John Sheldon Bio
John Sheldon is in his 50th year of writing songs, composing music and performing his unique style of electric and acoustic guitar. Performing credits include a stint when he was 17 as the lead guitarist for VAN MORRISON, songwriter for JAMES TAYLOR, a member of the Sixties’ psychedelic jazz rock band THE BEAD GAME (whose drummer was JIM HODDER, later of STEELY DAN), and touring with LINDA RONSTADT and JAMES TAYLOR.
John has performed for five decades as a solo performer, as the lead singer-songwriter with his own rock band, BLUE STREAK, and in collaboration with other musicians and theater artists. John co-founded a new musical and spoken word collaboration,
DO IT NOW, with percussionist TONY VACCA and beat poet laureate PAUL RICHMOND. Recently, John has performed with internationally acclaimed Senegalese talking drum master MASSAMBA DIOP.
John has written hundreds of songs and instrumentals. Since 1978, he has released 13 CDs of his own music.
“My view of music has changed. It is not just entertainment anymore, but a way to connect to the energies of spirit and to invite them to our presence.
I used to think I was playing music to get somewhere, but it turned out it was really a journey of healing myself.
I now commit every note I play and every story I tell as a prayer and dedication to this beautiful, sentient planet we live on."
— JOHN SHELDON
Over the past few years, John has created several theatrical monolog pieces for the stage to share his autobiographical journey through music and the creative muse.
In THE RED GUITAR, John shares his musical coming-of-age journey through Rock-and-Roll and the Sixties.
THE RED GUITAR performed to sell-out audiences and a five-star review by the Scotland Herald and other publications during multi-week runs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2016 and 2018.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the single biggest celebration of arts and culture on the planet.