Published: February 13, 1999

FINGERTRIPPIN': Like so many kids in early-1960s America, Richard Leo Johnson was smitten by the Beatles' now-legendary appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show." Unlike most of those overnight devotees, Johnson didn't run out to get an electric guitar and start a copycat rock band. Johnson, 9 years old at the time, received an acoustic guitar for Christmas and began experimenting in the privacy of his home.
"I never had formal lessons, so my approach was very intuitive," Johnson explains. "The guitar's tuning knobs were options for me, and I utilized them to see what kind of inspiration I could get."
To date, the 43-year-old Johnson has created approximately 30 unconventional guitar tunings and developed an idiosyncratic solo playing style that meshes the often-frenetic acoustic playing of late new age guitarist Michael Hedges with angular, jarring chords reminiscent of Thelonious Monk.
Johnson's "Fingertip Ship," due Feb. 23 on the Blue Note subsidiary Metro Blue, is his major-label debut, following several homespun tapes and an independently recorded CD released on his own. Until recently, Johnson's musical prowess remained ensconced in the solitude of his home as he concentrated his efforts on his career as a photographer.
Johnson's photographic specialty was documentation of life in the rural South; he holds a master's degree in fine arts. His focus, however, changed two years ago when a fire destroyed his irreplaceable photography portfolio.
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