Jeff was amazing, I listened to him in my early teens. What a powerful and beautiful voice he had. I’m so glad I was around to hear the amazing Australian talent at that time. I saw him perform live once and was mesmerised. RIP Jeff, you were one of the best. ❤️
What a treat it was " i saw him sing " live " wow his show " would blow you away !" ( danced with his wheelchair! " there was nothing he couldn't do !" Wow and wow 👌 👏 !!!" ) cheers
Yes, Jeff St John was an Australian. He was born with spina bifida, which is why he used a wheelchair. He had a huge voice! Another rock legend who has sadly passed away.
He got married at one point but I can't find any mention of it in his Wiki page. Maybe it didn't las....But What a great person and a fantastic talent. So powerful and soulful.
I remember seeing him live in 1977 when I was 12 and the way he made that wheelchair dance use to scare me as I thought he was going to tip it over but he had great control of it. Fantastic singer and was great to see him live, he really put on a show.
Yes, I got to see him live in a place called the House on the hill, in Cairns. I think I was 13 or 14, so it was 77' - 78' and my mind was blown and yes, he used t worry me too, could have sworn he'd lose it.
I played with Jeff once. I think it was at Pharo's night club in Adelaide South Australia. Got invited to the stage and played one of his songs. Really cool.
Love this song, I used to sing it to myself, walking around the street! A real mood booster! 👍🤗👏 Compared to American music then, mostly California beach music, this was a positive breath of fresh air! 😃
When Jeff performed this song live, during the instrumental he would charge around the stage doing wheelies in his chair, it was something to see. In the TV studios, they wouldn't allow him to do that and in a lot of his later TV performances they only filmed him from the waist up, or extreme close up...to hide the chair...that would be unacceptable in today's society. Jeff was disabled from birth with Spina Bifida. He could walk with leg irons and crutches but decided they were too much trouble and nearly always used his chair. People with disabilities were not treated very well back then, he said people would talk loudly and slowly as if he was mentally disabled so he would often lie and say he had been in a car accident, and their attitude and manner would immediately change. Thank heavens people eventually woke up.
Jeff St John was one of my favourite local artists in the early 70’s. He was born with Spina bifida, but he used to make up a cover story that he was injured in a car accident because of peoples attitudes to the disabled back then - he had been through a lot being treated as one of the ‘poor little crippled children’. A cover story is something disabled people often have to do just to get treated with respect. I used to see him at the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales UNSW, and various other venues in Paddington. He would come on stage on crutches and sit on a tall chair for the whole performance, rocking and swaying (he had amazing balance) but it did his spine no good and eventually he could only perform in the wheelchair.
Great artist, I remember my older brother had some of his 45's. I reckon the stigma of his handicap stopped him from receiving the success he deserved. Even my generation born in the mid 60's had problems with people with handicaps when all they wanted was to be treated normal. Just a lack of education on the matter I guess. I grew up with a girl with serious arthiritis who was in a wheelchair at 18, she went on to represent Australia in wheelchair Basketball at two Olympics. Its great that people with handicaps are treated better now than what they were..
Yes I remember seeing him on stage, but I can't remember where. He was stunning the way he'd do wheelies and race across the stage in his chair. I don't think he ever got the credit he deserved. Singing like did, sitting down, was incredible.
What a shame I never saw him. I did see a performance on TV but my family had the sound down. He was moving around in his wheelchair doing stands on the back wheels. and various tricks. He had a very shiny wheel chair at that point and he made a feature of it. You can hear his depth of humanity in his vocals
Hi - I played guitar with Jeff St John for 2 years (Red Cloud 1975-76) - he was an amazing talent. His vocal influences included James Brown, Jackson Brown and others. He was fiercely passionate about his vocal performance. Jeff's power, feel/groove was unmatched at the time - his stage performances were riveting. A great voice, mostly unrecognised and now sadly gone.
So glad to read this. What an amazing privilege as I'm sure he appreciated your talents. What an amazing experience Jeff was for all of us. I recently showed this to my 32 yr old son. He said Oh Wow!
