Johnny Bush, born February 17, 1935 as John Bush Shin III in Houston, Texas, is a country music singer, songwriter, and drummer.



Starting out as a solo act in 1952 in San Antonio, Texas, Bush switched to drums, and in the 1960s began working with Willie Nelson's band, The Record Men, afterwards, joining Ray Price's Cherokee Cowboys.



While with the band, Bush wanted a record deal, but record executives felt he sounded too similar to Price to be marketable. Instead, Nelson paid for Bush's first album, Sound of a Heartache, which was popular locally.



In 1972, John Bush's song "I'll Be There" became a Top 20 hit, leading to a deal with RCA. He had a Top Ten hit with his song "Whiskey River", which later became Willie Nelson's signature song. Just as he was reaching the peak of his popularity, however, Bush began losing his vocal range. Doctors were unable diagnose the cause, until 1978, when they discovered he had a rare neurological disorder, spastic dysphonia. Although this did not prevent him from recording, Bush's career began to take a downturn. He worked with a vocal coach in 1985, and was able to regain 70% of his original voice.



In 1986, Johnny Bush teamed up with Darrell McCall, recording a successful honky-tonk album Hot Texas Country, and began assembling a large country band (as did Willie Nelson), performing around south Texas.



In 1994 the band released "Time Changes Everything", the same year that RCA released a greatest hits album. A major tour soon followed. Johnny Bush continues to tour regularly, often performing with Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard.