Long John Baldry
Encyclopedia
John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English and Canadian blues
singer and a voice actor
. He sang with many British musicians, with Rod Stewart
and Elton John
appearing in bands led by Baldry in 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 number two in 1980. Baldry lived in Canada
from the late 1970s until his death. There he continued to make records and do voiceover
work. He was the voice of Dr Robotnik
in Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog
.
, he grew to 6ft 7in (2.01m) that resulted in the nickname
"Long John". He was one of the first British vocalists to sing blues in clubs. John appeared quite regularly in the early '60s in the Gyre and Gymble coffee lounge, around the corner from Charing Cross railway station. He sometimes appeared on Eel Pie Island
, on the Thames at Twickenham
and at the Station Hotel in Richmond, one of the Rolling Stones' earliest gigs.
In the early 1960s, he sang with Alexis Korner
's Blues Incorporated
, with whom he recorded the first British blues album in 1962, R&B from the Marquee
. At stages, Mick Jagger
, Jack Bruce
and Charlie Watts
were members of this band while Keith Richards
and Brian Jones
played on stage, although none played on the R&B at the Marquee album. When The Rolling Stones
made their debut at the Marquee Club
in July 1962, Baldry put together a group to support them. Later, Baldry was 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 a show at the Cavern Club in Liverpool in the early 1960s, leading to an invitation to sing on one of The Beatles
1964 TV specials, Around The Beatles
. In the special, Baldry performs "Got My Mojo Workin'" and a medley of songs with members of The Vernons Girls
trio; in the latter, the Beatles are shown singing along in the audience.
In 1963, Baldry joined the Cyril Davies
R&B All Stars with Nicky Hopkins
playing piano. He took over in 1964 after the death of Cyril Davies, and the group became Long John Baldry and his Hoochie Coochie Men featuring Rod Stewart
on vocals and Geoff Bradford
on guitar. Stewart was recruited after Baldry heard him busking
a Muddy Waters
song at Twickenham 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. Dwight adopted the name Elton John
, his first name from Dean and his surname from Baldry.
Baldry was openly
gay
during the early 1960s when homosexuality was still criminalised and medicated. He later had a brief relationship with lead-guitarist of The Kinks
, Dave Davies
. Baldry supported Elton John
in coming to terms with his own sexuality. In 1978 his then-upcoming album Baldry's Out announced his formal coming out
, and he addressed sexuality issues with a cover of Canadian songwriter Bill Amesbury's "A Thrill's a Thrill".
" that went to number one in Britain, followed by a 1968 top 20 hit titled "Mexico", which was the theme of the UK Olympic team 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 relationship problems with a woman. Taupin, who is straight, and Baldry, who was openly
gay
, found him, and Baldry talked him out of marrying the woman, helping make Elton John
comfortable with his sexuality. The song "Someone Saved My Life Tonight
" from Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
was 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 "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 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 had mental health problems and was institutionalised for a brief time in 1975. The 1979 album Baldry's Out was recorded after his release.
In a 1997 interview with a German television program, Baldry claimed to be the last person to see singer Marc Bolan
before Bolan's death on September 16, 1977, having conducted an interview with the fellow singer for an American production company, he says, just before Bolan drove away and had his accident.
He played his last live show in Columbus, Ohio, on 19 July 2004, at Barristers Hall with guitarist Bobby Cameron. The show was produced by Andrew Myers. They played to a small group, some came from Texas. pg. 223 photo credit to Andrew Myers and show date. Two years previously the two had a 10-venue sell-out tour of Canada. Baldry's final UK Tour as 'The Long John Baldry Trio' concluded with a performance on Saturday 13 November 2004 at The King's Lynn Arts Centre, King's Lynn, Norfolk, England. The trio consisted of LJB, Butch Coulter on harmonica and Dave Kelly on slide guitar.
Note: Baldry's voice is often confused with that of fellow voice actors Scott McNeil
, Jay Brazeau
and Alec Willows.
He became a youtube phemonenon due the line "snooping as usual I see" in "Sonic the Hedgehog".
and Los Angeles
in 1978, Baldry settled in Vancouver
, British Columbia
, where he became Canadian
. He toured the west coast, as well as the U.S. Northwest. Baldry also toured the Canadian east, including one 1985 show in Kingston
, Ontario
, where audience members repeatedly called for the title track from his 1979 album Baldry's Out! – to which he replied, "I'll say he is!"
