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John Bush Shinn III (February 17, 1935October 16, 2020) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Nicknamed the "Country Enrico Caruso", Bush was best known for his distinctive voice and for writing the song "Whiskey River", a top-20 hit for himself that also became a signature song of fellow country artist Willie Nelson. He was especially popular in his native Texas.
Bush lost half of his vocal range and was sometimes unable to talk. RCA dropped him in 1974 after three albums, he developed a drug habit, and was often stricken with performance anxiety when he was able to perform at all. After several misdiagnoses, doctors diagnosed the cause in 1978 when they discovered he had a rare neurological disorder called spasmodic dysphonia. Although this did not prevent him from recording, Bush's career began to take a downturn. He worked with a vocal coach in 1985, and was able to regain 70% of his original voice.
Several albums on local Texas labels soon followed. His renewed visibility made him a mentor figure to younger Texas musicians who revered the honky-tonk/hardcore country sound that Bush has done so much to keep in the public eye. Austin musicians such as Dale Watson and Cornell Hurd sought him out to play on their albums. In 2003, he was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame with his lifelong friend Willie Nelson on hand to induct him. In 2007, he released his autobiography, with the aid of Rick Mitchell: Whiskey River (Take My Mind): The True Story of Texas Honky-Tonk, published by the University of Texas Press. A new album, Kashmere Garden Mud: A Tribute to Houston’s Country Soul, was released on the Icehouse label at the same time.
With the success of his recent botox treatments for his vocal condition and his successful career revival, Bush was a spokesman for people afflicted with vocal disorders. In 2002, he was honored with the Annie Glenn Award from the National Council of Communicative Disorders for Bush's work in bringing attention to the condition of spasmodic dysphonia. Bush self-released The Absolute Johnny Bush, a full-length album of new recordings, in June 2017. It included collaborations with Dale Watson and Reckless Kelly.
Bush died at a hospital in San Antonio on October 16, 2020. He was 85, and suffered from pneumonia in the time leading up to his death.
| 1968 | The Sound of a Heartache | 38 | Stop |
| Undo the Right | 22 | ||
| 1969 | You Gave Me a Mountain | 29 | |
| 1970 | Johnny Bush | — | |
| 1972 | Bush Country | — | |
| The Best of Johnny Bush | 35 | Million | |
| Here's Johnny Bush | — | Starday Records | |
| 1973 | Whiskey River/There Stands the Glass | 38 | RCA |
| Here Comes the World Again | — | ||
| Texas Dance Hall Girl | — | ||
| 1979 | Johnny Bush and the Bandoleros Live at Dance Town, U.S.A. | — | Whiskey River |
| 1982 | Live from Texas | — | Delta |
| 1994 | Time Changes Everything | — | TCE |
| 1998 | Talk to My Heart | — | Watermelon |
| 2000 | Lost Highway Saloon | — | Texas Music |
| Sings Bob Wills | — | ||
| 2001 | Green Snakes | — | |
| 2004 | Honkytonic | — | BGM |
| 2006 | Texas State of Mind | — | |
| Devil's Disciple | — | ||
| 2007 | Texas on a Saturday Night | — | Heart of Texas |
| Kashmere Gardens Mud | — | Icehouse | |
| 2013 | Reflections | — | Heart of Texas |
| 2017 | The Absolute Johnny Bush | — | BGM |
| 1967 | "You Oughta Hear Me Cry" | 69 | — | Sound of a Heartache |
| 1968 | "What a Way to Live" | 29 | — | Undo the Right |
| "Undo the Right" | 10 | — | ||
| 1969 | "Each Time" | 16 | — | You Gave Me a Mountain |
| "You Gave Me a Mountain" | 7 | — | ||
| "My Cup Runneth Over" | 26 | — | Bush Country | |
| 1970 | "Jim, Jack, and Rose" | 56 | — | |
| "I'll Go to a Stranger" | flip | — | ||
| "Warmth of the Wine" | 25 | 42 | The Best of Johnny Bush | |
| "My Joy" | 44 | — | ||
| 1971 | "City Lights" | 53 | — | |
| 1972 | "I'll Be There" | 17 | — | |
| "Whiskey River" | 14 | 7 | Whiskey River/There Stands the Glass | |
| 1973 | "There Stands the Glass" | 34 | 60 | |
| "Here Comes the World Again" | 38 | 53 | Here Comes the World | |
| "Green Snakes on the Ceiling" | 53 | — | ||
| 1974 | "We're Back in Love Again" | 37 | 83 | Greatest Hits |
| "Toy Telephone" | 48 | — | ||
| "From Tennessee to Texas" | flip | — | ||
| 1977 | "You'll Never Leave Me Completely" | 78 | — | |
| 1978 | "Put Me Out of My Memory" | 99 | — | Whiskey River |
| "She Just Made Me Love You More" | 89 | — | ||
| 1979 | "When My Conscience Hurts the Most" | 83 | — | Whiskey River |
| 1981 | "Whiskey River" (re-release) | 92 | — |
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