas Company.  While still in Omaha, he conducted courses on design at Creighton University and had several exhibitions of his paintings.

It was painting that lured him to San Fransico, but it was the need to eat that drew him back into designing magazines including Outside, The Whole Earth Review and Francis Ford Coppola’s City Magazine.  Work at these publications eventually led to his position as assistant art director Rolling Stone magazine.

When Rolling Stone moved to New York, so did Johnson, and his work began winning awards including a Graphis Selection and two New York Typographers’ Awards.  Not long afterward, Johnson joined CBS Records in New York and a year later moved to their Nashville division.

While at CBS (now Sony-BMG), Johnson worked with designing covers and graphics for recording artists spanning 23 years – from Charlie Daniels to the Dixie Chicks.  His work has earned him numerous awards including two Grammy Awards, a Nammy, the Canadian Country Music Award, a National Addy, the AAF Silver Medal, Regional Addy, nine Diamond Addys and the Music Row Industry Summit Award.

Mount Marty College
College Relations Office
1105 West 8th Street
Yankton, SD 57078
(605) 668-1517
mmc.college.relations@mtmc.edu