In 1979, he teamed with Seattle
singer Kathi McDonald
to record a version of The Righteous Brothers
' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin", following which McDonald became part of his touring group for 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
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
.
, of a lung infection
. He was survived by his boyfriend, Felix "Oz" Rexach, a brother, Roger and a sister, Margaret.
Bootleg Albums
Appearances On Other Albums
TV / DVD
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
singer and a voice actor
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
. He sang with many British musicians, with Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
and Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
appearing in bands led by Baldry in the 1960s. He enjoyed pop success in the UK where Let the Heartaches Begin
Let the Heartaches Begin
"Let the Heartaches Begin" is a song performed by British singer Long John Baldry. The single was a number one hit in the UK Singles Chart on 22 November 1967 where it stayed for two weeks. It was the second of two consecutive UK number one hits for the writing partnership of Tony Macaulay and...
reached No. 1 in 1967 and in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
where his duet with Kathi McDonald You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin" is a 1964 song by The Righteous Brothers which became a number-one hit single in the United States and the United Kingdom the following year. In 1999, the performing-rights organization Broadcast Music, Inc. ranked the song as having had more radio and television...
reached number two in 1980. Baldry lived in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
from the late 1970s until his death. There he continued to make records and do voiceover
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
work. He was the voice of Dr Robotnik
Doctor Eggman
, also known by his alias , is a fictional video game character, the main antagonist of the Sonic the Hedgehog series created by Sega. Dr. Eggman is a rotund, mad scientist with an IQ of 300 who plans to conquer the world in order to build his Eggman Empire and is the archenemy of Sonic the Hedgehog...
in Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog
The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog is an American animated series that was first broadcast in September 1993, and only for one season...
.
Early life
Baldry's birth was registered in Brixworth Registration District in the first quarter of 1941. This District includes East Haddon so it appears certain that this was his birthplace. His mother's maiden name was Parker. His early life was spent in Edgware, Middlesex where he attended Camrose Primary School until the age of 11, after which he attended Harrow Downer Grammar School.Blues bands of the 1960s
Born John William Baldry in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, he grew to 6ft 7in (2.01m) that resulted in the nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
"Long John". He was one of the first British vocalists to sing blues in clubs. John appeared quite regularly in the early '60s in the Gyre and Gymble coffee lounge, around the corner from Charing Cross railway station. He sometimes appeared on Eel Pie Island
Eel Pie Island
Eel Pie Island is an island in the River Thames in England at Twickenham, in the Borough of Richmond upon Thames, London. It is situated on the Tideway and can be reached only by footbridge or boat...
, on the Thames at Twickenham
Twickenham
Twickenham is a large suburban town southwest of central London. It is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan...
and at the Station Hotel in Richmond, one of the Rolling Stones' earliest gigs.
In the early 1960s, he sang with Alexis Korner
Alexis Korner
Alexis Korner was a blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a Founding Father of British Blues"...
's Blues Incorporated
Blues Incorporated
Blues Incorporated were a British R&B band in the early 1960s, led by Alexis Korner and featuring at various times Jack Bruce, Charlie Watts, Terry Cox, Ginger Baker, Long John Baldry, Ronnie Jones, Danny Thompson, Graham Bond, Cyril Davies, Malcolm Cecil and Dick Heckstall-Smith.-History:Korner ...
, with whom he recorded the first British blues album in 1962, R&B from the Marquee
R&B from the Marquee
R&B from the Marquee was an album by Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated released in November 1962 on Decca Records. Blues Incorporated was a British R&B band in the early 1960s, which was led by Alexis Korner and featured various musicians...
. At stages, Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
, Jack Bruce
Jack Bruce
John Symon Asher "Jack" Bruce is a Scottish musician and songwriter, respected as a founding member of the British psychedelic rock power trio, Cream, for a solo career that spans several decades, and for his participation in several well-known musical ensembles...
and Charlie Watts
Charlie Watts
Charles Robert "Charlie" Watts is an English drummer, best known as a member of The Rolling Stones. He is also the leader of a jazz band, a record producer, commercial artist, and horse breeder.-Early life:...
were members of this band while Keith Richards
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
and Brian Jones
Brian Jones
Lewis Brian Hopkins Jones , known as Brian Jones, was an English musician and a founding member of the Rolling Stones....
played on stage, although none played on the R&B at the Marquee album. When The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
made their debut at the Marquee Club
Marquee Club
The Marquee was a music club first located at 165 Oxford Street, London, England when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts.It was also the location of the first ever live performance by The Rolling Stones on 12 July 1962....
in July 1962, Baldry put together a group to support them. Later, Baldry was the announcer introducing the Stones on their US-only live album, Got Live if You Want It!
Got Live if You Want It!
Got Live If You Want It! is the first live album by British rock band The Rolling Stones. It was released in the US in late 1966...
, in 1966.
Baldry became friends with Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
after a show at the Cavern Club in Liverpool in the early 1960s, leading to an invitation to sing on one of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
1964 TV specials, Around The Beatles
Around The Beatles
Around The Beatles was a 1964 television special, featuring The Beatles, produced by Jack Good for ITV/Rediffusion London. It was broadcast internationally, and aired live from IBC Studios in London 19 April 1964...
. In the special, Baldry performs "Got My Mojo Workin'" and a medley of songs with members of The Vernons Girls
The Vernons Girls
The Vernons Girls were an English musical ensemble of female vocalists. They were formed at the Vernons football pools company in the 1950s in Liverpool, settling down to a sixteen strong choir and recorded an album of standards.-Career:...
trio; in the latter, the Beatles are shown singing along in the audience.
In 1963, Baldry joined the Cyril Davies
Cyril Davies
Cyril Davies was one of the first British blues harmonica players and blues musician.-Biography:Born at St Mildred's, 15 Hawthorn Drive, Willowbank, Denham, Buckinghamshire, near London, he was the son of William Albert Davies, a labourer, and his wife Margaret Mary...
R&B All Stars with Nicky Hopkins
Nicky Hopkins
Nicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins was an English pianist and organist.He recorded and performed on noted British and American popular music recordings of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s as a session musician....
playing piano. He took over in 1964 after the death of Cyril Davies, and the group became Long John Baldry and his Hoochie Coochie Men featuring Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
on vocals and Geoff Bradford
Geoff Bradford (musician)
Geoff Bradford is an English guitarist who played alongside British blues musicians in the 1950s and 1960s, such as Long John Baldry and Alexis Korner.-Early life and influences:...
on guitar. Stewart was recruited after Baldry heard him busking
Busking
Street performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles...
a Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
song at Twickenham station after Stewart had been to a gig at Eel Pie Island
Eel Pie Island
Eel Pie Island is an island in the River Thames in England at Twickenham, in the Borough of Richmond upon Thames, London. It is situated on the Tideway and can be reached only by footbridge or boat...
.
In 1965, the Hoochie Coochie Men became Steampacket
Steampacket
The Steampacket was a British blues band of the 1960s, notable mainly for the fact that so many of its members already were, or subsequently became, famous as individual musicians. It was, arguably, the UK's first "supergroup".-History:...
with Baldry and Stewart as male vocalists, Julie Driscoll
Julie Driscoll
Julie Tippetts is an English singer and actress, known for her 1960s versions of Bob Dylan's "This Wheel's on Fire", and Donovan's "Season of the Witch", both with Brian Auger & The Trinity...
as the female vocalist and Brian Auger
Brian Auger
Brian Auger is a jazz and rock keyboardist, who has specialized in playing the Hammond organ.A jazz pianist, bandleader, session musician and Hammond B3 player, Auger has played or toured with artists such as Rod Stewart, Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix, Sonny Boy Williamson, Led Zeppelin, Eric Burdon...
on Hammond organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
. After Steampacket broke up in 1966, Baldry formed Bluesology featuring Reg Dwight on keyboards and Elton Dean
Elton Dean
Elton Dean was an English jazz musician who performed on alto saxophone, saxello and occasionally keyboard....
, later of Soft Machine
Soft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
, as well as Caleb Quaye
Caleb Quaye
Caleb Quaye , is an English Afro-European rock guitarist and studio musician best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s with Elton John, Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney and Hall & Oates...
on guitar. Dwight adopted the name Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, his first name from Dean and his surname from Baldry.
