In a crossover worthy of soap star-turned-rocker Rick Springfield, professional
surfer Jack Johnson emerged as one of the hottest pop stars of the early '00s.
The interesting thing is that, amid hordes of teen-poppers and nu-metallists, he
came to fame with a spare, mellow, acoustic-oriented singer-songwriter sound
influenced by Nick Drake and James Taylor. In a way, he can be seen as a
successor to the easygoing beach-culture popster Jimmy Buffett, in both his
music and his eschewing of media hype for grass-roots appeal in his rise to the
top.