Jeff always surprised people with how he could sing sitting down - you have reacted to Jeff once before (Fool in Love) One of Australia's classic rock bands...
Yes!! He had some really great songs! Sadly he died in 2018. This one is one of those songs as a little kid growing up in the 70s we heard on the radio all through that decade. Always loved this song. Thinking back on it, as a little kid, Jeff might've been the first young person in a wheelchair I ever saw - I remember being surprised he had such powerful voice while sitting down (considering in choir we were always told to stand up for full lung capacity and so our voices would project!)
Jeff St John (born Jeffrey Leo Newton; 22 April 1946 - 6 March 2018), was an Australian musician best known for several Australian hits, such as "Teach Me How to Fly" (1970), "Big Time Operator" (1967) and "A Fool in Love" (1972)and attended Cleveland Street Boys High School in Surry Hills, New South Wales. He was born with spina bifida and spent much of his life in a wheelchair. Peace out.
Definitely a big hit. I was singing it to myself after reading the title.... Haven't heard it in years but it was still in there. Funny how you forget something at the shops yet you remember a song from your childhood 🤔
He did. Hummingbird is actually a Leon Russell song, but Jeff's version is the best in my opinion. The album it's on, Joint Effort, (great title!) is fantastic. Maybe it was a typo, but the group's name was Copperwine, not Copperwire! 😊
I love this song. I kind of grew up with this sort of music and I’ve seen other snippets from the show that this song was recorded from (GTK Australian music show). You need to find one of Jeff St John’s collaborators Wendy Saddington “Looking through a Window “ killer blues rock track from 1970.
John was huge in the 70's and he would pop up regularly in the following decades. Great live performer. He would often get his wheel chair rockin on stage. Sadly he died in 2018 after complications from surgery. (He suffered from spina bifida).
Music back then was unique and great, all those jazz players who moved over into rock or pop. Hey I just thought of a duo I would have loved to have seen and heard, what about Jeff and John Farnham, now that would be a concert I would want to go to
I often wondered whether he would have had a bigger career if he was born in America. I suspect his talent, given his disability, might have been honoured more.
Saw JEFF ST JOHN COPPERWINE live in Melbourne ' disco' THUMPIN TUMP 1969. BILLY THORP AZTECS finished the show with ROCK ME BABY. (I was still going to School). Oh man.
His regular drummer was Peter Figures. Peter had a disability also. He had a birth defect his left arm was very short, and his right hand had 6 fingers. So he played the hi-hat with his left hand, but he was right-handed. jeff had spina-bifida
Jeff St John has passed on. I was his first cousin and God daughter. He was Australian.. Born with Spina Bifida his birth name was Jeffrey Newton.. only child to Carmel and Leo and oldest of the grandchildren.
You asked if he was Australian, yes he was. He was born with spina bifida and spent much of his life in a wheelchair. And passed away 6th March 2018, bacterial infection after surgery in Perth Western Australia.
Probably Australia’s first rock singer to sing with an open and powerful jazz / classical voice. Others like J O’K were mostly just loud and rough......even if talented. If you enjoyed “Teach Me How to Fly”, then “Reach Out” ( I’ll be There ) is a must listen. Also any video of Jeff St John with Wendy Saddington. As an aside, we in Australia never got into Janis Joplin until her passing away......because we had Wendy Saddington. Even when she appeared to go nuts......avant garde and always in a clown suit, a lot of her performances were still Cutting Edge brilliance.
Not always in a clown suit. That was a brief thing early in her career. She had a great voice, but Jeff St John would put anyone in the shade with that magnificent voice of his.
The back up band filmed here is clearly miming as it was recorded by Jeff's band "the copperwine" previously, and these guys are not copperwine. Not sure why they parted ways
Australian cultural cringe of the 1960s. The thought: Overseas songs and songwriters were better. So we thought. Thus Jeff recorded Zoot Moneys Big time operator, This one which was a trippy 1968 song from the Rotary Connexion and Leon Russell's Hummingbird. .Ray Brown, JOK , Normie and Thorpie did great covers of US and UK songs but diid them better..well that is our opinion hahaha
So glad Jeff is being heard out there! One of our greatest talents.