Baldry was openly
Closeted
Closeted and in the closet are metaphors used to describe lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and intersex people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior.-Background:In late 20th...
gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
during the early 1960s when homosexuality was still criminalised and medicated. He later had a brief relationship with lead-guitarist of The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
, Dave Davies
Dave Davies
David Russell Gordon "Dave" Davies is an English rock musician best known for his role as lead guitarist and vocalist for the English rock band The Kinks....
. Baldry supported Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
in coming to terms with his own sexuality. In 1978 his then-upcoming album Baldry's Out announced his formal coming out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
, and he addressed sexuality issues with a cover of Canadian songwriter Bill Amesbury's "A Thrill's a Thrill".
Solo artist
In 1967, he recorded a pop song "Let the Heartaches BeginLet the Heartaches Begin
"Let the Heartaches Begin" is a song performed by British singer Long John Baldry. The single was a number one hit in the UK Singles Chart on 22 November 1967 where it stayed for two weeks. It was the second of two consecutive UK number one hits for the writing partnership of Tony Macaulay and...
" that went to number one in Britain, followed by a 1968 top 20 hit titled "Mexico", which was the theme of the UK Olympic team 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
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
forming a songwriting partnership with Bernie Taupin
Bernie Taupin
Bernard John "Bernie" Taupin is an English lyricist, poet, and singer, best known for his long-term collaboration with Elton John, writing the lyrics for the majority of the star's songs, making his lyrics some of the best known in pop-rock's history.In 1967, Taupin answered an advertisement in...
. In 1969, Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
tried to commit suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
after relationship problems with a woman. Taupin, who is straight, and Baldry, who was openly
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, found him, and Baldry talked him out of marrying the woman, helping make Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
comfortable with his sexuality. The song "Someone Saved My Life Tonight
Someone Saved My Life Tonight
"Someone Saved My Life Tonight" is an Elton John song from his album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. John originally wrote and recorded it in A-flat, though after having vocal cord surgery in 1987 that resulted in the loss of his falsetto range, John began performing the song in a...
" from Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy is the ninth studio album by British singer/songwriter Elton John, released in 1975. It debuted at number 1 on the U.S. Pop Albums chart, the first album ever to do so, and stayed there for seven weeks. It was certified Gold on 5/21/1975 and was...
was 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 "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 this time. The band included, Micky Waller
Micky Waller
Micky Waller was an English drummer, who played with many of the biggest names on the UK rock and blues scene, after he became a professional musician in 1960...
, Ian Armitt, Pete Sears
Pete Sears
Peter 'Pete' Sears is an English rock musician. In a career spanning more than four decades he has been a member of many bands and has moved through a variety of musical genres, from early R&B, psychedelic improvisational rock of the 1960s, folk, country music, arena rock in the 1970s, and blues...
, 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
Procol Harum
Procol Harum are a British rock band, formed in 1967, which contributed to the development of progressive rock, and by extension, symphonic rock. Their best-known recording is their 1967 single "A Whiter Shade of Pale"...
guitarist Dave Ball
Dave Ball (musician)
David 'Dave' J Ball is a guitar player who is currently resident of New Zealand but working in various parts of the World....
.
Baldry had mental health problems and was institutionalised for a brief time in 1975. The 1979 album Baldry's Out was recorded after his release.
In a 1997 interview with a German television program, Baldry claimed to be the last person to see singer Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...
before Bolan's death on September 16, 1977, having conducted an interview with the fellow singer for an American production company, he says, just before Bolan drove away and had his accident.
He played his last live show in Columbus, Ohio, on 19 July 2004, at Barristers Hall with guitarist Bobby Cameron. The show was produced by Andrew Myers. They played to a small group, some came from Texas. pg. 223 photo credit to Andrew Myers and show date. Two years previously the two had a 10-venue sell-out tour of Canada. Baldry's final UK Tour as 'The Long John Baldry Trio' concluded with a performance on Saturday 13 November 2004 at The King's Lynn Arts Centre, King's Lynn, Norfolk, England. The trio consisted of LJB, Butch Coulter on harmonica and Dave Kelly on slide guitar.
