John Leon Joseph Pavlik (May 25, 1938 – January 16, 2023), known professionally as Johnny Powers, was an American guitar player, singer, writer and producer specializing in

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

. Powers was best known for his 1957 recording on the now-defunct Fox Records label entitled "Long Blond Hair". Powers (as Pavlik) began his professional career in 1953 at age 15, when he joined a local Detroit country band known as Jimmy Williams and the Drifters. Later, having become a fan of

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...

and the young

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, Powers began to include rock & roll elements in his music.Real Detroit Weekly

/ref> Until 1955, Powers performed and recorded under his birth name but, following a studio session for

Fortune Records Fortune Records was an American family operated, independent record label located in Detroit, Michigan from 1946 to 1995. The label owners were Jack and Devora Brown, their son Sheldon Brown recorded for the label. Original releases tapered off ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, co-owner Devora Brown – seeing Pavlik eating a PowerHouse candy bar – gave him the stage name of Johnny Powers. Powers released a pair of singles on the Fox Records label (not to be confused with today's

20th Century Fox Records 20th Century Fox Records (also known as 20th Fox Records and 20th Century Records, or simply 20th Century Fox Film Scores and Fox Records) was a wholly owned subsidiary of film studio 20th Century Fox. The history of the label covers three dis ...

), including "Long Blond Hair". Fox went out of business soon thereafter and in 1959 Powers signed with

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny C ...

, which released one single under his name. In 1960, Powers met with

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record la ...

and signed on with

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...

, becoming the first white male musician to do so; he is also thought to be the only recording artist to have ever been under contract to both Sun and Motown Records. In his five year relationship with Motown, Powers devoted most of his energies to producing and writing rather than recording. Powers was inducted into the

Rockabilly Hall of Fame The Rockabilly Hall of Fame is an organization and website launched on March 21, 1997, to present early rock and roll history and information relating to the artists and personalities involved in rockabilly. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennesse ...

. Powers died in Michigan on January 16, 2023, at the age of 84.

References

External Links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Powers, Johnny 1938 births 2023 deaths American rockabilly musicians Country musicians from Michigan Motown artists People from Eastpointe, Michigan Sun Records artists