Goldy McJohn

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Goldy McJohn
Burien, Washington, U.S.
GenresAcid rock, hard rock, psychedelic rock, proto-metal
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Keyboards
Years active1964–2017

John Raymond Goadsby (May 2, 1945 – August 1, 2017), known as Goldy McJohn, was a

electronic organ (Hammond B3) in heavy metal
.

Career

McJohn was born John Raymond Goadsby to middle class parents in Toronto, Ontario. They enrolled him in piano lessons at a young age which eventually enabled him to become a pioneer in the use of the electronic organ in rock and roll. "I was up at 4 a.m. daily to practice from the age of seven until…I got stupid. ... I was classically trained. I played on a Lowrey". [2]

In 1964, McJohn played with local band Little John & The Friars before moving on later that year to become a member of the Mynah Birds, which also included Rick James, Bruce Palmer and (after McJohn left) Neil Young.[2] In March 1965, he briefly joined The Diplomats before joining The Sparrows in September of that year. John Kay asked him if he could be known as "Goldy" while riding the bus to Willowdale.[2]

Goldy felt "Goldy Goadsby" would not be right, so in honor of his mother, Dorothy (née) McIntyre, Goldy added the "Mc" to his legal first name, creating his stage name.[2] The band (with various changes) went on to become Steppenwolf and McJohn remained with the group from 1967 to early 1975, when he was fired by Kay.[citation needed]

During Steppenwolf's hiatus in the early 1970s, McJohn and Steppenwolf drummer Jerry Edmonton formed Manbeast with Rod Prince and Roy Cox of Bubble Puppy, during which time the band penned at least one song that would appear on Steppenwolf's 1974 release, Slow Flux, McJohn's last with the band.[citation needed]

McJohn helped reform Steppenwolf in 1977 with

Humble Pie.[citation needed
]

On April 30, 2010, for the weekend of his 65th birthday, his band 'Magic Carpet Ride' headlined the recently opened

Fleetwoods, Witchburn and "surprise celebrity guest artists."[3][4][5]

McJohn lived in

Rat City in Blue, Set the World on Fire and Osmosis. Beginning in 2008, he performed with a national band under the name Gm and Friendz and with The Born To Be Wild Tour.[6]

Death

McJohn died of a sudden heart attack on August 1, 2017, at his home in

Burien, Washington. He was 72 years old.[7][8]

References

  1. ^ "Goldy McJohn profile". NNDB.com. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d Lusby, Rachel M. "'Ay Man' It's Goldy McJohn! And He Is, In Fact, Still Alive In The Burien Area". b-townblog.com. South King Media. Archived from the original on 2016-01-26. Retrieved 2017-08-04.
  3. ^ Brickner, Sara (April 27, 2023). "The Short List: The Week's Recommended Shows". Seattle Weekly. Archived from the original on October 18, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  4. ^ Stout, Gene (May 2, 2010). "CONCERT REVIEW: Magic Carpet Ride rocks Seattle's Hard Rock Cafe". Gene Stout website (genestout.com). Archived from the original on October 18, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  5. Seattle Met (seattlemet.com). Archived from the original
    on October 18, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  6. ^ "Born to Be Wild 2018/2019 Tour". Magiccarpetrideinc.com. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  7. Ultimate Classic Rock. Archived
    from the original on August 3, 2017.
  8. ^ Peacock, Tim (2017-08-04). "Death Of Goldy McJohn, Founding Member Of Steppenwolf | uDiscover". Udiscovemrusic.com. Retrieved 2021-06-29.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Goldy_McJohn&oldid=1216663916"