Australians owe a debt of gratitude for Jeff being part of a rich tapestry of music in those days, I know I do.
I was hitch hiking around N.Zealand in 1973 and he was performing at a pub on the Soith Island, great voice live and a really nice guy to boot.
Jeff was amazing, I listened to him in my early teens. What a powerful and beautiful voice he had. I’m so glad I was around to hear the amazing Australian talent at that time. I saw him perform live once and was mesmerised. RIP Jeff, you were one of the best. ❤️
What a treat it was " i saw him sing " live " wow his show " would blow you away !" ( danced with his wheelchair! " there was nothing he couldn't do !" Wow and wow 👌 👏 !!!" ) cheers
You could always hear the joy for life he had in his singing. Sadly missed.
Fun fact, the great man himself ELVIS heard him sing and said he had the best voice he had heard in a long time.
Great artist, and a great guy too. He was my hero
Later, I also enjoyed sharing the billing with him on several gigs.
My favourite singer, bloody legend. R.I.P Mate
Yes, Jeff St John was an Australian. He was born with spina bifida, which is why he used a wheelchair. He had a huge voice! Another rock legend who has sadly passed away.
He got married at one point but I can't find any mention of it in his Wiki page. Maybe it didn't las....But What a great person and a fantastic talent.
So powerful and soulful.
I remember seeing him live in 1977 when I was 12 and the way he made that wheelchair dance use to scare me as I thought he was going to tip it over but he had great control of it. Fantastic singer and was great to see him live, he really put on a show.
Yes, I got to see him live in a place called the House on the hill, in Cairns. I think I was 13 or 14, so it was 77' - 78' and my mind was blown and yes, he used t worry me too, could have sworn he'd lose it.
Jeff had such an awesome voice
I played with Jeff once. I think it was at Pharo's night club in Adelaide South Australia. Got invited to the stage and played one of his songs. Really cool.
Television music clips in Australia were usually black and white until around 1975 because that's when colour television arrived in the country.
Wow I really loved this song when I was young. First time I’ve seen this clip. He was amazing .
Love this song, I used to sing it to myself, walking around the street! A real mood booster! 👍🤗👏 Compared to American music then, mostly California beach music, this was a positive breath of fresh air! 😃
When Jeff performed this song live, during the instrumental he would charge around the stage doing wheelies in his chair, it was something to see.
In the TV studios, they wouldn't allow him to do that and in a lot of his later TV performances they only filmed him from the waist up, or extreme close up...to hide the chair...that would be unacceptable in today's society.
Jeff was disabled from birth with Spina Bifida.
He could walk with leg irons and crutches but decided they were too much trouble and nearly always used his chair.
People with disabilities were not treated very well back then, he said people would talk loudly and slowly as if he was mentally disabled so he would often lie and say he had been in a car accident, and their attitude and manner would immediately change. Thank heavens people eventually woke up.
He was a beautiful man.
Jeff St John was one of my husband's favourites. An Aussie legend indeed.
Jeff St John was one of my favourite local artists in the early 70’s. He was born with Spina bifida, but he used to make up a cover story that he was injured in a car accident because of peoples attitudes to the disabled back then - he had been through a lot being treated as one of the ‘poor little crippled children’. A cover story is something disabled people often have to do just to get treated with respect.
I used to see him at the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales UNSW, and various other venues in Paddington. He would come on stage on crutches and sit on a tall chair for the whole performance, rocking and swaying (he had amazing balance) but it did his spine no good and eventually he could only perform in the wheelchair.
Great artist, I remember my older brother had some of his 45's. I reckon the stigma of his handicap stopped him from receiving the success he deserved. Even my generation born in the mid 60's had problems with people with handicaps when all they wanted was to be treated normal. Just a lack of education on the matter I guess. I grew up with a girl with serious arthiritis who was in a wheelchair at 18, she went on to represent Australia in wheelchair Basketball at two Olympics. Its great that people with handicaps are treated better now than what they were..
