John Lawry (born June 15, 1950) is a

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Ch ...

musician, composer, producer, and songwriter. He was the keyboardist of

Petra Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to t ...

from 1984 to 1994. After his departure, Lawry dedicated himself to producing and record engineering. From 2010 to 2012, he rejoined some of his former Petra bandmates to record and tour under the name of Classic Petra. In 2013, he officially rejoined Petra as their keyboardist.

Biography

According to his personal testimony as recorded on Petra's ''

Captured In Time and Space ''Captured in Time and Space'' is the first live album of Christian rock band Petra. The concert was re-released on DVD in 2006. This was the last Petra album to feature Greg X. Volz as lead vocalist. Track listing ;Vinyl release ;CD re ...

'' live album, John was born in Japan but abandoned on the street. After being taken by missionaries to a mission home, he was subsequently adopted by an American family from Michigan. Lawry grew up in

Millington, Michigan Millington is a village in Tuscola County, Michigan, United States. The population was 1,072 at the 2010 census. The village is located within Millington Township. Millington and the surrounding area is known as a "bedroom community" of both S ...

. Lawry showed musical skills from an early age. When he was nine, he learned to play the

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

. When he grew up he went to Millington High School and was involved in the school band, where he played a variety of instruments. Lawry graduated in 1969 and continued working in music. Lawry contributed to several projects during the following years. In 1982, he joined the Joe English Band and recorded three albums with them. He also recorded with the band's side project: Forerunner. Lawry met Petra founder and guitarist

Bob Hartman Robert "Bob" Hartman (born December 26, 1949) is a Christian artist, guitarist, writer and songwriter. He is the founder of Christian rock band Petra. Hartman was involved with the band from its foundation in 1972 to its end in 2005. He took ...

during his time with the Joe English Band. After the departure of Petra keyboardist, John Slick, Lawry was asked to fill in for some shows, and eventually was asked to join the band. In 1984 he joined Petra recording a total of nine albums with the band. During this period, the band won three

Grammys 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 ...

and several other awards. In 1986, Lawry played a keyboard solo on

Greg X. Volz Gregory Xavier Volz (born January 12, 1950) is a Christian rock singer. He is most noted for being the lead singer of Petra from 1979 to 1985. He has continued to sing, sporadically, for different iterations of Petra such as Classic Petra (201 ...

(former Petra lead singer) first solo effort. In 1990, he released ''Media Alert'' as a solo album. Lawry left Petra in 1994 to dedicate to a career producing and recording. He was replaced by his keyboard technician,

Jim Cooper James Hayes Shofner Cooper (born June 19, 1954) is an American lawyer, businessman, professor, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for (based in Nashville and containing parts of Davidson, Cheatham, and Dickson Counties) fro ...

. He also released a second solo album, ''Excursions'', in 1997. In 2005, Lawry joined the stage again with Petra during one of the band's final presentations that was released as the ''

Petra Farewell ''Farewell'' is the second live album released by Christian rock band Petra. It was released in 2005. A DVD of the concert was released in 2006. This is the band's second live album, and it was recorded during the band's ''Farewell'' tour in F ...

'' CD and DVD. Lawry, along with the "classic" 1980s Petra lineup (John Lawry, Greg X. Volz,

Mark Kelly Mark Edward Kelly (born February 21, 1964) is an American politician, former astronaut, and United States Navy captain who has served as the junior United States senator from Arizona since 2020. A member of the Democratic Party, he was electe ...

, and

Louie Weaver Louie Adrian Weaver III (born July 13, 1951) is a drummer most famous for being the long-time drummer of Christian rock band Petra. Weaver was dismissed from the band in 2003. He is currently working on several projects. In 2010, Weaver reunited ...

) reunited in 2010 under the name of Classic Petra. They recorded an album with two new songs and new versions of classic songs by the name of ''Back to the Rock''. The album, which was produced by Lawry, was the first studio album by this line-up since 1985's '' Beat the System''. They toured in the later part of 2010 and into 2011. In 2016 and into 2017, Volz collaborated with Lawry in his home to produce a new album for the renamed version of classic Petra, now named Classic Petra Revived (CPR). The album, ''CPR'', was released in October 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawry, John American performers of Christian music Petra (band) members People from Tuscola County, Michigan Living people 1950 births 21st-century American keyboardists