John Mock is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, producer, and photographer with a particular interest in the topic of maritime history and culture.

Biography

Early years

Mock is a native of Connecticut’s eastern shore. His father was in the Coast Guard in

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...

, and Mock grew to love the ocean and shoreline. Mock began playing guitar at age 15. When he visited Ireland at age 28, he started playing the

tin whistle The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, putting it in the same class as the recorder, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments that meet such criteria. ...

, and he took up the

concertina A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It consists of expanding and contracting bellows, with buttons (or keys) usually on both ends, unlike accordion buttons, which are on the front. The ...

in his 30s.

Studio work, composing, and arranging

Eventually, Mock left the Atlantic coast for Nashville, where he works as a composer, producer, arranger and instrumentalist. Studio and live credits include

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

, the

Dixie Chicks The Chicks (previously known as Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. Since 1995, the band has consisted of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and E ...

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

, Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder,

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

Randy Travis Randy Bruce Traywick (born May 4, 1959), known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country music and gospel music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. Active from 1978 until being incapacitated by a stroke in 2013, he has recor ...

, Sylvia,

Kathy Mattea Kathleen Alice Mattea (born June 21, 1959) is an American country music and bluegrass singer. Active since 1984 as a recording artist, she has charted more than 30 singles on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts, including four that re ...

Nanci Griffith Nanci Caroline Griffith (July 6, 1953 – August 13, 2021) was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She appeared many times on the PBS music program ''Austin City Limits'' starting in 1985 (season 10). In 1994 she won a Grammy Award fo ...

, Tim O'Brien,

Mark O'Connor Mark O'Connor (born August 5, 1961) is an American fiddle player and composer whose music combines bluegrass, country, jazz and classical. A three-time Grammy Award winner, he has won six Country Music Association Musician Of The Year awards ...

Gretchen Peters Gretchen Peters (born November 14, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter. She was born in New York, where she wrote her first song with her sister at the age of 5. In 1970, her parents broke up, and Peters moved with her mother to Boulder, ...

Maura O'Connell Maura O'Connell (born 16 September 1958) is an Irish singer and actress. She is known for her contemporary interpretations of Irish folk songs, strongly influenced by American country music. Background O'Connell was born in Ennis, the main t ...

Lady Antebellum Lady A (formerly known as Lady Antebellum) is an American country music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006. The group is composed of Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals), Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals, guitar) ...

Martina McBride Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, born July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record producer. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and relocat ...

Sara Evans Sara Lynn Evans (; born February 5, 1971) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is also credited as a record producer, actress, and author. She had five songs reach the number one spot on the '' Billboard'' country songs ch ...

, and many others. His orchestral arrangements have been performed by the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

and the

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It also performs for the annual National Mem ...

, as well as the symphonies of Atlanta and Nashville. His work "The Stone" was included on the Nashville Chamber Orchestra's 1997 Warner Bros, Debut. Mock’s film scoring credits include the 2017

SONY , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

/ Affirm film “ All Saints” (written with Conni Ellisor) starring

John Corbett John Joseph Corbett Jr. (born May 9, 1961) is an American actor and country music singer. On television, he is best known for his roles as Chris Stevens on '' Northern Exposure'' (1990–1995), Aidan Shaw on ''Sex and the City'' (2000–2003 ...

Barry Corbin Leonard Barrie Corbin (born October 16, 1940) is an American actor. He is best known for his starring role as Maurice Minnifield on the television series ''Northern Exposure'' (1990–1995), which earned him two consecutive Primetime Emmy Award ...

, and

Cara Buono Cara Buono (born 1973/1974) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Dr. Faye Miller in the fourth season of the AMC drama series ''Mad Men''; Kelli Moltisanti in the sixth season of ''The Sopranos''; Linda Salvo in the 2006 ...

. John's music can also be heard in the independent film “The Otherworld”. The

performed Mock's arrangement of "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...

" at

Super Bowl XXXVII Super Bowl XXXVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers to decide the National Football League (NFL) cham ...

