Name: Johnny J. Blair + The Rover Boys "Pipe Of Peace, A Chippewa Indian Song" (live band rehearsal) by Johnny J Blair
Duration: 3 min 51 s
Description: I learned the lyrics from a vintage children's song book, then adapted it to a hard rock groove ala The Smithereens. This is a lo-fi recording made in a San Francisco rehearsal space with The Rover Boys.

Drums of Jeliza’s joy

Cinderella in the burnt forest

I learned the lyrics from a vintage children's song book, then adapted it to a hard rock groove ala The Smithereens. This is a lo-fi recording made in a San Francisco rehearsal space with The Rover Boys.

Pipe of Peace

Johnny J. Blair + The Rover Boys "Pipe Of Peace, A Chippewa Indian Song" (live band rehearsal)

Hugo

Cornflower fairy dance

David put this song through a few permutations. This is a final version we did, released in 2003 on the (now out of print) JUSTME2 album. It features great guitar work by Tim Breon (Olivia Newton-John, Paul Anka). At the time we felt it should be a theme song for a TV show. Personnel:

David Jones: lead & harmony vocals, percussion, & arranging
Johnny J. Blair: bass, guitars, keyboards, percussion, & harmony vocals
Tim Breon: lead guitars
Skip Kline: drum programs & mixing

It's Just a Matter of Time

It's Just A Matter Of Time (2003 version)

SD9116 SUN STROKEBY PAUL BROOKES.wav

Picasso’s Cello

The Other Sock's Lament

Bella

10 @ 50

Teenage Dream

“Johnny is a virtuoso…” –Brian Wilson
“A delightful entertainer…” earcandy.com
“Pop music with a conscience…” Goldmine magazine
“The Harry Houdini of rock’n’roll” Spotlight magazine

Entertainer, songwriter, and “Singer at Large” Johnny J. Blair is known for his brand of “pop music with a twist,” influenced by Americana, British Invasion rock, old school soul/r’n’b, psychedelia, and punk/new wave, with melodicism breathed by classical, gospel, jazz, and world music. 

As a solo acoustic act or when fronting a band, Johnny engages an audience. He was called “a white James Brown” by Brown’s legendary drummer, Clyde Stubblefield. Johnny’s current itinerary includes performing in assisted living homes for people with disabilities and dementia: “Music goes through the brain into places where math and language don’t reach. It heals, and it makes a difference.”

Since the 80s, Johnny has issued full-length recordings to a global audience— from the “new wave concept album” DOOR IN THE WATER, to the soulful masterwork FIRE, to the bare-knuckled acoustic “agitpop” of TREADMARKS, to the “Ziggy Stardust meets PET SOUNDS” of GRATEFUL to the glam-tango tinged masterwork I LIKE THE STREET (with musical support from The Badlees, Eric Biondo/Beyondo, and Mike Garson, David Bowie’s pianist).

Johnny has worked with a range of acts—most prominently with Davy Jones of The Monkees (“I learned valuable stagecraft from David”). Johnny played and worked with Jones for 20 years, and he was the touring bassist/vocalist with The Monkees 45th Anniversary Tour of the UK and USA. Other artists Johnny has played with are John Bechdel (Ministry), David Cassidy, Buddy & Julie Miller, and Al Stewart (“Year of the Cat”). 

For 2019, Johnny on the beat with fresh material and a new album in the works, WE’RE GETTING CLOSER TO THE SUN. He says, “I’ve played the Royal Albert Hall, CBGB’s, Disney, The Fillmore, Las Vegas, Mabuhay Gardens, the Tokyo Billboard, holy temples in India, desert islands, Caribbean cruise ships, churches, prisons, garages, biker bars, and picnics, but I’ll really hit it big when I play for you!”

Johnny J. Blair + The Rover Boys "Pipe Of Peace, A Chippewa Indian Song" (live band rehearsal)

Johnny J Blair

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