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ABOUT LONG JOHN BALDRY -
Long
John Baldry's amazing musical legacy which if properly notated
would fill a few pages in any rock encyclopedia. Long John's forty-five
year career is a rich tapestry of recording, performing, great bands,
discoverer of talent and actor. Long John is particularly known
for his associations with former band members
Rod Stewart
and Elton John.
Looking closely at
LJB's musical tree
you will discover
that virtually every musician who came up in England during the 60's
have some connection to LJB. Names like
Ginger Baker,
Jeff Beck, Brian Jones, Beatles, Eric Clapton,
Rod Stewart and The Rolling Stones are cemented in LJB's
musical history.
In fact,
Eric Clapton
has stated many times that he was inspired to pick up a guitar after
seeing Long John Baldry perform in the early 1960s.
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Undeniably, Long
John was one of the founding 'Fathers
of British Blues'
in the 60s, and without his presence the scene, particularly the
Blues scene, may have been quite different. Other snippets of musical
history to support this claim include Long John's presence on the seminal
album 'R&B From
The Marquee'
released in 1962 and is considered the first British Blues album. Did
you know that when The Rolling Stones played their first
public performance under that moniker in London/July 1962 that they
opened for LJB at the Marquee Club. In April /64
The Beatles
in their first worldwide television
special 'Around
the World With The Beatles',
invited Long John Baldry to perform
'I Got My Mojo Workin'
for that landmark
broadcast. Since 1964 Long John has released 17 albums which have explored
a vast variety of musical styles from Pop to Blues to Folk to
Rock. 'Long John's
Blues' (1964)
was followed by the jazzy 'Looking
at Long John'
in 1966. On the heels
of his number one hit in November 1967 'Let The Heartaches Begin'
an album of Pop standards was released in Britain. Then there was a
dramatic and successful switch back to his Blues/Rock roots with the
release of
It Ain't
Easy,
(by far his most popular album)
and
Everything Stops For
Tea.
In 1973 Long John recorded
his personal favorite,
Good To Be Alive.
This album
along with the Stony
Plain release
Remembering Leadbelly
is definitive
John Baldry. His eclectic recording career has also seen jewels as
Tom 'Powder Blues' Lavin produced
It
Still Ain't Easy
and the
Stony Plain
Records/Juno Award
winning recording
Right to Sing the Blues.
- Jeff Edmunds/
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