From The Shoreline

Mock has toured extensively to stage his concert presentation From the Shoreline, which uses multimedia to celebrate the Atlantic coastline from New England to Ireland. He performs original compositions on

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

and other instruments and integrates projections of his own photographs of castles, lighthouses, and ships, taken during his travels to New England, Ireland, and Scotland. In 2013, Mock was recognized by the American Lighthouse Foundation (ALF) as an artist advocate. He launched the Keeper’s House Concert Series to benefit the ALF and to promote the appreciation and preservation of lighthouses.

Collaborations

Since 1996, Mock has been producing and arranging for ACM Female Vocalist of the Year Sylvia, and leads her band on tour as well. He has co-written many of her songs. Their albums together include: * The Real Story (1996) * Where In The World (2002) * A Cradle In Bethlehem (2002) * It’s All In The Family (2016) * Second Bloom – The Hits Re-Imagined (2018) Mock’s long association with Maura O'Connell has included recording, touring throughout the US and Ireland, and extensive work creating orchestral arrangements of her songs. In 1998, Mock and the late

Butch Baldassari Jerome Henry "Butch" Baldassari (December 11, 1952 – January 10, 2009) was an American mandolinist, recording artist, composer, and music teacher. Biography Early life Baldassari played guitar in rock bands as a teen with his brother Buster, b ...

released ''Cantabile: Duets for Mandolin and Guitar'', both as a CD and a book of music transcriptions. In 2007, they recorded ''Music of O'Carolan'', a tribute to Irish composer

Turlough O'Carolan Turlough O'Carolan ( ga, Toirdhealbhach Ó Cearbhalláin ; 167025 March 1738) was a blind Celtic harper, composer and singer in Ireland whose great fame is due to his gift for melodic composition. Although not a composer in the classical sense, ...

. Both albums are on Baldassari's SoundArt label.

Other projects

Mock contributed

bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'' or ''bodhráns'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or othe ...

, low whistle, and penny whistle to the soundtrack for ''

Liberty! The American Revolution ''Liberty! The American Revolution'' is a six-hour documentary miniseries about the Revolutionary War, and the instigating factors, that brought about the United States' independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. It was first broadcast o ...

spearheaded by

Yo Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (''Chinese language, Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. ...

, and

. He also worked with Ma on ''Heartland: An Appalachian Anthology'' along with O'Connor,

Edgar Meyer Edgar Meyer (born November 24, 1960) is an American bassist and composer. His styles include classical, bluegrass, newgrass, and jazz. He has won five Grammy Awards and been nominated seven times. Meyer is a member of the Telluride Bluegrass ...

Sam Bush Charles Samuel Bush (born April 13, 1952) is an American mandolinist who is considered an originator of progressive bluegrass music. In 2020, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of New Grass Revival. ...

, and others. Mock has recorded numerous albums of Irish and Colonial American instrumental music for Green Hill Music of Nashville.

Discography

Solo albums

* 2005: ''The Day at Sea'' (self-released) * 2011: ''Keeper's Companion'' (self-released)

As producer

* 1996: Sylvia - The Real Story (Red Pony) * 2002: Sylvia - Where In The World (Red Pony) * 2002: Sylvia - A Cradle In Bethlehem (Red Pony) * 2008: Thom Schuyler – Prayer of a Desperate Man * 2009: Craig Bickhardt – Brother To The Wind (Stone Barn) * 2014: Craig Bickhardt - The More I Wonder (Stone Barn) * 2016: Sylvia - It's All in the Family (Red Pony) * 2018: Sylvia – Second Bloom – The Hits Re-Imagined (Red Pony) * 2018: Thom Shuyler – The Banks of Jordan

