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'''Johnny In The Middle Of The Park''', formerly known by the placeholder name '''Johnny''' or '''Johnny (The Grass Is Green)''' is an identfied Yacht Rock song by '''Piero Cotto''' from 1983.
{{Infobox Lostwave
|Box = BoxGreen
|ShowBox = Yes
|Name = Johnny in the Middle of the Park
|Image = Johnny.png
|Caption =
|Alt_name =  Johnny, The Grass Is Green
|Status = Solved
|Year = 1983
|OP = MrZSAC
|Search_started = 2020
|Search_ended = 2024
|Media =JohnnyInTheMiddleOfThePark.mp3
|Artist=Piero Cotto|Genre=Pop Rock}}
'''Johnny In The Middle Of The Park''' (formerly known as '''"Johnny"''' or '''"The Grass is Green"''') is a solved pop-rock song by Italian singer Piero Cotto that was recorded in 1983 for the outro of the Italian sports show La Domenica Sportiva.


== Origins and Search ==
==Background==
On June 5th 1983, the song was broadcast on television as a credits song for the Italian sports programme "La Domenica Sportiva". It was played over montage footage of a boat race known as "the Formula One of the sea". The track wasn't attributed to any artist in the credits.  
On December 14th, 2020, the song was first posted by WatZatSong user MrZSAC, who stated that he found the song in a Dailymotion upload of an Italian sports program called La Domenica Sportiva, which aired on June 5th, 1983, where the song was used for the end-credits.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20210801230618/https://www.watzatsong.com/en/name-that-tune/684476.html</ref> It was played over montage footage of a boat race dubbed "the Formula One of the Sea", and the credits did not include any artist information for the song.<ref>https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x14ul72</ref>


The song gained notoriety almost immediately, with it being posted to r/tipofmytongue and r/lostwave on the same day as the original post by a now-deleted user.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/tipofmytongue/comments/kco89o/tomtsong70s80s_popdisco_song_likely_from_the/</ref><ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/kczidv/unknown_70s80s_popdisco_song_johnny_grass_is_green/</ref>


On September 18th 2013, the outro with the song would be uploaded to Dailymotion by Nik8888olas in a video of the broadcast called "La Domenica Sportiva - 5 Giugno 1983 - Sigla di chiusura".  
By late 2023, the search for the song had grown to the point where the song was featured in YouTuber NAETE's video called The Most Legendary Lost Songs On The Internet,<ref>https://youtu.be/es4C5Gd6_WM?t=345</ref> and a subreddit was created for the search.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/Johnnyuknownsong/comments/17tr9if/introduction_about_rjohnnyunknownsong/</ref>


=== Debunked Leads ===
It was speculated that the song was stock music purchased by RAI (Italy's national broadcasting company), and that they had a database from which they could obtain the song.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/18me6ft/johnnythe_grass_is_green_what_about_the_yacht/</ref> However, this was debunked by Reddit user One-Truth-5867, who confirmed that the song was created solely for RAI production and that they didn't know who made it after contacting a RAI editorial manager.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/18me6ft/comment/ke5yxyt/</ref>


In 2020, [[WatZatSong]] user MrZSAC would put a snippet of Johnny In The Middle Of The Park on the site on December 15th. They cited the source for the song as Nik8888olas' video. That same day the track would be uploaded to Youtube.  
An Italian singer named Massimo Vita was suggested to be the artist behind the song, due to Vita's similar vocal tone and musical style, but this was debunked after the song was found.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/Johnnyuknownsong/comments/18m4uvv/incredibly_similar_song_massimo_vita_jenny/</ref>


==Discovery==
On February 25th, 2024, Reddit user MJIgaz4 posted a comparison between the singer's vocals and those of Italian musician Piero Cotto, which sounded identical.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/Johnnyuknownsong/comments/1azx27s/really_strong_new_lead_awaiting_confirmation_so_i/</ref>


By 2023, the search for the song had grown, so much that Johnny In The Middle Of The Park was featured in Youtuber NAETE's video of [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es4C5Gd6_WM The Most Legendary Lost Songs On The Internet].
On March 15th, 2024, Piero Cotto's son was contacted and confirmed that both his parents sang vocals on the song,<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/Johnnyuknownsong/comments/1bfmx6a/piero_cotto_and_his_son_have_confirmed_that/</ref> and the song was identified as "Johnny In The Middle Of The Park" the following day after Piero himself was contacted.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/Johnnyuknownsong/comments/1bg87pd/johnny_in_the_middle_of_the_park_by_piero_cotto/</ref>


== Debunked Leads ==
On April 12th, 2024, Discord user Nel discovered that the copyright listing for the song was updated to include Cotto's name, as many of Cotto's songs were not directly attributed to him, but rather to his producers Aldo Pagani and Logan Michael, further confirming the song's identification.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/1c2i5h9/johnny_is_officially_identified/</ref>
Some searching focused on the channel that broadcast the song: Rai. There were suggestions that they could have bought the track as stock music for a cheap price. RaiPlay's archive on their website didn't include the episode and it was theorized that the episode last aired on TV on a spin off channel called RaiSport, which is where Nik8888olas got the clip. Contacting Rai was a fruitless lead, however, as the company couldn't provide any information about the song.


