Long John Baldry

John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was a British and Canadian musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including the Rolling Stones, the Animals and the Beatles. Before achieving stardom, Rod Stewart and Elton John were members of bands led by Baldry. He enjoyed pop success in 1967 when "Let the Heartaches Begin" reached No. 1 in the UK, and in Australia where his duet with the American singer Kathi McDonald, a cover of the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'", reached No. 2 in 1980.

Baldry lived in Canada from the late-1970s onward, and continued to make records there. Beginning in the mid-1980s, he took up voiceover work, most notably as Doctor Ivo Robotnik in Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.

John William Baldry was born on 12 January 1941, at East Haddon Hall, East Haddon, Northamptonshire, which was serving as a makeshift wartime maternity ward. He was the son of William James Baldry (1915–1990), a Metropolitan Police constable and his wife, Margaret Louisa (née Parker; 1915–1989); their usual address was recorded as 18 Frinton Road, East Ham. His early life was spent in Edgware, Middlesex, where he attended Camrose Primary School until the age of 11, after which he attended Downer Grammar School (now Canons High School).

Baldry grew to 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m), resulting in the nickname "Long John". He appeared quite regularly in the early 1960s in the Gyre & Gimble coffee lounge, around the corner from Charing Cross railway station, and at the Bluesville R. & B. Club, Manor House, London, also Klooks Kleek (Railway Hotel, West Hampstead). He appeared weekly for some years at Eel Pie Island on the Thames at Twickenham and also appeared at the Station Hotel in Richmond, one of the Rolling Stones' earliest venues.

In the early 1960s, he sang with Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated, with whom he recorded the first British blues album in 1962, R&B from the Marquee. At stages, Mick Jagger, Jack Bruce and Charlie Watts were members of this band while Keith Richards and Brian Jones played on stage, although none played on the R&B at the Marquee album. When the Rolling Stones made their debut at the Marquee Club in July 1962, Baldry put together a group to support them. Later, he was the announcer introducing the Stones on their United States-only live album Got Live If You Want It! in 1966.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.