Jon Mark (born John Michael Burchell; 8 May 1943 – 10 February 2021) was an English singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his recordings with

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

Sweet Thursday ''Sweet Thursday'' is a 1954 novel by John Steinbeck. It is a sequel to ''Cannery Row'' and set in the years after the end of World War II. According to Steinbeck, "Sweet Thursday" is the day between Lousy Wednesday and Waiting Friday. Plot sum ...

John Mayall John Mayall, OBE (born 29 November 1933) is an English blues singer, musician and songwriter, whose musical career spans over sixty years. In the 1960s, he was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among it ...

and

Mark-Almond Mark–Almond was a jazz-influenced English pop group of the 1970s and early 1980s, sometimes also called The Mark-Almond Band. The core members were Jon Mark, who sang lead and played guitar, percussion, and harmonica and Johnny Almond who p ...

. Mark, who received a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

in 2004, lived in

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

, New Zealand.

Biography

Jon Mark was born in

Falmouth, Cornwall Falmouth ( ; kw, Aberfala) is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,797 (2011 census). Etymology The name Falmouth is of English or ...

, England. Using his given name, he and a former schoolmate, Alun Davies; singer-songwriter, folk guitarist and skiffle musician, (later of

Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later in ...

' band), recorded as a duo, an album entitled '' Relax Your Mind'', on

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

.Anderson, Murphy,
Magicat: ''Relax Your Mind With Jon and Alun''
/ref> Both travelled extensively throughout the UK, and France,

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...

until they secured a job entertaining on a

Cunard Line Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Berm ...

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

. From 1965 on Mark accompanied

on her

recordings A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...

and concerts. Moreover he wrote and arranged some songs for her. In 1968 Mark and Davies founded the short-lived five-piece band

which was composed of Mark, Davies,

Nicky Hopkins Nicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. Hopkins performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, most notably ...

, Harvey Burns, and

Brian Odgers Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word meani ...

. In December 1968

Tetragrammaton The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew language, Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', ''he (l ...

released a single which contained "Getting It Together" (Side A) and "Mary on the Runaround" (Side B) which were composed by Mark but were not included on the group's lone album, the eponymous ''

'' on

Fontana Records Fontana Records is a record label that was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records. The independent label distributor Fontana Distribution takes its name from the label. History Fontana started in the 1950s as a subs ...

. However, the album was not promoted by their

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

, and the bandmates never toured. Fontana later declared bankruptcy. Hence Mark joined

's (post-Bluesbreakers) with whom he toured and recorded '' The Turning Point'' (1969) and ''

Empty Rooms ''Empty Rooms'' is a studio album by English blues musician John Mayall, released in March 1970 on Polydor. It is a follow-up to the live album '' The Turning Point'', released earlier in the year with the same musicians: Jon Mark on acous ...

'' (1969). There he met

Johnny Almond Johnny Almond (20 July 1946 – 18 November 2009) was a British saxophonist, who is best known for his recordings with the Alan Price Set, Fleetwood Mac, John Mayall and Mark-Almond. Biography Johnny Almond was born in Enfield, Middlesex, Engla ...

with whom he decided to form

. Mark-Almond's first two albums, ''Mark-Almond'' (1971) and ''Mark-Almond II'' (1972) were recorded for Bob Krasnow's

Blue Thumb Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obse ...

label, and were noted for their embossed envelope-style

album cover An album cover (also referred to as album art) is the front packaging art of a commercially released studio album or other audio recordings. The term can refer to either the printed paperboard covers typically used to package sets of and 78-r ...

s. For the first album, ''The Ghetto'' received many plaudits and from the second "One Way Sunday" was a

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization in ...

for them in the United States and received radio airplay on album-oriented rock stations in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts in 1970. The group then recorded two albums for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, ''Rising'' (1972) and the live album, ''Mark-Almond 73'' (1973), by which time the group's members had grown to seven. In October 1972, Mark was involved in an accident in Hawaii and lost most of his left-hand

ring finger The ring finger, third finger, fourth finger, leech finger, or annulary is the fourth digit of the human hand, located between the middle finger and the little finger. Sometimes the term ring finger only refers to the fourth digit of a left-han ...

. "What Am I Living For" from ''Mark-Almond 73'' gained the group the most US

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

they would get, but nevertheless they disbanded later that year. Mark released a solo record for Columbia ''Song for a Friend'' in 1975. He and Almond reunited in 1975 and released the outstanding ''To the Heart'' on

ABC Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels befo ...

(which had acquired Blue Thumb) in 1976, which featured the drummer

Billy Cobham William Emanuel Cobham Jr. (born May 16, 1944) is a Panamanian Americans, Panamanian–American jazz drummer who came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with trumpeter Miles Davis and then with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. He was indu ...

. Other notable musicians, who have recorded or toured with Mark-Almond include drummer

Dannie Richmond Charles Daniel Richmond (December 15, 1931 – March 16, 1988) was an American jazz drummer who is best known for his work with Charles Mingus. He also worked with Joe Cocker, Elton John and Mark-Almond. Biography Richmond was born Charles ...

, violinist Greg Bloch, keyboardist

Tommy Eyre Tommy Eyre (5 June 1949 – 23 May 2001) was an English session keyboardist from Sheffield, England, who appeared on records by Joe Cocker, John Martyn, Gary Moore, Michael Schenker, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Greg Lake, B.B. King, John ...

and bassist Roger Sutton. Eyre and Sutton later teamed in

Riff Raff Riff Raff, Riffraff, or Riff-Raff, a term for the common people but with negative connotations, may refer to: In music * Riff Raff (rapper), from Texas * Riff Raff (band), a UK progressive rock band * Riff Raff, a band formed by Billy Bragg * ...