Acting career
Baldry had said he felt more comfortable "treading the boards" as a stage actor than in other performing venues. He first appeared in a stage play called "Big Rock Candy Mountain" and had a varied career as actor and voice actor.- 1971 — Up the Chastity BeltUp the Chastity BeltUp the Chastity Belt is a 1971 British film, a spin-off from the TV series Up Pompeii! that starred Frankie Howerd and was directed by Bob Kellett.-Synopsis:...
as Little John - 1975 — Dick Deadeye, or Duty DoneDick Deadeye, or Duty DoneDick Deadeye, or Duty Done is a 1975 British animated film musical, based on the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan.The comically convoluted plot is a pastiche of many in the Gilbert and Sullivan canon, particularly Trial by Jury, The Sorcerer,...
as The Major General (voice) / The Monarch of The Sea (voice) - 1985 — Star Wars: EwoksStar Wars: EwoksStar Wars: Ewoks is an American/Canadian animated television series featuring the Ewok characters introduced in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi....
as The Stranger (voice) - 1985 — Star Wars: DroidsStar Wars: DroidsStar Wars: Droids, also known as Droids: The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO, was an animated television series that featured the exploits of R2-D2 and C-3PO, the droids who have appeared in all six Star Wars films...
as Proto One (voice) - 1986 — The Great HeepThe Great HeepThe Great Heep was a 48-minute, animated television special that aired on June 7, 1986. It is part of the Star Wars franchise, and was a follow-up to the Star Wars: Droids series.-Plot:...
as The Great Heep (voice) - 1988 — Peter Pan: The Musical as Captain James Hook
- 1989 — Dragon Warrior as Narrator (voice)
- 1989 — Captain N: The Game MasterCaptain N: The Game MasterCaptain N: The Game Master was an American animated television series that aired on television from 1989 to 1991 as part of the Saturday morning cartoon lineup on NBC. The show incorporated elements from many of the most popular Nintendo games of the time...
as King Charles (voice) / Little John (voice) / Clock Man (voice) / The Poltergeist King (voice) - 1990 — The New Adventures of He-ManThe New Adventures of He-ManThe New Adventures of He-Man is an animated series which ran in syndication in the fall of 1990 while Mattel released the toy line He-Man, an update of their successful Masters of the Universe line...
as Treylus (voice) - 1991 — Bucky O'Hare and the Toad WarsBucky O'Hare and the Toad WarsBucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars , debuted in 1991 in the UK on the BBC, as well as in the United States, and was created by Sunbow Productions, Abrams / Gentile Entertainment, Continuity Comics and IDDH it was based on the cult comic Bucky O'Hare...
as KOMPLEX (voice) - 1991 — Nilus the SandmanNilus the SandmanNilus the Sandman was a Canadian part-animated and part-live action television series that originally aired in the mid-1990s on the Family Channel...
as Nilus The Sandman (voice) - 1991 — Captain Zed and the Zee ZoneCaptain Zed and the Zee ZoneCaptain Zed and the Zee Zone is a short-lived CITV television series, airing in the United Kingdom. When children go to sleep its Captain Zed and his partner PJ job to prevent children from having nightmares in the dreamzone...
- 1991 — MacGyverMacGyverMacGyver is an American action-adventure television series created by Lee David Zlotoff. Henry Winkler and John Rich were the executive producers. The show ran for seven seasons on ABC in the United States and various other networks abroad from 1985 to 1992. The series was filmed in Los Angeles...
as HIT Director - 1992 — Conan the AdventurerConan the Adventurer (animated series)Conan the Adventurer is an American animated television series adaptation of Conan the Barbarian, the literary character created by Robert E. Howard in the 1930s. Produced by Jetlag Productions and Sunbow Productions, the series debuted on September 12, 1992, ran for 65 episodes and concluded on...
as Ram-Amon (voice) - 1993 — Adventures of Sonic the HedgehogAdventures of Sonic the HedgehogThe Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog is an American animated series that was first broadcast in September 1993, and only for one season...
as Dr Ivo Robotnik - 1993 — Madeline
- 1994 — ReBootReBootReBoot is a Canadian CGI-animated action-adventure cartoon series that originally aired from 1994 to 2001. It was produced by Vancouver-based production company Mainframe Entertainment, Alliance Communications, BLT Productions and created by Gavin Blair, Ian Pearson, Phil Mitchell and John Grace,...
as Captain Capacitor (voice) / Old Man Pearson (voice) / The Door Guardian (voice) - 1996 - Sonic Christmas Blast as Dr Ivo Robotnik (voice)
- 1998 — Pocket Dragon AdventuresPocket Dragon AdventuresPocket Dragon Adventures was a short-lived 1998 syndicated cartoon series, based on the Pocket Dragon character created by artist Real Musgrave, best known from Pocket Dragons figurines also based on his work. The cartoon was about the Pocket Dragons who live with a kindly old wizard, and their...
