Coale Johnson

Morehead State Public Radio | By Paul Hitchcock

Published April 7, 2017 at 7:09 PM EDT

Sunday Night Jazz Showcase

Program #161 (April 9 at 8:00 p.m.)

Singer, songwriter and guitarist Coale Johnson was 14 when his musical journey started when he “borrowed” his sister’s guitar and she never really got it back.

Johnson started his formal studies in Chicago and then went on to Berklee School of Music in Boston. It didn’t take long to realize that academia was really no place for a free spirited guitar player.

The music Johnson now plays shows all of his influences. He covers artists from Muddy Waters to Gordon Lightfoot, from the Beatles to Merle Haggard, from Frank Sinatra to Emmy Lou Harris & Billy Holiday. Coale’s extensive original songs can best be described as folk/rock/jazz with a subtle twang.

(story provided by Coale Johnson)

Arts/Culture

Paul Hitchcock

Paul Hitchcock earned his Masters in Communications from Morehead State University and Bachelors in Radio-TV/Psychology from Georgetown College. A veteran broadcaster for more than 40 years and an avid fan of blues, jazz and American roots music. Hitchcock has been with WMKY since 1986 and was named General Manager in 2003. He currently hosts "Muddy Bottom Blues" (Fri., 8pm-9pm), "Nothin' But The Blues" (Sat., 8pm-12am), "Sunday Night Jazz Showcase" and "Live From The Jazz Lounge" (Sun., 8pm-9pm) and "The Golden Age of Radio" (Sun., 2pm-3pm). He also serves as producer for "A Time For Tales" and "The Reader's Notebook."

See stories by Paul Hitchcock