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Jonathan Davis was born in Bakersfield, California on January 18, 1971. We all know he’d go on to become Korn’s singer, but to celebrate his birthday, here are 20 things you might not know about him:
1. Jonathan’s father was a keyboardist for Frank Zappa and Buck Owens. His mother was a professional actress and dancer.
2. When Jonathan was three, his parents divorced and he was raised by his father and stepmother. He didn’t get along with his stepmom and has accused her of harassing him and doing things like giving him tea mixed with Thai hot oil and jalapeño juice when he was sick. The song “Kill You” is about her.
3. Growing up, Jonathan suffered from asthma and nearly died from a bad attack at age five.
4. One of Davis’s earliest musical inspirations was actually the musical Jesus Christ Superstar.
5. When he was younger, Jonathan’s favorite band was Duran Duran.
6. In high school, Davis was bullied. He was picked on him for wearing eyeliner and listening to new wave music. Jonathan was called homophobic names and the Korn song “Faget” was inspired by those experiences. Even the teachers sent him to the school counselor for wearing eyeliner.
7. After Korn put out the song “Daddy,” there were rumors that Jonathan’s dad molested him. Davis has said he was sexually abused but explained it was by a female family friend. However, when he told his family, they didn’t believe him.
8. Davis went to San Francisco’s School of Mortuary Science and worked as an assistant coroner and an undertaker.
9. While he was working at a funeral home, a psychic who didn’t know he was a musician told him he’d become famous fronting a rock band.
10. After meeting with the psychic, Jonathan got a gig fronting a group called SexArt. Guys from a metal hairband called LAPD saw him and recruited him to be in their new group, which would be named Korn.
11. Davis’ favorite Korn album is their self-titled debut.
12. Davis has been DJing since 1987. He has an EDM alter-ego called JDevil.
13. Jonathan has had small roles in various films including one as a ticket scalper in Queen of the Damned and one as a crack dealer in Seeing Other People.
14. In a season three episode of South Park, Jonathan and the rest of Korn voiced themselves. The show, titled “Korn’s Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery,” saw the guys driving a van like the one in Scooby-Doo, trying to solve a mystery about pirate ghosts.
15. Jonathan created an original fighting game called Pop Scars that would have rockers fight each other, but it never made it past the early design stages.
16. In 2006, Davis developed a rare bleeding disorder that left him bedridden for days. The songs “Starting Over” and “Hold On” are about that experience.
17. Jonathan collects serial killer art and memorabilia.
18. Davis has been married twice. In 1998, he wed his high school sweetheart, Renee Perez, in a medieval-themed ceremony. They had one son named Nathan in 1995 and divorced in 2000. Then, in 2004, Jonathan married former porn star Deven Davis. With her, he has two sons, Pirate, born in 2005, and Zeppelin, born in 2007.
19. Davis’s middle name is Howsmon. He gave the same middle name to all three of his kids.
20. Jonathan has been sober since August 22, 1998.
Happy birthday Jonathan! Hope your b-day blows you away!