Biography

Long John Baldry was already a legend when he moved to Canada in 1978. He had started performing acoustic blues in London in the late 50s and worked with fellow blues pioneers Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies in the early 60s. John was an inspiration to The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton, and mentored Rod Stewart and Elton John.
John was an international pop star when I first saw him perform in 1979 in Edmonton. I was struck by the amount of blues material in his set. Our friendship developed over the years, the hits dried up, and I asked him to record a blues inspired album for Stony Plain in 1991. It Still Ain’t Easy helped to re-establish his career in Europe and Australia. It was followed by On Stage Tonight - Baldry’s Out (1993). Our next studio album Right To Sing The Blues (1996) won a Juno Award. It was followed by the Long John Baldry Trio Live (2000), and his final studio album Remembering Leadbelly (2001). Leadbelly was his main inspiration and he always said it was a dream come true to record that album playing his 12 string guitar.
At 6’7” John was a larger then life character. Totally unpretentious, he was a well read historian, a musicologist, antiquarian and epicurean. On stage he was always immaculately dressed and spontaneous with a very British sense of humour. He delighted in breaking into foreign accents during introductions and had a sense of stage craft like no other. A fun loving, theatrical showman who brought out the best in musicians. John’s circle of friends was large and included people from all walks of life. He was a dear friend whose generosity and deep talent are missed.
Holger Petersen, Stony Plain Records