Austin, Texas • Daniel Johnston, who passed out cassette tapes of his songs to fellow Austin musicians in the 1980s and eventually became renowned worldwide as a songwriter, died early Wednesday morning in Houston, his manager Tom Gimbel confirmed Wednesday afternoon.
Johnston had been in the hospital with kidney issues but was released Tuesday night to the assisted living facility where he had been living recently. He was found unconscious there on Wednesday morning, Gimbel said.
A news release issued Wednesday afternoon attributed his death to “natural causes.” Gimbel noted that Johnston’s health “had been touch and go for awhile” with complications from diabetes and other issues.