The Clinton Johnson Band performed Joe Exotic’s songs in Netflix’s hit documentary series, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness.
Following the success of Tiger King, The Clinton Johnson Band, from Vancouver, Washington, is hoping to capitalize on their role in the popular show.
The band is hoping to get their big break following the exposure they got from the Netflix show and they are hoping to soon land a record deal, according to TMZ.
Joe Exotic did not perform his songs on Tiger King
Tiger King fans were surprised to learn that Joe Exotic did not sing the country music songs he performed on Tiger King and that a band called The Clinton Johnson Band performed the songs instead.
Joe Exotic only lip-synced the songs and pretended to play the guitar, according to TMZ.
Meet The Clinton Johnson Band
The Clinton Johnson Band was originally a duo of country singers, Vince Johnson and Danny Clinton. Danny Clinton passed away in October due to heart-related health issues.
Vince told TMZ that Tiger King was not the first time their songs have been featured in a TV or film production. Their songs have featured in a few films and TV shows.
Slate reports that the band’s songs were featured in the movie, Nude Nuns With Big Guns. In 2010, The Clark County Columbian named The Clinton Johnson Band among local artists and bands to watch.
Vince told TMZ that they ended up performing songs for Tiger King after they responded to Joe’s ad for musicians to help him write a theme song for his zoo and work with him on songs for a TV show he was making.
Joe Exotic has a YouTube channel where he uploads his music videos
Tiger King features some of the videos that Joe Exotic made for his songs. The full versions of his home-made videos are available on YouTube.
Joe Exotic has a YouTube channel where he uploads music videos for his songs. According to Slate, Joe Exotic did not write any of the songs and he did not sing most of them himself.
Johnson told TMZ that they did about 20 songs for Joe.
Regarding how they made the songs, he explained that Joe Exotic would suggest a theme for the song and provide some details about what he wanted the song to be about. Vince Johnson would then write the song and the tune and Danny Clinton would sing it.
After they’ve finished working on the song, they sent it by email to Joe. Vince told TMZ that as far as he knew, Joe was not a singer and did not play any instruments.
Vince’s comment was corroborated by Rick Kirkham, a former reality TV producer. According to Vanity Fair, Kirkham said they tried to make Joe sing for a reality series but they soon learned he “couldn’t even hold a tune.”
“It was absolutely ridiculous. Joe got a little bit drunk and high, and we actually coaxed him into singing part of one of the songs. He couldn’t even hold a tune. It was just so ludicrous.”
Johnson said he did not realize until months later that Joe Exotic intended to take full credit for their songs, according to Slate. He also said that when he watched the YouTube videos and saw Joe Exotic lip-syncing their songs, he called him.
“I called him up, I was hot and he bamboozled me about his reality show—that it was coming soon and he would make everything right as rain. I just wanted the proper credit.”
Joe Exotic used one of his music videos to poke fun at Carole Baskin.
The music video for the song Here Kitty Kitty (below) is about rumors and unsubstantiated claims that Joe Exotic’s rival, the animal activist Carole Baskin, murdered her husband and fed him to her tigers. The video features a Carole Baskin look-alike feeding tigers raw meat from a plate that also has a mannequin model of a human head.
The Clinton Johnson Band is hoping to land a record deal
Vince Johnson told TMZ that following the success of Tiger King, The Clinton Johnson Band has been receiving a lot of attention from media outlets. However, he said he was still hoping that music labels would reach out to them.
He said they recorded enough songs for three albums before Danny Clinton died.
You can listen to some of their music here on Reverbnation and here on Spotify.
Joe Exotic is currently serving 22 years in prison after being convicted for involvement in an attempted murder-for-hire plot.
Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness is streaming on Netflix.