Everything about Long John Baldry totally explained
John William Baldry, popularly known as
Long John Baldry, (
January 12 1941 –
July 21 2005) was an
English blues singer. He sang with many notable British musicians, with
Rod Stewart and
Elton John appearing in bands led by Baldry at various stages of the
1960s. He enjoyed pop success in the UK where "
Let the Heartaches Begin" reached No. 1 in
1967 and in
Australia where his duet with
Kathi McDonald "
You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" reached No. 2 in the charts in
1980. Baldry lived in
Canada from the late
1970s until his death, where he continued to make records and do
voiceover work. He is known by a younger generation as the voice of
Dr. Robotnik in
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.
Blues bands of the 1960s
Born John William Baldry in
England, he grew to a towering 2.01 m (6 ft.7 in.) that resulted in the
nickname "Long" John. Gifted with a deep, rich voice, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing blues music in clubs.
In the early
1960s, he sang with
Alexis Korner's band
Blues Incorporated, with whom he recorded the first British blues album in 1962,
R&B at the Marquee. At various stages,
Mick Jagger,
Jack Bruce and
Charlie Watts were members of this band while
Keith Richards and
Brian Jones played on stage with them, although none of those musicians played on the
R&B at the Marquee album.
The Rolling Stones supported Baldry in their first concert at the
Marquee Club. Later, Baldry would be featured as the announcer introducing The Stones on their US-only live album,
Got Live if You Want It!, in 1966.
Baldry became friends with
Paul McCartney after playing a show at the
Cavern Club in Liverpool in the early 1960s, leading to an invitation to play on one of
The Beatles 1964 TV specials.
In 1963, Baldry joined the
Cyril Davies R&B All Stars with
Jimmy Page on guitar and
Nicky Hopkins playing piano. He took over the group in 1964 after the death of Cyril Davies, which became Long John Baldry and his Hoochie Coochie Men featuring
Rod Stewart on vocals and
Geoff Bradford on guitar. Rod Stewart was recruited after Baldry heard him
busking a
Muddy Waters song at Twickenham railway station after Stewart had been to a gig at
Eel Pie Island.
In 1965, the Hoochie Coochie Men became
Steampacket with Baldry and Stewart as male vocalists,
Julie Driscoll as the female vocalist and
Brian Auger on
Hammond organ. After Steampacket broke up in 1966, Baldry formed Bluesology featuring Reg Dwight on keyboards and
Elton Dean, later of
Soft Machine, as well as
Caleb Quaye on guitar. Reg Dwight decided to adopt the name
Elton John, taking his first name from Dean and his surname from Baldry's first name.
Solo artist
In 1967, he recorded a pop song "
Let the Heartaches Begin" that went to
number one in Britain, followed by a 1968 top 20 hit titled "Mexico", which was the official theme of the UK Olympic team in that year. "Let the Heartaches Begin" made the lower reaches of the Billboard Hot 100 in the US.
Bluesology broke up in 1968, with Baldry continuing his solo career and Elton John forming a songwriting partnership with
Bernie Taupin. In 1969, Elton John tried to commit
suicide after having relationship problems with a woman he was engaged to. Taupin and Baldry, who was
openly gay, found him, and Baldry talked him out of marrying the woman, helping to make John more comfortable with his sexuality. The hit song "
Someone Saved My Life Tonight" from
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy was written about the experience.
In 1971, John and Stewart each produced one side of
It Ain't Easy which became Baldry's most popular album and made the top 100 of the US album charts. The album featured the song "Don't Try to Lay No Boogie Woogie on the King of Rock and Roll" which became his most successful song in the US. John's first tour of the US was around this time. The band included,
Micky Waller, Ian Armitt,
Pete Sears, and Sammy Mitchell. Stewart and John would again co-produce his 1972 album
Everything Stops For Tea which made the lower reaches of the US album charts. The same year, Baldry worked with ex-
Procol Harum guitarist
Dave Ball.
Baldry would then suffer from mental health problems resulting in his being institutionalised. The 1979 album
Baldry's Out was recorded after his release.
Long John Baldry played his last live show in Columbus, Ohio, on July 19, 2004, at Barristers Hall with guitarist Bobby Cameron. The show was produced by Andrew Myers. On that occasion, John and Bobby played to a small intimate group of people. Some came from as far away as Texas to witness this blues performer. Two years previously the two had also completed a 10-venue sell-out tour of Canada together.
Television
In
1985, he lent his voice to the show
Ewoks. Since then Baldry's voice has appeared in many other
animated series.
Canadian citizenship
After spending time in
New York City and
Los Angeles in
1978, Baldry chose to settle permanently in
Vancouver,
British Columbia, where he became a
Canadian citizen. He regularly toured the Canadian west coast, as well as the U.S. Northwest.
In
1979, he teamed up with
Seattle singer
Kathi MacDonald to record a version of
The Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin", following which MacDonald became a permanent part of his touring group for the next two decades. The song made the lower reaches of the US Billboard charts but was a top 5 hit in Australia in 1980. He last recorded with the
Stony Plain record label. His 1997 album
Right To Sing The Blues won a
Juno Award in the
Blues Album of the Year category in the
Juno Awards of 1997.
Long John Baldry died on
July 21,
2005, in a Vancouver
hospital of a
severe chest infection. Coincidentally,
Deem Bristow, Robotnik's later voice actor had died earlier that same year.
Partial discography
Long John's Blues (United Artists) (1964)
Looking at Long John (United Artists) (1966)
Let the Heartaches Begin (Pye) (1968)
Let The Sun Come Shinning Thru (Pye) (1968)
Wait For Me (Pye) (1969)
It Ain't Easy (Warner Brothers) (1971)
Everything Stops for Tea (Warner Brothers) (1972)
(Atco) (1972)
Good To Be Alive (Baldry album) (GM) (1973)
Welcome To Club Casablanca (Casablanca) (1976)
Baldry's Out! (EMI) (1979)
Long John Baldry (album) (EMI) (1980)
Rock With The Beat (EMI) (1982)
'Silent Treatment' (Musicline) (1986)
A Touch Of Blues (Musicline) (1989)
It Still Ain't Easy (Stony Plain) (1991)
(Hypertension) (1993)
(compilation) (1995)
Right To Sing The Blues (Hypertension) (1997)
Long John Baldry Trio-Live (Hypertension) (2000)
Remembering Leadbelly (Stony Plain Records) (2002)
References and notes
Further Information
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