b: Jonathan 'John' Edwards, 25th December 1944, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.
John Edwards was once a popular local performer in Missoiri, however, he migrated from the local circuit to a larger stage when he was recruited to the ranks of 'The Spinners'.
Born in St. Louis, John Edwards began singing in men's clubs while stationed in Germany during his army days.
When he was discharged, John came to Columbus, Georgia.
He appeared once with Wilson Pickett and then peformed several dates in Chicago, where he met Curtis Mayfield in 1968.
Curtis got Edwards a session at Weis Records and Jo Armstead produced 'If I Don't Lose My Head' in 1969.
Armstead produced other singles for Weis and Twin Stacks before John relocated to the Bell imprint in 1972.
Floyd Smith co-wrote and produced 'The Look on Your Face,' after which John moved again to Aware, in 1973.
john edwards - 1973 / life, love and living - 1976
Floyd Smith produced his debut LP 'John Edwards', containing 'Messing up a Good Thing', which generated some attention.
However, it was 'Careful Man' in 1974 that got Edwards his first and only hit as a single act, which reached number eight.
When Aware folded, John performed a few dates with The Spinners in 1973, but continued his solo career with Cotillion.
His 1976 LP 'Life Love and Living' contained some excellent deep soul tunes, including 'Baby, Hold on to Me'.
John joined The Spinners full-time in 1977 and remains with them currently.
'Working My Way Back to You / Forgive Me, Girl' and 'Cupid / I've Loved You for a Long Time' in 1980 are the biggest Spinners hits featuring John Edwards to date.
careful man - 1996
1996 saw the U.K. release compilation 'Careful Man', which featured several unreleased tracks including an excellent version of the group America's 'Tin Man'.
Recently, John suffered a stroke. He is recovering well and G.C. Cameron is standing in for him in the current Detroit Spinners line-up. Thanks to Byron Woods for this information.
Albums:
John Edwards (Aware Records 1973)
Life, Love & Living (Cotillion Records 1976)
Careful Man (Kent Records 1996)
