John Ford (born 1 July 1948) is an English musician. He relocated to the United States in the mid-1980s and now resides on the North Shore of

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...

. Ford has toured and played with musicians such as

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer Boats * Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guitar ...

The Eagles The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles and six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s ...

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted int ...

/ T. Rex,

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American Rock music, rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla ( ...

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sound ...

, RUSH,

REO Speedwagon REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Speedwagon) is an American rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial success throughout the 1980s. The ...

, Steppenwolf,

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Ju ...

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he ba ...

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 ...

, Roy Harper and

Dave Mason David Thomas Mason (born 10 May 1946) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Worcester, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic. Over the course of his career, Mason has played and recorded with many notable pop and rock mu ...

. His versatility has let him play a wide range of venues from

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

to large scale international rock venues.

Biography

Ford was born in the South West London district of

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

and grew up in a household where his father played piano and his four sisters were singers. Ford went to a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

school, where church attendance was mandatory, and began singing there. When he was very young, his grandmother bought him a

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

, then he got an Emenee toy Elvis Presley guitar and a guitar book; by the time he was 9, he had learned several chords. When he was 14, his father bought him a

Höfner 500/1 The Höfner 500/1 Violin Bass (sometimes nicknamed the "Beatle Bass" or "Cavern Bass") is a model of electric bass manufactured by Höfner under several varieties. It was introduced in 1955 and gained celebrity status during the 1960s as the pri ...

bass, a guitar that was particularly popular at the time because it was used by

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

. Ford’s two idols were McCartney and

Lonnie Donegan Anthony James Donegan (29 April 1931 – 3 November 2002), known as Lonnie Donegan, was a British skiffle singer, songwriter and musician, referred to as the "King of Skiffle", who influenced 1960s British pop and rock musicians. Born in Scotl ...

; Ford was most inspired by McCartney’s ‘popping’ bass on

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

’ "

With a Little Help from My Friends "With a Little Help from My Friends" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, from their 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. It was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and sung by drummer Ringo Starr (as Sgt. Pe ...

" and used that same technique throughout his career. In 1964, Ford joined with some school mates to form a band called Jaymes Fenda and the Vulcans. That November, they released two singles, "Mistletoe Love” and "The Only Girl", both of which were written by Ford. "Mistletoe Love" got some radio play through that Christmas season, but the band split up shortly afterwards. In October 1966, Ford stepped in to replace the bass player of a South London R&B/soul band called the Five Proud Walkers, and made his debut when the band opened for

Champion Jack Dupree William Thomas "Champion Jack" Dupree (July 23, 1909 or July 4, 1910 – January 21, 1992) was an American blues and boogie-woogie pianist and singer. His nickname was derived from his early career as a boxer. Biography Dupree was a New Orleans ...

. The Five Proud Walkers was a popular club band and played a constant stream of gigs in and around London. But, in the spring of 1967, they toured England with

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

and decided to make the shift to

Psychedelic music Psychedelic music (sometimes called psychedelia) is a wide range of popular music styles and genres influenced by 1960s psychedelia, a subculture of people who used psychedelic drugs such as LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, mescaline, and cannabis to ...

. That July, they changed their name to Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera. The band released three albums and several singles but, in May 1970, Ford and drummer Richard Hudson left the band to join The

Strawbs Strawbs (or The Strawbs) are an English rock band founded in 1964 as the Strawberry Hill Boys. The band started out as a bluegrass group, but eventually moved on to other styles such as folk rock and progressive rock. They are best known fo ...

. Ford's influence on the band, primarily known as a

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

group, shifted them into a new direction in the progressive /

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...

scene. Ford penned songs such as "

Heavy Disguise "Heavy Disguise" is a song by English band Strawbs written by bassist John Ford. The track first appeared on the '' Grave New World'' album and features just John Ford from the band singing and accompanying himself on the acoustic guitar backed ...

" and "

Part of the Union "Part of the Union" is a song by English band Strawbs, featured on their 1973 album '' Bursting at the Seams'' and was the band's most successful single, peaking at No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart. It also reached No. 10 in the Irish Singles Char ...

", Strawbs' biggest chart hit, whilst working with

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

/ T. Rex producer

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

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 ...

. Ford reieved an Ivor Novello Award for "

". Ford received three

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

discs, and a platinum disc. A few years later, Ford and Richard Hudson formed

Hudson Ford Hudson Ford were a UK rock band-style duo, formed when John Ford and Richard Hudson left Strawbs in 1973. The original line-up featured Hudson (now playing guitar instead of drums) and Ford along with Chris Parren on keyboards, Mickey Keen ...

, signed to A&M, and released the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

hits "Pick Up The Pieces", "Burn Baby Burn" and "Floating in the Wind" and three albums - ''Nickelodeon'', ''Free Spirit'' and ''Worlds Collide''. They then moved to

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company * CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990 * CBS Records (2006), founde ...

for the ''Daylight'' album. In 1979, Ford hit the charts again with

The Monks The Monks, referred to by the name monks on record sleeves, were an American garage rock band formed in Gelnhausen, West Germany in 1964. Assembled by five American GIs stationed in the country, the group grew tired of the traditional format ...

, a

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

project of sorts also picked up by EMI, with the surprise

novelty Novelty (derived from Latin word ''novus'' for "new") is the quality of being new, or following from that, of being striking, original or unusual. Novelty may be the shared experience of a new cultural phenomenon or the subjective perception of an ...

double platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

hit, "Nice Legs Shame About the Face" from '' Bad Habits'' and "Suspended Animation". Ford also developed an alter ego in High Society with 1930s-style

melodies A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...

