Jack Johnson was a professional surfer until an accident, in which he broke his nose, got his front teeth knocked out and got more than 150 stitches to his mouth and forehead, forced him to take some time off. He learned to play guitar at age 14, but did not seriously pursue a career in the arts until his college years at University of California at Santa Barbara, where he graduated with a degree in film. After graduating, Jack decided to take time out travelling (1997-98) when he co-directed and shot the purist surf film Thicker Than Water to be released later. Making friends with Garrett Dutton aka G.Love of G.Love and Special Sauce, he recorded "Rodeo Clowns" with them to be released on their 1999 album "Philadelphonic". This launched his music career and eventually lead to the release of his first album, Brushfire Fairytales in 2001 to aid in the "Thicker than Water" soundtrack.

After touring for almost two years, Johnson released his second album, On and On to generally favorable reviews in late 2003. Many of the songs on On and On had previously been released on bootlegs, such as J.O.A.T. and B.O.A.T., but received the accompaniment of a full band on the new album.

Johnson's interest in surfing also led him to produce and score several surfing films including September Sessions and Thicker Than Water, which were released on CD/DVD between the release of Brushfire Fairytales and On and On. Johnson has also appeared in the surf film Shelter, which was made by his manager Emmett Malloy. The music video for his song "Taylor" also features a guest appearance from actor Ben Stiller.

Jack Johnson also owns Brushfire Records which put out the soundtrack for the aforementioned films and also had released albums by various artists, including Matt Costa and G. Love & Special Sauce.

His third studio album, titled In Between Dreams, was released on March 1, 2005. Johnson appeared on the Sublime tribute album Look at All the Love We Found, and was on Handsome Boy Modeling School's White People, released in 2004. He has also just finished his summer tour and will be touring Europe some time soon.

In 2004, Johnson founded the Kokua Hawaii Foundation, which is a non-profit organization that supports environmental education in the schools and communities of Hawaii. The Kokua Festival is the Kokua Hawaii Foundation’s annual benefift event that brings together environmental organizations, eco-friendly businesses, musicians, artists, teachers, and community leaders to promote environmental awareness in Hawaii.

--wikipedia