Typical of his style are experimental, noisy breaks in his songs and strong gothic (in the sense of dark and gloomy) elements in the lyrics as well as in the music.

[3] Born in Fort Worth, Texas in 1948, Dowd's family moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 1950, and then to his father's hometown of Pauls Valley, Oklahoma in 1953.

After serving in the U.S. Army and living in California he drove across the United States in the early 1970s with longtime friend Dave Hinkle and settled permanently in Ithaca, New York where his mother and sisters had also relocated.

Dowd formed a band in the 1970s named The Jokers, which included Johnny (guitar), his sister Jennifer Edmondson (drums) and Dave Hinkle (bass).

[9] Dowd's The Pawnbroker's Wife album was released in 2002, followed by Wire Flowers: More Songs from the Wrong Side of Memphis in 2003.

That same year, he was handpicked by The Simpsons' creator Matt Groening, a self-described fan of Dowd's music, to perform in the All Tomorrow's Parties festival.

[12] In 2006, Dowd, drummer Brian Wilson (aka Willie B) and Jim White formed the band Hellwood.

In April 2007, Dowd joined Beukorkest, a collaboration of various Dutch musicians and artists, for a nine-show tour of the Netherlands.

[citation needed] Dowd released A Drunkard's Masterpiece in early 2008 in the U.S., Canada and Europe, followed by a European tour in April and May.

After several shows in the Ithaca, New York area, an expanded Johnny Dowd band was formed, composed of Sherwood-Caso, Mike Stark (keyboards), Matt Saccuccimorano (drums) and Willie B (baritone guitar).

Dowd's solo album That's Your Wife On The Back Of My Horse was released in 2015 and featured on several tracks the singer/songwriter Anna Coogan from Ithaca.

On Homemade Pie, Dowd again collaborated with vocalist Kim Sherwood Caso, Willie B. on drums and Mike Edmondson on guitar and keyboard.

[20][21][22] In September 2021, Dowd contributed the track "Farm Boy" on the album, The Wanderer - A Tribute to Jackie Leven.