John Ford Coley

Performance Anxiety

Today’s guest should probably do his own podcast. Welcome John Ford Coley to the show. He’s a great storyteller with a lifetime of stories to share. He grew up outside of Dallas where he was classically trained on piano as a kid. He grew up on opera, show tunes, and church music. But rock and roll wormed its way into his soul and he struck a deal with his piano teacher to show him how to play popular songs. While John is most well known for his band England Dan and John Ford Coley and what is now known as yacht rock. But his early bands were a bit heavier. At one point, he even opened for Vanilla Fudge and Led Zeppelin. But that’s when John and Dan started creating their softer music.

John talks about how he met his musical partner, Dan Seals, and how they got their monikers, England Dan and John Ford Coley. He reveals the greatest mistake he’s ever made, the coincidence that got him in the studio to watch a Joni Mitchell session, and working with former podcast subject, Jim Gordon. After hits like I’d Really Love To See You Tonight, Sad To Belong, & We’ll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again, the duo had run its course. John played in some other musical projects before getting into acting. His Godfather connections helped out there. He eventually left music all together. But he couldn’t stay away forever. The emergence of yacht rock revitalized his career (except in The Philippeans, where he’s basically royalty). He tours, playing his hits and telling stories. I’ve seen him live and it’s a treat. Check him out on Facebook at John F, Coley. His music is streaming and also on his website johnfordcoley.com where you can stay up to date with him. You can follow us @PerformanceAnx on socials. Merch is at performanceanx.threadless.com. We accept coffee money at ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety. Now let’s party like it's 1979 with John Ford Coley on Performance Anxiety, part of the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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