As sideman

* 1991: Kathy Mattea - Time Passes By (Polygram) – guitar * Kathy Mattea - Willow In The Wind By (Polygram) – classical guitar on “Where've You Been” * 1995: Nashville Mandolin Ensemble - Plectrasonics ( CMH ) - mandolin * 1995: Maura O'Connell - Stories ( Hannibal ) – tin whistle * 1997: Mark O'Connor - Liberty! The American Revolution: Original Television Soundtrack (Sony Classical) - pennywhistle, bodhrán, low whistle, recorder * 1998: Nanci Griffith: Other Voices, Too (A Trip Back to Bountiful) (Elektra) – tin whistle * 1998: Michael W. Smith - Live the Life (Reunion) – tin whistle on track 12,''Hello, Goodbye'' * 1998: Twila Paris - Perennial (Songs For The Seasons Of Life) ( Sparrow ) – tin whistle * 1999: Tanya Savory - Town to Town ( Philo ) - tin whistle, concertina * 1999: Martina McBride - Emotion (RCA) - tin whistle, low whistle * 1999: Tim O'Brien - The Crossing (Alula) - percussion, low whistle * 1999: Nanci Griffith with the London Symphony Orchestra - The Dust Bowl Symphony (Elektra) – orchestral arranger, acoustic guitar, tin whistle * 2000: David Davidson - Celtic Fantasy (Green Hill) - concertina, bodhrán, guitar, tin whistle * 2001: Dolly Parton - Little Sparrow ( Sugar Hill ) – tin whistle, harmonium * 2001: Joshua Bell , Sam Bush , Béla Fleck , Yo-Yo Ma , Mike Marshall , Edgar Meyer , Mark O'Connor , James Taylor, and Alison Krauss - Heartland: An Appalachian Anthology ( Sony Classical ) - tin whistle, low whistle * 2002: Dixie Chicks - Home (Monument) - percussion, bodhrán, uilleann pipes, tin whistle, string arrangements * 2003: Martina McBride - Martina ( RCA ) - tin whistle on track 1, ''So Magical'' * 2003: Sara Evans - Restless (RCA Nashville) - tin whistle, concertina * 2003: Dixie Chicks - Top of the World Tour: Live (Monument) - acoustic guitar, tin whistle, concertina, percussion, papoose guitar, string arrangement for “Top Of The World” * 2004: Peter Cetera – You Just Gotta Love Christmas – tin whistle, low whistles * 2004: Selah - Hiding Place ( Curb ) – tin whistle * 2005: various artists - Happy Land: Musical Tributes to Laura Ingalls Wilder (Pa's Fiddle) - track 10, ''Oft in the Stilly Night'' (accompanying Deborah Packard on guitar) * 2007: Butch Baldassari - The Vespa Love Festival Sessions ( CD Baby ) * 2007: Donna Ulisse - When I Look Back (Hadley) - tin whistle, concertina, harmonium * 2007: Gretchen Peters - Burnt Toast & Offerings (Scarlet Letter) - concertina, tin whistle on track 10, ''This Town'' * 2008: Peter Corry - Sounds of the Soul (self-released) - concertina * 2008: Janet McLaughlin - Shine In The Moon (Muddy Paw) - acoustic guitar, low whistle, tin whistle, concertina * 2008: Dolly Parton - Backwoods Barbie (Dolly) - tin whistle, bodhrán, harmonium on track 6, ''Only Dreamin * 2008: The Waybacks - Loaded ( Compass ) – tin whistle * 2008: Sara Evans – Born To Fly/Restless – tin whistle, concertina * 2009: John Cowan - Comfort and Joy ( eOne ) - guitar, tin whistle * 2011: Craig Duncan - Irish Country Christmas (Green Hill) - tin whistle, bodhrán, guitar * 2011: Kathy Troccoli - Christmas Songs (Green Hill) - bouzouki, guitar, low whistle * 2012: Anna Ternheim - The Night Visitor ( V2 Records ) - tin whistle on track 8, ''God Don't Know'' * 2013: Dawn McCarthy and Bonnie and Prince; Billy - What the Brothers Sang ( Drag City ) - mandolin, harmonium * 2013: Craig Campbell - Never Regret ( Bigger Picture ) - harmonium * 2014: Jim Hendricks and Jeff Lisenby - Celtic Heritage: Favorite Irish, Scottish and Old English Melodies (Green Hill) - guitar, mandolin * 2014: Dolly Parton – Blue Smoke - harmonium * 2015: Tom Paxton - Redemption Road (Pax) – tin whistle * 2016: Alan Jackson – Precious Memories Collection - Harmonium, tin whistle, uilleann pipes * 2017: The Westies - Six On the Out (Audio & Video Labs) – tin whistle * 2017: Lady Antebellum – Gentle Giant: The Songs of Don Williams – string arrangement and guitar solo on “We've Got A Good Fire Going”

