Daniel Dale Johnston was an American singer, musician and artist regarded as a significant figure in outsider, lo-fi, and alternative music scenes. Most of his work consisted of cassettes recorded alone in his home, and his music was frequently cited for its "pure" and "childlike" qualities.
Johnston performing in 2012
Johnston's "Hi, How Are You" mural in Austin, Texas.
Johnston in 2006
Outsider music is music created by self-taught or naïve musicians. The term is usually applied to musicians who have little or no traditional musical experience, who exhibit childlike qualities in their music, or who have intellectual disabilities or mental illnesses. The term was popularized in the 1990s by journalist and WFMU DJ Irwin Chusid.
Mural in Austin, Texas, by the outsider musician and visual artist Daniel Johnston
Street performer Larry "Wild Man" Fischer, sometimes cited as the "godfather of outsider music"