JOHN BELAND started playing guitar at the age of 12, and, by 15, was playing the south-side club circuit up and down Chicago's Cicero's and Harlem Avenues. He played in R&B groups, jazz trios, folk/rock groups and blues bands...whatever the gigs called for. When John was 16, his family moved to California and it didn't take long before he fell into the music scene going on at L.A.'s legendary club, Doug Weston's Troubadour. It was there he became the "unofficial" house guitarist on hoot nights, backing up a variety of struggling singer/songwriters, like an unknown Kris Kristofferson and Glen Frey & J.D. Souther (Longbranch & Pennywhistle).
Shortly after arriving in Los Angeles, John was doing the warm-ups for the Glen Campbell television show, as well as singing the theme song for a brand new ABC sitcom, "The Brady Bunch." He also played on numerous commercials and record dates, including, the R.B. Greaves hit, "Take a Letter, Maria."
John's early bands included Wheatstraw, One Man's Famly and Swampwater, the latter of which backed Linda Ronstadt from 1969 through 1972, experiencing a short reunion in 1979. Swampwater left Linda Ronstadt in 1972, and went to work backing Arlo Guthrie for a while; but, John left the band 18 months later to go solo. Ringo Starr was key in getting John signed to Apple Records, but legal problems at the label forced John's first solo album onto Scepter Records.
John next toured and recorded extensively with Kris Kristofferson, The Bellamy Brothers, Kim Carnes, Mac Davis, Dolly Parton and Rick Nelson. John did the arrangement for Rick Nelson's last charted record, the Bobby Darin song, "Dream Lover." For two years solid, John toured with Rick appearing on such top shows as "Dick Clark's Live" and "Saturday Night Live."
In 1979, John joined The FLYING BURRITO BROTHERS, with whom he has been associated with on and off for the past 20 years. The BURRITO BROTHERS, a pared-down version of the group, was one of the first bands or duo's from California to score big on the commercial country charts. They toured the world...from the Hollywood Bowl to Carnegie Hall to the Grand Ole Opry to London's Wembley Stadium and shared bills with George Jones, Hank Williams, Jr., The Oak Ridge Boys, Jerry Lee Lewis, Emmylou Harris, Tammy Wynette and many more.
In 1985, John left the Burrito Brothers for a while and settled back into session work and working in the road band of Nicolette Larson. He also scored a couple of country and gospel hits with "Forever You" (The Whites) and the #2 gospel record of 1987, "Isn't It Amazing" (Mark Farner, former Grand Funk Railroad lead singer), which is still considered a standard in contemporary Christian music to this day. Joe Cocker and Garth Brooks recorded Beland songs, too. In late 1988/89, there was a Flying Burrito Brothers reunion and then John returned to work with the Bellamy Brothers. John can be seen in the Bellamy Brothers' videos, "Cowboy Beat" and "Can I Come Home To You." "Cowboy Beat" was co-written by John Beland and the Bellamy Brothers and went to #23 on the Billboard Country Music Charts in 1992, earning him a 1993 ASCAP Award. John also co-wrote their follow up to "Cowboy Beat," "Hard Way To Make An Easy Living," which became a big hit for them as well.
John spent the 1990s with The Flying Burrito Brothers and did countless other studio sessions as a guitarist and producer. He has recently left the FBB to refocus on a solo career. Over the years, Beland's songs have been recorded by a wide variety of artists, here and abroad, and he has written for TV, motion pictures and national commercials, as well.
In late-March 2001, John contributed a wonderful version of "Some Of Shelly's Blues" for a Michael Nesmith tribute album, "Papa Nez: A Loose Salute To The Work Of Michael Nesmith," scheduled for release on Dren Records on April 5th. He has also recently completed a fabulous solo instrumental CD, "Silverado Morning," containing ten original songs and three covers, featuring the classical guitar. This summer John is recording his vocal solo CD project, "Bare Bones," which will include many of the songs he performed for us on May 19th. It should be ready for a late summer release.
Our house concert on Saturday, May 19th with John Beland was another standing room only house concert. John put on a wonderful show! His fabulous songwriting and guitar playing were matched only by the great stories he told of his years working with musicians like Linda Ronstadt, Kris Kristofferson, The Bellemy Brothers, Kim Carnes, Mac Davis, Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, Rick Nelson and of course his years with The Flying Burrito Brothers.
The John Beland house concert was graciously sponsored by Country Hills Pet Hospital, 28918 Roadside Drive, Agoura Hills. Call Dr. Neil Bodie at 818-707-PETS for all your pet care needs. Dr. Bodie and his wife Renee have been friends of ours for many years. They took care of our first dog, more than 15 years ago. They have also been regulars at our house concerts and we truly appreciate their friendship and ongoing support of our house concert series.
Be sure to visit John Beland's website at: http://www.johnbeland.com. You can order his two new CDs at http://www.johnbelandsongs.com. The first one, Burrito Works showcases highlights of his later work with the Flying Burrito Brothers. And his newest release Bare Bones is one of our favorite albums of 2001.