- 1998 — RoboCop: Alpha CommandoRoboCop: Alpha CommandoRoboCop: Alpha Commando was a short lived animated series based on the Orion Pictures film RoboCop and the series/films that followed in the 1980s-1990s. It was the second animated version of the character, following on from RoboCop: The Animated Series. The series premiered on September 7, 1998,...
as Foreign Dignitary (voice) - 1998 — Fat Dog MendozaFat Dog MendozaFat Dog Mendoza is an animated children's show created by Scott Musgrove. The show follows a smart-mouthed dog who is incredibly obese, so much to the point that he is ball shaped with small, stubby legs. Other characters include Little Costumed Buddy, Piranha Mae, and Onion Boy...
as The Golden Volcano God - 1999 — Toad PatrolToad PatrolToad Patrol is a Canadian television series which first aired in 1999 on Teletoon, currently airing on the Telefutura Spanish-language network as Patrulla de Sapitos. It was created by George and his wife, Peggy Sarson...
as Mistle-Toad - 1999 — Sabrina, the Animated Series as Captain Jean Lafitte
- 2002 — Snow QueenSnow QueenSnow Queen may refer to:* The Snow Queen, an 1845 fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen-Adaptations of the Andersen fairy tale:* The Snow Queen , a 1957 Soviet animated film* The Snow Queen , a 1995 British animated film...
as Rutger The Reindeer - 2002 — He-Man and the Masters of the Universe as Azdar (Buzz Off's Pride only)
- 2003 — Ben HurBen Hur (2003 film)Ben Hur is a 2003 animated film based on the novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, by Lew Wallace. It is the fourth film adaptation of the novel....
as Balthazar
Note: Baldry's voice is often confused with that of fellow voice actors Scott McNeil
Scott McNeil
Scott McNeil is a Canadian actor and voice actor. He currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...
, Jay Brazeau
Jay Brazeau
Jay Brazeau is a notable Canadian actor and voice actor. He was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.-Career:His credits include voicing Richard Condie's Oscar-nominated animated short La Salla. He also appeared in two of the first season episodes of Highlander: The Series in 1992...
and Alec Willows.
He became a youtube phemonenon due the line "snooping as usual I see" in "Sonic the Hedgehog".
Canadian citizenship
After time in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
in 1978, Baldry settled in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, where he became Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He toured the west coast, as well as the U.S. Northwest. Baldry also toured the Canadian east, including one 1985 show in Kingston
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, where audience members repeatedly called for the title track from his 1979 album Baldry's Out! – to which he replied, "I'll say he is!"
In 1979, he teamed with Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
singer Kathi McDonald
Kathi McDonald
Kathryn Marie McDonald , popularly known as Kathi McDonald, is a blues and rock singer. She currently performs with Kathi McDonald & Friends. She has appeared on an extensive list of rock and blues albums and toured extensively with Long John Baldry prior to his death...
to record a version of The Righteous Brothers
The Righteous Brothers
The Righteous Brothers were the musical duo of Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield. They recorded from 1963 through 1975, and continued to perform until Hatfield's death in 2003...
' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin", following which McDonald became part of his touring group for 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
Stony Plain Records
Stony Plain Records is a major Canadian independent record label, which specializes in roots music genres such as country, folk and blues. The label was the recipient of a 2003 Western Canadian Music Award for "Independent Record Label/Distributor of the Year"....
label. His 1997 album Right To Sing The Blues won a Juno Award
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
in the Blues Album of the Year
Juno Award for Blues Album of the Year
The Juno Award for "Blues Album of the Year" has been awarded since 1994, as recognition each year for the best blues album in Canada. The award was previously a combined blues and gospel award category.-Best Blues/Gospel Album :...
category in the Juno Awards of 1997
Juno Awards of 1997
The Juno Awards of 1997, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 9 March 1997 in Hamilton, Ontario at a ceremony in the Copps Coliseum. Jann Arden was host for the major ceremonies which were broadcast on CBC Television.Nominations were announced on...
.
Death
Baldry died on 21 July 2005, in Vancouver General HospitalVancouver General Hospital
Vancouver General Hospital is a medical facility located in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is the largest facility in the Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre group of medical facilities...
, of a lung infection
Chest infection
Chest infection may refer to:*Upper respiratory tract infection*Lower respiratory tract infection*Bronchitis*Pneumonia*Pleurisy...
. He was survived by his boyfriend, Felix "Oz" Rexach, a brother, Roger and a sister, Margaret.
Discography
Solo Albums- (1964) Long John's BluesLong John's BluesLong John's Blues was the début album by British blues singer Long John Baldry, the album featured a track list that he would continue to play at live shows throughout his career....
- (1966) Looking at Long John
- (1967) Let the Heartaches BeginLet the Heartaches Begin (album)Let the Heartaches Begin is an album by Long John Baldry released in 1968.-Track listing:# "Long and Lonely Nights"# "Stay With Me Baby"# "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" # "For All We Know" Let the Heartaches Begin is an album by Long John Baldry released in 1968.-Track listing:# "Long and Lonely...
- (1969) Wait For Me
- (1971) It Ain't EasyIt Ain't Easy (Baldry album)It Ain't Easy is a 1971 album by Long John Baldry.According to extensive notes about Long John Baldry's career in the re-release 2005 CD, Rod Stewart was brought on board to produce It Ain't Easy for Warner Brothers. Soon after in 1970, Stewart met Elton John at a party and the piano player joined...
- (1972) Everything Stops for TeaEverything Stops for TeaEverything Stops for Tea is a record album by John Baldry released in May 1972. The album was produced by Elton John and Rod Stewart. Elton John provides vocal accompaniment on tracks 1, 3, 4, and 5...
- (1973) Good to Be AliveGood to Be AliveGood to Be Alive is an album by Long John Baldry released in 1973....
- (1976) Welcome to Club Casablanca
- (1979) Baldry's Out!
- (1980) Long John Baldry
- (1980) Boys In The Band
- (1982) Rock with the Best
- (1983) The Best of Long John Baldry (features two previously unreleased songs 'Something You Got' and 'River's Invitation')
- (1986) Silent Treatment
- (1987) Long John Baldry & FriendsLong John Baldry & FriendsLong John Baldry & Friends is a 1987 live album by Blues singer Long John Baldry.- Album info :The album was recorded live at Mushroom studios, Vancouver for Music Line records of Canada Ltd. on September 14th, 1986....
- (1987) Live - Iowa State UniversityLive - Iowa State UniversityLive - Iowa State University is a 1987 live album by Blues singer Long John Baldry.- Album Info :Recorded in 1987 and broadcast on the performance network that year. The concert finally saw a DVD release in 2004. The DVD would be remastered and re-issued in 2008 and finally had a CD release in 2009...
(released In 2009) - (1989) A Touch of The Blues (Features the 'Long John Baldry & Friends' album with the addition of three new studio recordings
- (1991) It Still Ain't Easy
- (1992) Midnight In New Orleans (German release that features Baldry singing 'As Long as I Feel The Spirit')
- (1993) On Stage Tonight - Baldry's Out!
- (1997) Right To Sing The Blues
- (1999) Long John Baldry Trio-LiveLong John Baldry Trio-LiveLong John Baldry Trio Live was an album released by Long John Baldry in 2000.It was recorded on September 21, 1999 in the "Down Town Blues Club" in Hamburg, Germany.-Track listing:# Good Morning Blues - 5:28# Who Back Buck - 2:40...
- (2002) Remembering Leadbelly
Bootleg Albums
- (1972) Live In Paramount Seattle
- (2002) Live In Toronto!
Appearances On Other Albums
- (1962) R&B From The MarqueeR&B from the MarqueeR&B from the Marquee was an album by Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated released in November 1962 on Decca Records. Blues Incorporated was a British R&B band in the early 1960s, which was led by Alexis Korner and featured various musicians...
