Jonathan “Jonny” Richard Guy Greenwood (born November 5, 1971 in Oxford, England) is a musician and a member of Radiohead. Often serving as the band’s lead guitarist, Greenwood is also a multi-instrumentalist. In addition to guitar he also plays: viola, organ, piano, xylophone, glockenspiel, ondes martenot and harmonica. He is the younger brother of fellow Radiohead member Colin Greenwood.

Greenwood was just starting university when ‘On A Friday’ - Radiohead’s initial choice of name - signed a recording contract with EMI in 1991; he abandoned his degree in favour of Radiohead shortly after starting his course. A point of note is that while Greenwood is the only member of the band to have been classically trained on any instrument - having taken lessons in viola as a child - he is also the only member of the band not to have completed higher education.

Greenwood’s influence on Radiohead’s recording and writing can be felt in many songs, taking the traditional lead-guitar role in most pieces, becoming known through the course of Radiohead’s career as a contributor to Radiohead’s sound. This is despite the fact that, due to his aggressive live performances, he was for a while forced to wear an arm brace due to a repetitive strain injury, which he still often wears, noting, “It’s like taping up your fingers before a boxing match.”[1]

Due to his versatility and talent, Jonny is also often credited as the second major influence on songwriting in Radiohead, along with singer and lyricist Thom Yorke. His original contributions to the band include the slow, jazzy rock song “The Tourist” and “A Wolf at the Door” (whose music he wrote); they are the closing tracks of OK Computer and Hail to the Thief, respectively. Yorke has noted that the track “Just” from The Bends was “a competition by me and Jonny to get as many chords as possible into a song.” An example of Greenwood’s versatility is his use of the Ondes Martenot, which is featured on songs such as “The National Anthem” and “How to Disappear Completely” from the album Kid A. The Radiohead song “Where I End and You Begin” from Hail to the Thief was dedicated to the memory of Jeanne Loroid, a pioneer of the Ondes.

Jonny is greatly influenced by jazz; his favorites include Lee Morgan and Miles Davis. He is a major fan of the Mo’Wax label (onetime home of Blackalicious, DJ Krush, DJ Shadow and Dr. Octagon). Along with other Radiohead band members he loves Krautrock band Can and Polish composer Penderecki. Although Jonny says he dislikes later Pink Floyd, one of his favourite albums is Meddle (1971). Jonny’s all time favourite piece of music is Messiaen’s Turangalila Symphony, a gigantic piece for orchestra and Ondes Martenot, which he discovered as a teenager.[4]According to one of his entries on Radiohead’s blog Dead Air Space, Greenwood has recently become a dub reggae aficionado, listening as of late 2005 to little else. He confessed in the same blog entry that he had never heard The Stooges’ Fun House, although he was aware of its legendary reputation.

Greenwood is married to Sharona Greenwood and has a son named Tamir who was born in 2002 and to whom Hail to the Thief was dedicated and a daughter named Omri, born in 2005.

As well as his iconic arm brace, Greenwood has a hairstyle to set him apart from other band members. His hair is black, straight, and worn long, cut at an angle and often overhanging his face. In live concerts he is also recognized for a frequently worn T-shirt with a pictogram of a person and sound waves emanating from their head - perhaps a “radio head.” He is also recognized for his cheekbones.

However, while Jonny is sometimes seen as the most flamboyant and stylish member of the band, he also professes shyness. He is apparently somewhat uncomfortable with the sound of his voice, and did fewer interviews than other band members until recently. A longstanding joke among fans calls for Jonny to sing, something he claims he will never do. However, he was spotted singing backup during several performances in the 2006 tour, including the songs “Black Star” and “The Bends”, sharing a microphone with bandmate and guitarist Ed O’Brien.