, releasing a self-titled album in 1984. In 1986, Ford relocated to the U.S., and started working on his solo project and concerts. Ford teamed up again with Strawbs for the 30 Year Reunion Tour in 1998, performing as bass guitarist and vocalist, after a hiatus since the late 1980s, and again for the 2001 Strawbs' UK Spring Tour. In between, in 1999, Ford played on

's band '' Blackmore's Night'' release ''

Under a Violet Moon ''Under a Violet Moon'' is the second studio album by the group Blackmore's Night, released May 25, 1999. ''Under a Violet Moon'' won the New Age Voice award for the best vocal album of the year. Track listing Personnel ;Blackmore's Night *R ...

'', their second international release, which featured Ford on "Wind in the Willows". He also played some shows with the band. In January 2004, Ford opened for

at a

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

concert venue, The Downtown the was located in Farmingdale,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. July 2004's Strawbs Summer UK Electric Tour, featured Ford on bass and vocals with the original UK electric line up from the 1970s. Some of his live performances can be viewed on DVD, on ''Strawbs Live in Tokyo'' and ''The Complete Strawbs – Live at Chiswick House''. March 2006, Ford returned to UK for another Strawbs Electric Tour filmed and recorded for ''Lay Down with The Strawbs'' DVD/CD, featuring John Ford leading on "Part of the Union". In September 2009, John Ford joined Strawbs for their 40th Anniversary Weekend at Twickenham Rugby Stadium, London, which included keyboardist

Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist best known as a former member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his solo albums released in the 1970s. Born and raised ...

. The Live CD release for the event, ''Strawbs 40th Anniversary Celebration Vol. 1: Strawberry Fayre'' released in 2010, features John Ford on two of his songs, "Together Apart" and "Floating in the Wind". Ford appears on ''Lay Down with the Strawbs'' the 2006 Strawbs UK Electric Tour features John Ford on "Kissed by the Sun", "Heavy Disguise" and "Part of the Union". April 2011 marked the release of John Ford's latest album, ''Resurrected – The Best of and Then Some'', a chronological collection of some of Ford's solo material, in addition to five newly recorded songs. 2012 brought Ford, as founding member of

, a Double Platinum Record Award from

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

for ''Bad Habits'' whilst in Toronto, Canada in July, for a special Monks BAD HABITS Tribute show at the well-known Horseshoe Tavern. The Monks' Tribute show featured numerous members of top Canadian bands – including Sloan,

The New Pornographers The New Pornographers are a Canadian indie rock band, formed in 1997 in Vancouver. Presented as a musical collective of singer-songwriters and musicians from multiple projects, the band has released eight studio albums to critical acclaim for th ...

, C'mon, Cursed, and

Small Sins Small Sins, formerly The Ladies and Gentlemen, is the Toronto-based indie rock act of Thomas D'Arcy. The project's studio recordings are mainly created by D'Arcy with the aid of synthesizers, and then performed on stage by the full band. History D ...

– with

Thomas D'Arcy Thomas D'Arcy is a Canadian singer and songwriter born in Guernsey, Channel Islands. D'Arcy's family immigrated to Toronto, Ontario in 1981. He has been a member of indie rock bands The Carnations, All Systems Go!, Small Sins, Another Blue Doo ...

at the helm, producing the tribute show. D'Arcy also put together the '' Bad Habits'' tribute album, on which Ford is featured. Plans are under way for '' Bad Habits'' going the route of

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...

's ''American Idiot'' stage musical as a one-act, British punk rock opera production. John Ford just completed two new Halloween songs – "Halloween – I'm The Nightmare in Your Dreams Club Mix" for the Space Drama pop, electronica dance project with, and rocking, "Halloween – There's A Party Going On" with Ian Lloyd of Stories, for the Ford-Lloyd project. Ian Lloyd is best known as lead singer for No. 1 hit " Brother Louie" and founding member of Stories band. Lloyd sings the theme song for

Louis C.K. Louis Alfred Székely (; born September 12, 1967), known professionally as Louis C.K. (), is an American stand-up comedian, screenwriter, actor, and filmmaker. C.K. won three Peabody Awards, three Grammy Awards, six Primetime Emmy Awards, and a ...

's comedy on FX – '' Louie''.

Discography

Jaymes Fenda and the Vulcans *"Mistletoe Love" / "The Only Girl" (1964),

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

Records *''Ready Steady - Win!'' (1964, compilation),

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 ...

Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera *''Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera'' (1968), Direction Records *''Ride a Hustler's Dream'' (1969), See For Miles Records *''The Very Best Of'' (1996, compilation),

See for Miles Records See for Miles Records (SFM) was a British record label which was one of the first British re-issue specialists predating the emergence of compact discs. See for Miles reissued most of the records of many labels including Dandelion Records on C ...

Singles: *"Flames" / "Salisbury Plain" (1967) *"Flames" / "What's The Point of Leaving" (1967) *"Mary Jane" / "Dreamy" (1968) *"Volcano" / "A Quick B" (1969) *"Anna Dance Square" / "Don't You Realise" (1969) *"Black Jack Davy" / "Statesboro Blues" (1970) *"She Keeps Giving Me These Feelings" / "There's a Hole in My Pocket" (1970) Strawbs *''

Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios ''Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios'' is the third album by the Strawbs, mostly recorded live at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London on 11 July 1970. The album reached number 27 in the UK Albums Chart. The band line-up had changed from ...

'' (1970),

*''Witchwood'' (1971, EP), A&M *'' From the Witchwood'' (1971), A&M *''

Grave New World ''Grave New World'' is the fourth studio album by English band Strawbs, their fifth overall. It was the first album to be released after the departure of Rick Wakeman, who was replaced by Blue Weaver, late of Amen Corner. Background Tony ...

'' (1972, also co-producer), A&M *'' Bursting at the Seams'' (1973), A&M *''Stereo Pop Special-40'' (1973),

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Biography

Discography

References

External links