As arranger

* 1991:

- ''

Time Passes By ''Time Passes By'' is the sixth studio album by American country music artist Kathy Mattea. It was released in 1991 (see 1991 in country music) on Mercury Records. The album, like her last two studio albums before it, was certified gold by the R ...

'' (

Polygram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...

) - string arrangements * 1995:

George Ducas Voivode George Ducas (Greek: ''Γεώργιος Δούκας'', Romanian: ''Gheorghe Duca'') (c. 1620 – 31 March 1685) was three times prince of Moldavia (September 1665 – May 1666, November 1668 – 20 August 1672, November 1678 – January ...

- ''

'' (Liberty / Capitol) - mandolin arrangements * 1995:

October Project October Project is an American pop rock band based in New York City. The group reached critical and commercial success with their 1990s Epic Records releases ''October Project'' and ''Falling Farther In''. The group's piano-driven music is charact ...

- ''Falling Farther In'' (

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements Epic or EPIC may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and medi ...

) - track 8, "One Dream" * 1996: Lambchop - '' How I Quit Smoking'' (

Merge Merge, merging, or merger may refer to: Concepts * Merge (traffic), the reduction of the number of lanes on a road * Merge (linguistics), a basic syntactic operation in generative syntax in the Minimalist Program * Merger (politics), the comb ...

) - song arrangements * 1996: Nashville Mandolin Ensemble - ''Gifts (

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

) * 1997: Silvain Vanot - ''Egérie'' (Labels) - string arrangements * 1998:

Hal Bynum Harold L. Bynum (September 29, 1934 – June 2, 2022) was an American songwriter associated with the Outlaw country movement in the 1970s. Bynum wrote more than 200 songs for popular country artists, including Kenny Rogers (" Lucille"), Patty L ...

- ''If I Could Do Anything'' (

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

) - guitar * 1998:

Michael W. Smith Michael Whitaker Smith (born October 7, 1957) is an American musician who has charted in both contemporary Christian and mainstream charts. His biggest success in mainstream music was in 1991 when " Place in This World" hit No. 6 on the '' ...

- ''

Live the Life ''Live the Life'' is an album by Michael W. Smith. One notable song on this album was "In My Arms Again," which Michael W. Smith wrote for the film ''Titanic''. There were 26 songs written and completed for the album, whose release date was push ...

'' (

Reunion Reunion may refer to: * Class reunion * Family reunion Reunion, Réunion, Re-union, Reunions or The Reunion may also refer to: Places * Réunion, a French overseas department and island in the Indian Ocean * Reunion, Commerce City, Colorado, U ...

) - woodwind arrangements * 1999:

with the

- ''

The Dust Bowl Symphony ''The Dust Bowl Symphony'' is an album released by Nanci Griffith in 1999. It consists of songs Griffith had previously released on other albums, but re-recorded with an orchestral backing. The album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios with the Lo ...

'' ( Elektra) - song arrangements * 2002:

- ''

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

'' (

Monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

) - track 12, "Top Of The World" * 2002: Sylvia - A Cradle In Bethlehem (Red Pony) - all string arrangements * 2003: Dixie Chicks - '' Top of the World Tour: Live'' (Monument) - cello arrangements, string arrangements * 2016: Sylvia - It's All in the Family (Red Pony) - all string arrangements * 2018: Sylvia – Second Bloom – The Hits Re-Imagined (Red Pony) - all string arrangements

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mock, John Living people 21st-century American composers Year of birth missing (living people) American multi-instrumentalists American tin whistle players American folk guitarists American mandolinists American session musicians Musicians from Connecticut 21st-century flautists