Yes I remember seeing him on stage, but I can't remember where. He was stunning the way he'd do wheelies and race across the stage in his chair. I don't think he ever got the credit he deserved. Singing like did, sitting down, was incredible.
I had forgotten about jeff st john. Such a great talent.
What a shame I never saw him. I did see a performance on TV but my family had the sound down. He was moving around in his wheelchair doing stands on the back wheels. and various tricks. He had a very shiny wheel chair at that point and he made a feature of it. You can hear his depth of humanity in his vocals
He was gorgeous.
Years later I used to watch my boyfriends band rehearse at the roundhouse
Hee was definitely Australian. Used to see him and the Id at Catcher in Melbourne in the 60's. Such a great powerful voice.
Hi - I played guitar with Jeff St John for 2 years (Red Cloud 1975-76) - he was an amazing talent. His vocal influences included James Brown, Jackson Brown and others. He was fiercely passionate about his vocal performance. Jeff's power, feel/groove was unmatched at the time - his stage performances were riveting. A great voice, mostly unrecognised and now sadly gone.
" no hes not alive ???" " if your going to showcase a singer " do some research on them ? Especially if they're alive or dead ? " dickhead 🙄 !!" 😮
So glad to read this. What an amazing privilege as I'm sure he appreciated your talents. What an amazing experience Jeff was for all of us. I recently showed this to my 32 yr old son. He said Oh Wow!
I still adore this song and Jeff. Miss these times ❤
Jeff always surprised people with how he could sing sitting down - you have reacted to Jeff once before (Fool in Love) One of Australia's classic rock bands...
Yes!! He had some really great songs! Sadly he died in 2018. This one is one of those songs as a little kid growing up in the 70s we heard on the radio all through that decade. Always loved this song. Thinking back on it, as a little kid, Jeff might've been the first young person in a wheelchair I ever saw - I remember being surprised he had such powerful voice while sitting down (considering in choir we were always told to stand up for full lung capacity and so our voices would project!)
I was 15 in 1970 and loved Teach me How to Fly. He was an Australian Singer. He died in 2018. He suffered from spina bifida
A voice from my youth. Jeff St John was a great vocalist, I think is band we’re “The Id”
Yes, his band was The Id. Another great memory of the music that I grew up with.
I miss Jeff so much. One of a kind, amazing bloke. The joy and passion and we danced around the house. Still an inspiration to me. Appreciate your vid
Jeff St John (born Jeffrey Leo Newton; 22 April 1946 - 6 March 2018), was an Australian musician best known for several Australian hits, such as "Teach Me How to Fly" (1970), "Big Time Operator" (1967) and "A Fool in Love" (1972)and attended Cleveland Street Boys High School in Surry Hills, New South Wales. He was born with spina bifida and spent much of his life in a wheelchair. Peace out.
Big time operator is so much fun! He had great range.
Definitely a big hit. I was singing it to myself after reading the title.... Haven't heard it in years but it was still in there. Funny how you forget something at the shops yet you remember a song from your childhood 🤔
He did sing a beautiful balad: Hummingbird, cira 1971 with Copperwire
He did. Hummingbird is actually a Leon Russell song, but Jeff's version is the best in my opinion. The album it's on, Joint Effort, (great title!) is fantastic. Maybe it was a typo, but the group's name was Copperwine, not Copperwire! 😊
I love this song. I kind of grew up with this sort of music and I’ve seen other snippets from the show that this song was recorded from (GTK Australian music show). You need to find one of Jeff St John’s collaborators Wendy Saddington “Looking through a Window “ killer blues rock track from 1970.
GTK was a fabulous show. A must see. You're right about WS. A great singer, and like JStJ, sadly gone.
Favourite track of his. Those were the days my friend...
He is from Australia .
John was huge in the 70's and he would pop up regularly in the following decades. Great live performer. He would often get his wheel chair rockin on stage. Sadly he died in 2018 after complications from surgery. (He suffered from spina bifida).
I loved the song, "Big Time Operator, " also by Jeff St. John and group.
