John Ford (born 1 July 1948) is a British musician. He relocated to the United States in the mid-1980s and now resides on the North Shore of Long Island, New York. Ford has toured and played with musicians such as Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Ritchie Blackmore, The Eagles, Frank Zappa, Marc Bolan/T. Rex, Blue Öyster Cult, ZZ Top, RUSH, REO Speedwagon, Steppenwolf, King Crimson, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Billy Preston, Cat Stevens, Roy Harper and Dave Mason. His versatility has let him play a wide range of venues from folk clubs to large scale international rock venues. Biography Ford was born in the South West London district of Fulham and grew up in a household where his father played piano and his four sisters were singers. Ford went to a Church of England school, where church attendance was mandatory, and began singing there. When he was very young, his grandmother bought him a ukulele, then he got an Emenee toy Elvis Presley guitar and a guitar book; by the time he was 9, he had learned several chords. When he was 14, his father bought him a Höfner 500/1 bass, a guitar that was particularly popular at the time because it was used by Paul McCartney. Ford’s two idols were McCartney and Lonnie Donegan; Ford was most inspired by McCartney’s ‘popping’ bass on The Beatles’ "With a Little Help from My Friends" and used that same technique throughout his career. In 1964, Ford joined with some school mates to form a band called Jaymes Fenda and the Vulcans. That November, they released two singles, "Mistletoe Love” and "The Only Girl", both of which were written by Ford. "Mistletoe Love" got some radio play through that Christmas season, but the band split up shortly afterwards. In October 1966, Ford stepped in to replace the bass player of a South London R&B/soul band called the Five Proud Walkers, and made his debut when the band opened for Champion Jack Dupree. The Five Proud Walkers was a popular club band and played a constant stream of gigs in and around London. But, in the spring of 1967, they toured England with Pink Floyd and decided to make the shift to Psychedelic music. That July, they changed their name to Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera. The band released three albums and several singles but, in May 1970, Ford and drummer Richard Hudson left the band to join The