Johnny Lee Middleton (born May 7, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the bass guitarist for the heavy metal bands Savatage and Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

"[3] He invested $35 in his first bass, locked himself in his bedroom with REO Speedwagon, Cheap Trick, and Black Sabbath records, and learned to play along.

[1] Among his influences, Middleton counts Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler, Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy), Geddy Lee (Rush), Chris Squire (Yes), John Entwistle (the Who), and Paul McCartney (the Beatles).

Middleton soon found himself onstage nearly every night, decked out in makeup and spandex, playing to packed clubs across Florida and the South.

"[2] Middleton spent several years with Lefty, the nightly shows honing both his bass chops and his stage presence.

And it was during this time that he first crossed paths with Savatage, a decidedly un-glam metal band based in the Tampa, Florida area, near his hometown of St. Petersburg.

By 1984, Savatage had released several albums, but guitarist Criss Oliva and drummer Steve Wacholz were losing patience with bass player Keith Collins.

Although the Lefty image was a far cry from that of the hard-edged Savatage, Middleton's talent and stage presence caught Wacholz' attention.

This time, Middleton agreed: "Somehow I was fed up with this bar-band-shit, even though it was a good living, getting through the week with $250, even if it meant we had to work each night for it.

"[2] The experience improved with 1987's breakthrough Hall of the Mountain King, which marked the band's first collaboration with producer Paul O'Neill.

During this time, Savatage embarked on several American and European tours, opening for bands such as Motörhead, Dio, and Megadeth.

Singer Jon Oliva departed, and the remaining members of Savatage recorded and released Edge of Thorns with new vocalist Zak Stevens.

Middleton describes Edge of Thorns as "about my favorite record, due to the fact that I like the bass mix in it, and it was the last one me and Criss got to do together.

In late 1995, "Christmas Eve" was released as a single to hundreds of radio stations across the United States.

In late 1996, an unknown group called Trans-Siberian Orchestra released their first single, "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24," to more than 300 radio stations across the United States.

[1] Largely on the strength of that song, Christmas Eve and Other Stories has since sold nearly 3 million copies and launched the TSO empire.

"[1] He took several raw tracks to singer and long time friend John Haikara who added lyrics, vocals and lead guitar.