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

signed the duo in 1978 and released ''Other Peoples Rooms'', but the record did not sell as well as earlier releases. Mark-Almond disbanded again in the mid 1980s, after releasing two decent albums, ''Tuesday in New York'' (1980) and a live offering ''The Last & Live'' (1981). In 1996 Mark-Almond reunited again for a CD release, ''Night Music'', which featured keyboardist

Mike Nock Michael Anthony Nock (born 27 September 1940) is a New Zealand jazz pianist, currently based in Australia. Biography He was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. Nock began studying piano at 11. He attended Nelson College for one term in 1955.' ...

and others. Mark moved to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in the mid 1980s, and released a number of successful solo

Ambient music Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. It may lack net composition, beat, or structured melody.The Ambient Century by Mark Prendergast, Bloomsbury, London, 2003. It u ...

recordings on his White Cloud record label, as well as collaborating with other artists on traditional Celtic and folk recordings and producing other artists. A release of Tibetan Monk chants Mark recorded and produced with his wife Thelma Burchell won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

. On 29 December 2015, Jon Mark's wife, Thelma Burchell (born 20 November 1943) died. Mark died on 10 February 2021, at age 77.

Discography

Early 45-records

* "Baby I Got A Long Way To Go" / "Night Comes Down" (Brunswick UK 05929, 19 February 1965). * "Paris Bells" / "Little Town Girl" (Brunswick UK 05952, Feb 1966). * "All Neat in Black Stockings" / "Run To Me" (Philips UK BF 1772, Apr 1969). From Robert Cornford's soundtrack for

Christopher Morahan Christopher Thomas Morahan Order of the British Empire, CBE (9 July 1929 – 7 April 2017) was a British stage and television director and production executive. Biography Early life and career Morahan was born on 9 July 1929 in London, the son ...

's ''

All Neat in Black Stockings ''All Neat in Black Stockings'' is a 1969 British comedy film directed by Christopher Morahan and starring Victor Henry, Susan George and Jack Shepherd.British Film Institute Film & TV DatabaseAll Neat in Black Stockings./ref> Based on a novel ...

Early albums

* Jon and Alun: Relax Your Mind (1963) *

: ''

'' (1969) *

: '' The Turning Point'' (1969) *

: ''

'' (1969) * Paul Williams & Friends: ''In Memory of Robert Johnson'' (1973)

Mark-Almond

* ''Mark-Almond'' (1971) * ''Mark-Almond II'' (1972) * ''Rising'' (1972) * ''73'' (1973) * ''To the Heart'' (1976) * ''Other Peoples Rooms'' (1978) * ''Tuesday in New York'' (1980) * ''Last & Live'' (1981) * ''Night Music'' (1996)

Solo work

* ''Sally Free And Easy'' (1965; released 2017) * ''Songs for a Friend'' (1975) * ''The Lady and the Artist'' (1983) * ''The Standing Stones of Callanish'' (1988) * ''Land of Merlin'' (1992) * ''Alhambra'' (1992) * ''Hot Night'' (1994) * ''Celtic Story'' (1995) * ''A Sunday in Autumn'' (1995) * ''Asia Journey'' (1996) * ''Solitary Journeys'' (1997) * ''All The Best From Jon Mark'' (1997) * ''Leaving of Ireland'' (1998) (with David Anthony Clark). * ''Quiet Land of Erin'' (2003) (with Deirdre Starr) * ''Meditation on Winter'' (2004) * ''New York, New York - 24 hours in the Big Apple'' (ft. John Stanford & Nick van Dijk) (2008) * ''Sand'' (ft. David Parsons) (2008)

Band member

: "

Come My Way ''Come My Way'' is the second studio album by English singer Marianne Faithfull. It was released simultaneously with her album ''Marianne Faithfull'' on 15 April 1965 by Decca Records. The double release was a result of different creative dire ...

" *

: "Live at the BBC" * Mable Hillery: "It's So Hard To Be A Nigger" (1968) (Guitar) * Ronnie Paisley Band: Smoking Mirrors * Radha

ahar Ahar ( fa, italic=yes, اهر, az, اهر) is a city and capital of Ahar County, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. According to the 2016 census, Ahar was the fourth most populated city of the province with a population of 100,641 in 20,844 fam ...

& The Kiwi Kids: Sing along with Teddy (als John Burchell, vocals) (2007)Sing along with Teddy
(John Burchell, vocals)

References

External links

* allmusic-Biografie
Jon Mark.
* Rolling Stone Encyclopedia
Mark-Almond Band
* allmusic-Biografie
Mark-Almond.

*

Shel Talmy Sheldon Talmy (born August 11, 1937) is an American record producer, songwriter and arranger, best known for his work in the UK in the 1960s with the Who, the Kinks and many others. Talmy arranged and produced hits such as "You Really Got Me" ...

The blueprint for producing ‘See My Friends’.
On Jon Mark's impact on

Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

See My Friends "See My Friends" (sometimes titled "See My Friend") is a song by the English rock band the Kinks, written by the group's singer and guitarist, Ray Davies. Released in July 1965, it reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart, ''Record Retailer'' c ...

. August 2020. * Video
Celebrating the life and music of John Michael Burchell (aka Jon Mark).
May 7 2021. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mark, Jon 1943 births 2021 deaths People from Falmouth, Cornwall Blues revival musicians Blues rock musicians British blues (genre) musicians Electric blues musicians English blues musicians English blues singers British rhythm and blues boom musicians English male singer-songwriters John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers members