Biography Johnny Lee Middleton

Johnny Lee Middleton is a musician and songwriter best known as the bass player for Savatage and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. He first came to prominence as a member of Savatage, the Florida metal band he joined in late 1985. The title track of 1987's Hall of the Mountain King, on which Middleton received a co-writing credit, saw heavy rotation on MTV's Headbanger's Ball. The followup record, Gutter Ballet, had similar success. Since 1985, Middleton has been the only member of Savatage to participate in every album and tour.

In 1996, Middleton was a founding member of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, a new project that grew out of the success of the song "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)" from the 1995 Savatage album Dead Winter Dead. The first TSO album, Christmas Eve and Other Stories—which included a re-release of "Christmas Eve"—was released in the fall of 1996.

Since 1996, Christmas Eve and Other Stories has sold nearly 3 million copies. Its three followups—all featuring Middleton on bass—have sold nearly 4 million more. Middleton also performs with TSO's annual holiday tour, which began in 1999 and consistently sells out venues across the United States and Canada. In 2008 alone, Trans-Siberian Orchestra played live for nearly 1.5 million people.

In early 2008, Middleton began to try his hand at making music on his own. He soon discovered that songwriting "was like opening up another side of my mind that I never knew existed." His first two solo singles, "Tennessee" and "Broken Wings," were released in late 2008. As of spring 2009, Middleton remains in the studio working on his first full-length CD, as well as Trans-Siberian Orchestra's upcoming Nightcastle.

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