Long John Baldry
Long John Baldry (born January 12, 1941 in East Haddon, Northamptonshire , England as John William Baldry , † July 21, 2005 in Vancouver ) was a British singer and blues musician , who later took on Canadian citizenship. Because of his size of over two meters he was called "Long" John. John Baldry was considered to be one of the fathers of the British blues movement that began in the 1950s.
Life
John Baldry trained as a commercial artist.
On July 21, 2005, John William Baldry died in Vancouver General Hospital of complications from a serious lung infection.
Career
He discovered his love for blues and folk music at an early age . At the end of the 1950s he met Alexis Korner . In 1961 he became a singer in his band Blues Incorporated , which brought out R&B from the Marquee , the first British blues album, in 1962 .
After a long stay in Germany, John Baldry became a member of the Cyril Davies' All Stars . When Cyril Davis died in 1964, Baldry continued the band under the name Hoochie Coochie Men . Another member of the Hoochie Coochie Men was Rod Stewart .
Baldry and Stewart formed the band Steampacket in 1965 , which also included Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll . Baldry's next project was the band Bluesology in 1966 , in which a certain Reginald Dwight began his career as a pianist, who later called himself Baldry and Elton Dean in honor of Elton John .
In the intro of the Rolling Stones' first live album ( Got Live If You Want It , 1966), Long John Baldry, who was friends with the Rolling Stones, introduced the band.
In 1968, Baldry broke away from the blues and began to dance as an entertainer in clubs. He had a hit in England with Let the Heartaches Begin . In the United States, it was his first single to make it into the Billboard charts, but only at number 88. With the title Mexico , he achieved his second and last Top 20 success in 1968.
In 1971 he returned to the blues, but could not build on the earlier successes. With the album It Ain't Easy an album by Baldry was released for the first time in the USA. With the song Don't Try To Lay No Boogie-Woogie On The King Of Rock And Roll , produced by Rod Stewart , Baldry was able to reach number 73 in the singles charts. In the following years several albums were released by Baldry in the USA with several record companies. The albums It Ain't Easy (1971) and Everything Stops For Tea (1972) were able to place in the US album charts. In 1976 Baldry was sent to a mental hospital for a few months.
At the end of the 1970s he had smaller hits again. He had a last, rather modest success in 1979 in the USA with his duet with Kathi MacDonald and the cover version of the Righteous Brothers hit You've Lost That Lovin 'Feeling Baldry moved to Canada . In the 1990s he released several albums and was still musically active after the turn of the millennium.
Discography
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- Long John's Blues (1964)
- Looking At Long John (1966)
- Let The Heartaches Begin (1968)
- Let There Be Long John (1968)
- Wait For Me (1969)
- It Ain't Easy (1971)
- Everything Stops For Tea (1972)
- Heartaches (Golden Hour) (1974)
- Welcome to Club Casablanca (1976)
- Baldry's Out (1979)
- Silent Treatment (1986)
- Let The Heartaches Begin (1988)
- Beat Goes On (1990)
- It Still Ain't Easy (1991)
- On Stage Tonight (1993)
- A Thrill's A Thrill: The Canadian Years (1995)
- Rock With The Best (recorded 1982) (1996)
- Right To Sing The Blues (1997)
- Long John Baldry Trio - Live (2000)
- Remembering Leadbelly (2002)
- The Best Of The Stony Plain Years (2014)
Remarks
- ↑ Cf. short biography in: Graves, Barry / Schmidt-Joos, Siegfried: Rock-Lexikon. Volume 1 . Completely revised and expanded new edition. Reinbek near Hamburg: Rowohlt Verlag, 1990, p. 63f
- ↑ The title reached the top of the singles charts, compare: Nugent, Stephen / Fowler, Anne / Fowler, Pete: Chart Log of American / British Top 20 Hits, 1955-1974 . In: Gillett, Charlie / Frith, Simon (eds.): Rock File 4 . Frogmore, St. Albans: Panther Books, 1976, p. 76
- ↑ His two other hits in the US were Don't Try To Lay No Boogie-Woogie On The King Of Rock And Roll (Warner 7506), which reached number 72 in 1971 , and his duet with Kathi MacDonald You've Lost That Lovin in 1979 'Feeling . Joel Whitburn: Top Pop Singles 1955-1993. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Ltd., 1994, p. 30
- ↑ US Catalog: Warner Brothers in 1921. About his album It Is not Easy precipitated Robert Christgau the damning verdict: "You know how it is wth English blues giants - he is not so big, he's just tall,'s that all!" . Christgau, Robert: Rock Albums Of The 70s. A critical guide . New York City, New York: Da Capo Press Inc., 1981, p. 37
- ^ US catalog number: Warner 7506
- ↑ For Baldry's LP discography see: Tilch, KD: Rock LPs 1955-1970. Vol. 1: AE . 3rd ext. Hamburg: Taurus Press, 1990, pp. 79f
- ^ Joel Whitburn: Top Pop Albums 1955-1996 . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, 1996, p. 56
- ↑ US catalog number: EMI America 8018. The single was listed on the Billboard charts for three weeks and reached number 89
- ↑ Chart sources: UK US
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Baldry, Long John |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Baldry, John William (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British singer and blues musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 12, 1941 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | East Haddon, Northamptonshire , England |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 21, 2005 |
| Place of death | Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada |