Anderson Township Blues Musician John Ford: Where He’s Been and Where He’s Going

Currently, there are three songs I can’t get out of my head: Pink Floyd’s epic “Comfortably Numb,” “Song for Zula” by Phosphorescent, and “I Don’t Want to Fade Away” by John Ford. As much as I’d like to interview Roger Waters or Matthew Houck to hear the stories behind their respective hits, my access to them is unfortunately limited. John Ford, however; is much more accessible. He’s a local blues man and one of our neighbors hidden in plain sight right here in Anderson Township.

I first learned about John when researching local musicians almost two years ago. One of my readers passed his name on to me, so I visited his website, sampled a few tracks from his 2015 CD, The John Ford Blues Society, and then bought the digital album for $10 after I fell in love with it. Since then, tracks like “Sing it Pretty” and “Road to Tazewell” have earned their way into playlists on my phone’s music app. In fact, the idea to feature John in a story came to me when I found my foot tapping to “April Fools Blues” while stopped at a red light on Beechmont Avenue. Fortunately, after a few emails and John’s blessing, I was able to land an interview.

Local Conversation

I was invited by John to his home on Sutton Road, which is located just down the street from the local favorite, Save Your Bees. In his 109-year-old house, we sat in the dining room in front of a bookshelf filled with texts on music and philosophy. His wife, Pam, had just watered some plants she started indoors ahead of spring. They looked green and happy in front of a giant window that looked out toward an impressive vegetable garden marked by rows of trellises and covers. I’m told Pam is preparing to contribute to the local food cooperatives springing up around town (future story?). We had a brief conversation about my own humble garden ambitions before she departed, leaving John and I alone to talk.

Who is John Ford?

John is tall with a commanding presence but maintains a humble demeanor. His long hair, still thick despite the gray, was tucked behind his ears and rested along the collar of a denim jacket. He’s laid back, but attentive, and reminds me of actor Jeff Bridges at times. In a raspy voice, he told me his real first name is Larry. Interestingly enough, his stage name, “John” was borrowed from his mother Foneva, who went by Johnny.

“All my cousins called her Aunt Johnny,” John said of his mother with a reminiscing smile. She and John’s father, Hobert, raised John and his brother on Gee Hill on the Eastside of New Richmond. “We were up on the hill after 52 goes down to two lanes. Back then it was a neighborhood of small single story houses with farmland across the road and woods behind them. My parents were teachers at the school and so were the neighbors across the street and others down the road. Some people called it ‘Teacher Hill.’”

How it Started

Piano lessons started first when John was six or seven years old. A year or two later, he got his first set of strings; a little 3/4 size guitar purchased from K-Mart. “I didn’t know how to tune it so I started writing songs on it the way it came out of the box,” John said chuckling. “I figured that was good enough.”

Early musical influences were plentiful, but country singer Buck Owens and The Beatles stood out to John the most. “I remember being in health class watching an anti-drug film and the Beatles were playing “With a Little Help from my Friends” and I just thought that was the greatest song in the world. My friend said, ‘You know what that song is about,’ and made puffing noises. I didn’t care about that, it was the amazing harmonies and that vibe The Beatles had that struck me.”

Getting on Stage

John started playing weddings at 18 years old back when people hired bands to perform rather than DJ’s. That was around the time he found himself in various pop and rock bands that would cover Classic Rock legends like The Rolling Stones and The Doors. For the next 20 years or so, John was all rock and no blues except for a few obligatory covers like Hendrix’s “Red House.” “A lot of musicians go through this thing where they say the blues is just three chords and boring, and I was one of those people.” By then John had shaped his voice and style around The Allman Brothers. That was until Ray Charles changed everything.

Transition

After Ray Charles died in 2004 and the movie Ray came out the same year, someone gifted John the soundtrack to the film. “I started listening to his voice and I thought man that guy can really sing, and then I got into the black voice and I thought I want to sing like that.”

It didn’t take long for John to begin his journey down the blues rabbit hole. His research revealed the origins of many blues hits like “Key to the Highway” and “Sittin’ on Top of the World” went way back before polished versions made their mark. The farther he went back, the scratchier and more analog the music got, and the more it resonated with him.

Falling into Place

“It’s hard to explain, but eventually it all just clicked and I got it. I dove into everything old blues and kind of rejected the electric blues. I wanted to go the way of the Delta blues and country blues where if you played slower with feeling, that was where it was at. If you were picking cotton all day and you got home and felt like playing guitar, you’re not going to play fast like the bluegrass players. You’re gonna play like you’re tired. That’s the kind of feeling I try to replicate a lot of times.”

John exemplifies this in his song, “The Road to Tazewell,” a slow thumping track that really pulls you in at the 48-second mark when the harmonica ushers in the deeper notes. Perhaps breaking his own rules a bit, John does speed things up occasionally in songs like “Sing it Pretty,” a lap-tapping track with a southern rock flavor.

Just Do It

“I always had a day job until somewhat recently,” John said, as a way to supplement his humble music earnings, “And that’s the one regret I have – that I didn’t just get out of town at 21 and just go for music full time back then. Being from a small town like New Richmond, it was a big deal to go over to Beechmont Avenue to buy a pair of jeans at McAlpins. I don’t think I had the mentality back then to take off to New York or LA, but that’s one thing I tell people: Just go for it, or you’ll regret it later.”

On the Road

To make ends meet, John ran his own real estate title business until about 2015 when he left it behind to finally focus all his effort on his music. Although John has some loyal local venues who routinely hire him to play live, he has largely outsourced his talent to the south, where the blues seem more appreciated. John routinely travels down south to Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and the like for weeks at a time to play a circuit of smoky blues clubs and bars. The travel is expensive and exhausting, but it’s a blessing in disguise as John gets to play in cities where the ghosts of his blues idols like Robert Johnson, Sun House, and Howlin’ Wolf still roam. Clarksdale, Mississippi is often a host to John, as is much of the Mississippi Delta region and beyond.

In 2014, John recorded the album Songs From Room 414 at the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, Texas. As the name of the album suggests, John set up shop to record in Room 414 of the hotel, the same room Robert Johnson recorded a slew of his best songs back in 1936.

Put Your Hands Together

If you sign up for John’s email list, he sends out a weekly newsletter that posts upcoming gigs and tells stories from his travels. Sometimes he’s happy to report lively crowds and enthusiastic applause, but that is not always the case. Occasionally, John runs into awkward setups where it isn’t clear whether he’s the show or just background music. The confusion can bleed into the audience as well and lead to awkward silences after he finishes a song. And because all musicians have a finely tuned applause meter in their head, the silence can be more than discouraging. Fortunately, when Pam accompanies John on tour, she’ll prompt the crowd with a well-placed applause, a charming act supporting her husband.

Leap of Faith

You’re probably asking yourself, what’s a white guy with a beautiful wife and home in Anderson Township know about the blues? It’s a fair question, and although I’ll spare you an existential rant about suburban malaise, I’ll offer a simpler theory. Men like John who abandon the security of a career to go their own way and tell their truth have one question that constantly haunts them: Am I being heard? If the answer is yes, then they’ve probably made it, and can likely earn a living doing what they love. But if the answer is no, well, I guess that’s when you pick up your guitar, drop your head down low, and write songs like my personal favorite, “I Don’t Want to Fade Away.” Here is the backstory:

John approached a former manager of a local establishment here in Anderson looking for a place to play. The manager, who had never heard of John, asked two of the questions any veteran musician hates to hear: “So, are you any good? Do you have a CD or something?” In the end, he never heard back from the manager and it appeared as if John’s name recognition had shown signs of slowing down. As a musician who had been performing for decades, it was a hard pill for John to swallow. These are the opening lyrics that were written shortly after:

IT’S 5 O'CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON
AND I'M LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO PLAY
SOMEWHERE I CAN TAKE THIS OLD GUITAR
AND WE WON'T GET IN THE WAY

PLACES I'VE BEEN TO AND LESSONS I'VE LEARNED
TROUBLES I HAVE SEEN AND THE BRIDGES I'VE BURNED

I DON'T KNOW ABOUT DYING
BUT I KNOW I DON'T WANT TO FADE AWAY
I DON'T WANT TO FADE AWAY

I would encourage you to listen to the track so you can hear the honesty and worry in his voice for yourself. That’s one of the things I love about John’s music. It’s so genuinely human, and I think it only gets amplified when it’s inspired by events that transpired here right in our town. Proximity is immersive, at least for me. Normally, the closest we can get to the musicians who inspire us is in overpriced stadium seats separated by barricades and more security than the Pope. These barriers, although accepted by us, leave us detached from the creators we admire, and that’s where the power of local artists can really have an impact.

Looking Ahead

John’s future ambitions are bold. He admits that he’s a, “Go big or go home” kind of guy when he says he hopes to play Carnegie Hall or SNL one day – or maybe Red’s Lounge in Clarksdale. “I don’t think I’ve ever known a white man to play at Red’s, so to play there and be accepted would be an ‘I’ve made it’ venue,” John said. Until then, John is saving money to hire a music producer to produce an album featuring a slew of new tracks ready to be recorded.

So before John breaks out, take advantage of his talent while it’s still local. There is something special about enjoying a song written by someone you can call a neighbor. Local music rings differently. You’ll see what I mean if you give him a chance. And If you go to one of his shows, keep his spirits high by applauding; bonus points if you can beat Pam to clap first.

Call to Action

Here is how you can support John. First and foremost, if you own a venue that books musicians, hire John. If you work at a venue, give John’s name to your boss. If you patronize a venue, tell management you want to hear John play. As John says, “Word of mouth is best.” Also, be on the lookout for festival promoters. Tell them about John as well.

Some of my readers are in the media. Give John an interview. Play his music on your radio station.

Next, go to John’s website here and download his album. For $10, the cost of two Starbucks coffees, you can support a local artist AND enrich your music library at the same time. Trust me, your playlist will thank you.

• John’s website: https://johnfordblues.com/home
• Buy his music: https://johnfordblues.com/music
• John’s Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@fortywattrodeo
• John’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnfordblues/

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