== Lyrics ==
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" role="presentation"
|'''Presumed Lyrics'''
|-
|'''(Verse 1)'''
Johnny in the middle of the park


Several ruled out artists were raised including Enzo Drahgi and Massimo Vita. Vita seemed to be a promising lead as was a somewhat prolific singer in Italy and had a similar vocal tone to the song. After Vita was reached out to, he confirmed he didn't make the song.
Waiting for tomorrow


== Discovery ==
Hasn't got a penny or a mark
In 2024, the subreddit for the song proposed Piero Cotto as a possible singer. After being reached out to, Cotto claimed he was behind the song on March 15th and claimed that it was called Johnny In The Middle Of The Park. A copyright entry was discovered for this title but it was only credited to Cotto's producer. Many of Cotto's songs were not directly credited to him through copyright entries, and upon the confirmation he created Johnny In The Middle Of The Park, Cotto's name was added to copyright entries for his songs.


Or a road to follow
'''(Pre Chorus 1)'''
Doesn't have a realistic mind
Or a word to say
No we don't know where he's going to
Or from where he came
'''(Verse 2)'''
Johnny in the middle of a dream
(Papers?) in his pocket, oh yeah (Johnny, Johnny)
Hasn't got a brother or a queen
Johnny is a rocket
'''(Pre Chorus 2)'''
He's been moving on a one night stand
He's a one man show
And he's looking
For some warm place he can go
Till night is over
'''(Chorus)'''
Johnny had a little dream
Now things are not as bad as they seem
For there's something blowing in the air
Living without a care
The grass is green
'''''(Guitar Solo)'''''
'''(Pre Chorus 2)'''
He's been moving on a one night stand
He's a one man show
And he's looking
For some warm place he can go
Till night is over
'''(Chorus)'''
Johnny had a little dream
Now things are not as bad as they seem
For there's something blowing in the air
Living without a care
The grass is green
|}
==References==
<references />
[[Category:Identified]]
[[Category:Identified]]
[[Category:Pop Rock]]
[[Category:The Golden Age Of Lostwave]]

Latest revision as of 16:25, 16 August 2024

ⓘ This lostwave is classified as solved.

Johnny in the Middle of the Park
Alternative name(s) Johnny, The Grass Is Green
Artist(s) Piero Cotto
Genre Pop Rock
Year 1983
Status Solved
Original poster MrZSAC
Search duration 2020 - 2024
File:JohnnyInTheMiddleOfThePark.mp3

Johnny In The Middle Of The Park (formerly known as "Johnny" or "The Grass is Green") is a solved pop-rock song by Italian singer Piero Cotto that was recorded in 1983 for the outro of the Italian sports show La Domenica Sportiva.

Background[edit | edit source]

On December 14th, 2020, the song was first posted by WatZatSong user MrZSAC, who stated that he found the song in a Dailymotion upload of an Italian sports program called La Domenica Sportiva, which aired on June 5th, 1983, where the song was used for the end-credits.[1] It was played over montage footage of a boat race dubbed "the Formula One of the Sea", and the credits did not include any artist information for the song.[2]

The song gained notoriety almost immediately, with it being posted to r/tipofmytongue and r/lostwave on the same day as the original post by a now-deleted user.[3][4]

By late 2023, the search for the song had grown to the point where the song was featured in YouTuber NAETE's video called The Most Legendary Lost Songs On The Internet,[5] and a subreddit was created for the search.[6]

Debunked Leads[edit | edit source]

It was speculated that the song was stock music purchased by RAI (Italy's national broadcasting company), and that they had a database from which they could obtain the song.[7] However, this was debunked by Reddit user One-Truth-5867, who confirmed that the song was created solely for RAI production and that they didn't know who made it after contacting a RAI editorial manager.[8]

An Italian singer named Massimo Vita was suggested to be the artist behind the song, due to Vita's similar vocal tone and musical style, but this was debunked after the song was found.[9]

Discovery[edit | edit source]

On February 25th, 2024, Reddit user MJIgaz4 posted a comparison between the singer's vocals and those of Italian musician Piero Cotto, which sounded identical.[10]

On March 15th, 2024, Piero Cotto's son was contacted and confirmed that both his parents sang vocals on the song,[11] and the song was identified as "Johnny In The Middle Of The Park" the following day after Piero himself was contacted.[12]

On April 12th, 2024, Discord user Nel discovered that the copyright listing for the song was updated to include Cotto's name, as many of Cotto's songs were not directly attributed to him, but rather to his producers Aldo Pagani and Logan Michael, further confirming the song's identification.[13]

Lyrics[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20210801230618/https://www.watzatsong.com/en/name-that-tune/684476.html
  2. ↑ https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x14ul72
  3. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/tipofmytongue/comments/kco89o/tomtsong70s80s_popdisco_song_likely_from_the/
  4. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/kczidv/unknown_70s80s_popdisco_song_johnny_grass_is_green/
  5. ↑ https://youtu.be/es4C5Gd6_WM?t=345
  6. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Johnnyuknownsong/comments/17tr9if/introduction_about_rjohnnyunknownsong/
  7. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/18me6ft/johnnythe_grass_is_green_what_about_the_yacht/
  8. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/18me6ft/comment/ke5yxyt/
  9. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Johnnyuknownsong/comments/18m4uvv/incredibly_similar_song_massimo_vita_jenny/
  10. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Johnnyuknownsong/comments/1azx27s/really_strong_new_lead_awaiting_confirmation_so_i/
  11. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Johnnyuknownsong/comments/1bfmx6a/piero_cotto_and_his_son_have_confirmed_that/
  12. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Johnnyuknownsong/comments/1bg87pd/johnny_in_the_middle_of_the_park_by_piero_cotto/
  13. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/1c2i5h9/johnny_is_officially_identified/
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