About DJ Johnny Stuart

One day, my father dropped the needle on a record, and Santana blew out of the speakers. I was just seven. From his collection of thousands of albums, he began to play others, too: Traffic, Paganini, Stan Getz, Miles Davis. He was educating me. He was showing me love, a love intensified by sharing all the crazy beauty of song. Soon enough, I began to mix my own cassettes with artists who deeply moved me, from Jimi Hendrix to Stevie Wonder and Elton John. You could say this was my first DJ gig, only the audience was me.

After studying photography in art school, I left my hometown in Washington, D.C. and made the leap to New York City. One night at a gallery opening, I spun some records for fun, but the results were infectious: the next thing I knew, I was digging through my father’s record collection, the treasure trove that started it all, looking for gems to slide into my next gig.

But to this day, my career as a music director is always indebted to the magic of the right song in the right place. How many times have you heard that deep, blue note of music and smiled from ear to ear? Or gone weak in the knees? Or felt your heart seize up in deep, exquisite ache? All of this testifies to the power of that serendipitous song, that instant chemical reaction that moves a crowd to tears or straight to their feet.

I love music with all my heart, but most of all, I love to watch the amazing things music can do to other people. Corny, I know, but true. It’s also the reason I know how to read a roomful of diverse guests like no one else. Regardless of the event, its size, or its clientele, I’ve learned to adapt an eclectic array of music to whatever a crowd is feeling minute by minute, note by note. Your event, as a result, is directed with the eyes and ears of a sonic curator, and your guests will never forget the night they fell in love with music all over again.

Akon
Anne Hathaway*
Astrud Gilberto
Beverly Johnson
Beyoncé*
Bobby Flay*
Brad Pitt*
Bruce Willis
Calista Flockhart
Carmen Electra*
Carolina Herrera
Chris Connolly*
Chris O’Donnell
Claudia Schiffer
Cristiano Ronaldo
Danny Glover*
Debbie Harry of Blondie
Delroy Lindo*
Dr. Dre
Eartha Kitt*
Edward James Olmos
Eminem
Glenn Close *
Gregory Hines
Gwyneth Paltrow *
Hal Rubinstein*
Harrison Ford *
Harry Belafonte *
Hon. Mayor David Dinkins
Hon. Mayor Michael Bloomberg
HOT 97 DJ Bobby Trends
Isaac Hayes

James McAvoy
James Woods
Jay Mohr
Jay Z
Jeanine Garofolo
Jean Paul Gaultier
Jeff Goldblum*
Jellybean Benitez
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Jennifer Tilly
Joey Heatherton
John Kennedy Jr.
John Cusack
John Leguizamo *
John Lovitz
Jonathan Demme *
Julie Andrewst
Kathleen Turner
Kristine W *
KRS-1
Kurt Loder *
Larry King*
Laurence Fishburne
Liam Neeson*
Limp Bizkit
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Liz Tilberis*
Lou Reed*
M. Night Shyamalan
Mandy Patinkin*

Maria Shriver
Mariel Hemingway*
Marlo Thomas
Matthew Broderick
Matt Dillon
Matt Le Blanc
Max Roach
Mel Gibson *
Mercedes Ruehl*
Michael Bolton*
Michael Jordan*
Michael Keaton*
Mick Jagger
Neneh Cherry
Nicole Miller
Oprah Winfrey*
Oscar de la Renta
Ossie Davis*
Penelope Ann Miller
Percy Sutton
Peter Beard
Peter Jennings
Phil Donahue
Polly Mellen*
Pres. Jean Bertrand Aristide*
Raul Felder
Rickie Lake*

Ricky Martin*
Rihanna*
Rita Wilson*
Robert Kennedy Jr.*
Robert DeNiro
Robin Williams
Ron Howard*
Rosie Perez
Ruby Dee*
Rupert Murdoch*
Sarah Jessica Parker*
Sean Connery*
Smash Mouth
Stone Phillips
Sylvester Stallone*
Tate Donovan
Thierry Mugler
Toni Braxton
Todd Oldham
Toni Collette
Vanessa Hudgens*
Vanessa Williams
Vera Wang*
Veronica Webb
Wynonna Judd*