Sunday, September 18, 2016

Loudini interviews John Ford Coley

JOHN FORD COLEY, singer, musician, actor and author, continues to play for a worldwide audience. Most famous for his work as half of the grammy-nominated duo “England Dan and John Ford Coley”, where he's received double platinum and gold records, John also did teen films and a few TV roles in the 1980s, has written songs for films, and continues to produce other artists.

Of late, John Ford Coley continues an active touring schedule. He has produced two new country acts in Nashville and most recently played on the bill with such acts as Lou Gramm (Foreigner), Poco, Ambrosia, and Alice Cooper, as well as with Terry Sylvester (formerly of the Hollies).

John Ford Coley is most famous for hit songs such as: “Love Is The Answer”. “Gone Too Far”, “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight”, “Nights Are Forever”, “We’ll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again”. “Come Back To Me”, “Soldier In The Rain”, “Sad To Belong”, “Simone”, “Westward Wind”, “Part of Me, Part of You.” In 2003, the “Nights are Forever” song appeared in the feature film “Dickie Roberts Former Child Star”. Another hit appeared in the film “Long Kiss Goodnight” with Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson.





Famous hit makers that John's performed alongside include: Elton John, Heart, Fleetwood Mac, Chicago, Carole King, Bread, Loggins and Messina, Led Zepplin, Carly Simon, Bill Cosby, Dave Mason, Steve Miller Band, Randy Bachman, Jesse Colin Young, Air Supply, and Gordon Lightfoot, to name a few.

As part of the Nashville songwriting community, John has written new songs such as, “Free Spirits”, a duet “Til The Light Turns Green”, and “She's Got Another Think Coming” that he performs in songwriter rounds throughout the south. He mixes in the new material with the hits that he's written, performing and/or writing with songwriting talents such as Byron Hill, Paul Overstreet, Gary Cotton, and Georgia Middleman, as well as others.

John’s television exposure crosses all demographic boundaries. He's hosted “The Midnight Special” and co-hosted “The Mike Douglas Show”. He's appeared on “The Tonight Show”, “Merv Griffin”, “David Soul and Friends”, “Dinah”, “American Bandstand”, “Hollywood Squares” (A Special Rock Edition), “Make Me Laugh”, “Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert”, “Prime Time Country”, and the “Trinity Broadcasting Network.”

Some of John’s television and movie theme songs written or performed include: “Just Tell Me You Love Me”, “Dr. Pepper”, “Major League, Back To The Minors”, “James At 16”, “Joe Panther”, and “Maxwell House Coffee” with Paul Newman in Japan.

John Ford Coley's experiences stem from a broad background. Although John performed throughout high school and college as a classical and rock pianist, he chose to major in English Literature in his university studies.

In the mid-1980s, John entered acting. In “Dream A Little Dream”, Coley performed as the boyfriend of actress Susan Blakely. In this role he enjoyed pushing teen Corie Feldman down some stairs and spiking Feldman's girlfriend's wine to keep her from sneaking out. Previously, in his first acting role in “Scenes From The Gold Mine”, Coley played a drummer alongside Eagles Timothy B. Schmidt. The film also featured Joe Pantoliano (The Sopranos). In another film “Aces and Eights”, John played in a deadly 1800s poker game against Steve Railsback and Doug McClure. Most rewarding though was an episode of “America’s Most Wanted”. Here, John played a drug dealer who was killed by his partner. In this re-enactment, the capture of John’s character’s real-life killer was among the fastest captured in the show's history.

In between the extensive road duty, John lives in the Nashville area with his family of wife, kids, and quarter horse, where he's penned a book on his years in the music industry, and is writing another book about his spiritual journey back from a cult to Christianity.

No comments:

Post a Comment