Within three years after selling his car to buy a Martin D-35 Johnny Blackburn was recording his original compositions with members of the Nashville Symphony and other Nashville studio musicians. Studio owners who were captivated by the music's evocative lyrical magic donated up to 300 hours of studio time. Local New Age outlets were non existent in 1975 but the Bodhi Tree Bookstore in L.A. carried his music.

Johnny built his own studio in the early eighties and engineered local artists, including Jim Chappell, (unknown at the time) who went on to become a successful New Age artist. Johnny also composed and produced music for commercial films, documentaries as well as educational films during this period. Then a welcome event took place. Johnny stumbled on a "Hearts Of Space" music program on WPLN late one night. It was, he later said, like finding your family after being lost among strangers.

For the last eighteen years, Johnny has worked in the Log Home and Timber Frame manufacturing industry as Vice-president of Pioneer Log Systems, Inc. in Kingston Springs, Tennessee, building among other structures, a few of the studios around Nashville. With the help and encouragement of Stephen Hill at Hearts of Space and Michael Moryc of Matrix Promotions Johnny has released his first CD, "On The Road To The Garden". The music was originally composed on the guitar and transposed to the keyboard, except for the percussion. Johnny is presently working on a second CD.