John Bush Shinn III, known professionally as Johnny Bush, was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Born on February 17, 1935, in the Kashmere Gardens neighborhood of Houston, Texas, Bush began his career performing honky-tonk music in local venues, earning his stage name after an announcer mistakenly introduced him. In 1963, he joined Ray Price’s band, the Cherokee Cowboys, which included Willie Nelson and Darrell McCall. Under the guidance of Nelson, Bush recorded his first album, The Sound of a Heartache, in 1967, which was released in 1968. Throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, he achieved regional and national hits on the Stop label, which include “Undo the Right” (1968) and “You Gave Me a Mountain” (1969). After signing with RCA Records in 1972, he released his first single on the label, “Whiskey River” (1972), which became his signature song. However, his career suffered when he developed spasmodic dysphonia, losing much of his voice. He regained some of his vocal range through therapy in 1985 and subsequently resumed recording and touring. In 1986, he teamed up with McCall to record the album Hot Texas Country. He also released the album Time Changes Everything (1994) and published his autobiography, Whiskey River (Take My Mind): The True Story of Texas Honky-Tonk, in 2007. In 2003, he was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame. Bush died on October 16, 2020, having suffered from pneumonia, at the age of 85.