(1964) (Baldry sings on tracks 2, 7, 11, 12, and 13) - (1964) The Steampacket: The First R&B Festival (Tracks 6 and 12 only)
- (1965) Steampacket: The First Super Group
- (1971) Every Picture Tells a StoryEvery Picture Tells a StoryEvery Picture Tells a Story is the third album by Rod Stewart, released in the middle of 1971. It went to number one on both the UK and U.S. charts and finished third in the Pazz & Jop critics' poll for best album of 1971...
(Track 2 only) - (1973) Mar y Sol: The First International Pop FestivalMar y sol festivalThe Mar y Sol Festival was a Woodstock-like music festival that took place in Manatí, Puerto Rico, on April 1–3, 1972. It was held on of countryside by Los Tubos beach in Vega Baja on the north shore of the island....
(Sings 'Bring My Baby Back' this track is part of the additional material on the 2005 'Everything Stops For Tea' reissue) - (1975) Dick Deadeye: Soundtrack (Baldry provided the voice of The Monarch of The Sea and sings as the character on this album)
- (1975) Sumar á Sýrlandi (Rare album of the Icelandic group 'Stuðmenn' that features Baldry singing 'She Broke My Heart')
- (1996) Bone, Bottle, Brass or Steel (Track 2 only)
- (1996) Born To Fly: Theatre In The Sky Performance (Baldry sings one track and helps narrate another)
- (1997) Jimmy Witherspoon with The Duke Robillard Band (Track 7 only)
- (1997) Stony Plain - Absolute Blues 2 (Compilation that features an unreleased version of 'Black Girl' sung with Kathi McDonald)
- (1998) You Got The Bread... We Got The Jam (Tracks 2, 3, 6, 9, and 11)
- (1999) Come Sing With Us - A Collection of Children's Folk Songs (Track 10 only)
- (2000) Carlo Little Allstars - Never Stop Rockin' (Tracks 2 and 6 only)
- (2001) The Best of Pooh and Tigger Too (Track 18 Only)
- (2005) The British Blues All Stars: Live at Notodden Blues Festival (Tracks 6, 7, 11, and 12. These are Mr. Baldry's last recorded performances)
- (2006) Saturday Night Blues: 20 YearsSaturday Night Blues: 20 YearsSaturday Night Blues: 20 Years is a 2006 2 CD compilation album, released by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and, internationally, by the Universal Music Group, of live performances of Canadian blues artists, as featured on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio program Saturday Night...
(CBCCBC RecordsCBC Records is a Canadian record label, owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which distributes CBC programming, including live concert performances in album and digital format....
; Baldry sings an acoustic version of "It Ain't Easy")
TV / DVD
- (1985) Long John Baldry: Rockin' The Blues
- (1987) Long John Baldry: It Ain't Easy – Live at Iowa State UniversityLive - Iowa State UniversityLive - Iowa State University is a 1987 live album by Blues singer Long John Baldry.- Album Info :Recorded in 1987 and broadcast on the performance network that year. The concert finally saw a DVD release in 2004. The DVD would be remastered and re-issued in 2008 and finally had a CD release in 2009...
(Released: 2005) - (1993) Ohne-Filter Musik Pur - Long John Baldry: Live In Concert
- (1993) Leverkusen Blues Festival '93
- (1993) Long John Baldry Live at The Waterfront Blues Festival
- (1997) Leverkusen Blues Festival '97
- (1998) Long John Baldry: Café Campus Blues
- (2001) Happy Birthday Blues: Long John Baldry & Friends
- (2005) Montreal Jazz Festival featuring Long John Baldry
- (2007) Long John Baldry - In The Shadow of The Blues
External links
- Official website
- Musical Tree ~ JohnBaldry.com (Baldry band memberships)
- Profile at GTA agency
- London (Ontario) Free Press report of death published 23 July 2005
- Long John Baldry ~ VH1 profile
- [ Long John Baldry: Biography ~ AllMusic.com]
- Billboard report on Baldry's death July 22, 2005
- Long John Baldry and The Marquee Club
- It Ain't Easy: Long John Baldry and the Birth of the British Blues (Paperback)
- Long John Baldry: In the Shadow of the Blues (documentary)