Yes, a fantastic song with a great arrangement. And that killer voice!
'Power ballad'? Jeff had such a strong voice....he was a rocker.
A brilliant live artist, he used to throw that wheelchair around making it dance.
big time operater another great song from jeff
proud to say he was aussie. has passed . used to love watching perform in clubs in perth. he was magic
He and Renée Geyer sang a duet at the end of the Sydney Paralympics.
Music back then was unique and great, all those jazz players who moved over into rock or pop. Hey I just thought of a duo I would have loved to have seen and heard, what about Jeff and John Farnham, now that would be a concert I would want to go to
You have GOT TO LISTEN to him sing "SING A SIMPLE SONG", you will never forget it!!!!
Dont know if that one is on TH-cam but Kerrie Biddell and the Affairs version is !!
I often wondered whether he would have had a bigger career if he was born in America. I suspect his talent, given his disability, might have been honoured more.
❤️❤️❤️
Yes he's from Sydney. Died in 2018 in Perth.
Saw JEFF ST JOHN COPPERWINE live in Melbourne ' disco' THUMPIN TUMP 1969.
BILLY THORP AZTECS finished the show with ROCK ME BABY.
(I was still going to School).
Oh man.
His regular drummer was Peter Figures. Peter had a disability also.
He had a birth defect his left arm was very short, and his right hand had 6 fingers.
So he played the hi-hat with his left hand, but he was right-handed.
jeff had spina-bifida
Jeff St John has passed on. I was his first cousin and God daughter.
He was Australian..
Born with Spina Bifida his birth name was Jeffrey Newton.. only child to Carmel and Leo and oldest of the grandchildren.
Yes, he's Australian. He used to rock that wheelchair.
You asked if he was Australian, yes he was. He was born with spina bifida and spent much of his life in a wheelchair. And passed away 6th March 2018, bacterial infection after surgery in Perth Western Australia.
Jeff passed away a couple of years ago mate...Have a listen to an album of his from 1970, called "Joint Effort".
One of my fave Australian albums. Every track is great.
Jeff s singing was so " amazing 👏 " he was one of " the cast members" of theatre production " Jesus christ superstar !" Rip
Just looked him up , its says he died exactly 4 years ago today.6th of march 2018.
He wants and needs to Hear Ray Brown and the Whispers. An other Aussie group. from the 60's!
Loved ‘Fool, Fool, Fool’ by them
@@cravenmoorecock5267 If you can find the Album from 1967, I think it was called Dance, Dance, Dance!
Ray Brown, now there's a great memory.
This song really ironic to his legs
You all need to hear Big Time Operator or his work with Wendy Saddington
And you are missing out! We have SO many incredible talents - older clips still!
He's Australian
Here is another example of his singing, with the band Copperwine: th-cam.com/video/nphJBRP-Nio/w-d-xo.html
The band ws Copperwine.
Jeff was born with spina bifida.. Didn't stop him.
Probably Australia’s first rock singer to sing with an open and powerful jazz / classical voice.
Others like J O’K were mostly just loud and rough......even if talented.
If you enjoyed “Teach Me How to Fly”, then “Reach Out” ( I’ll be There ) is a must listen.
Also any video of Jeff St John with Wendy Saddington.
As an aside, we in Australia never got into Janis Joplin until her passing away......because we had Wendy Saddington.
Even when she appeared to go nuts......avant garde and always in a clown suit, a lot of her performances were still Cutting Edge brilliance.
Not always in a clown suit. That was a brief thing early in her career. She had a great voice, but Jeff St John would put anyone in the shade with that magnificent voice of his.
@@annaforehan7784 I thought it was a brief thing LATE in her very short career.
@@Rassskle No, it was early in her career. And you said "always in a clown suit"!
Reach out Ill be there ...good choice !!!
The back up band filmed here is clearly miming as it was recorded by Jeff's band "the copperwine" previously, and these guys are not copperwine. Not sure why they parted ways
Spina bifida
Ok you HAVE to check out wendy saddington
Australian cultural cringe of the 1960s. The thought: Overseas songs and songwriters were better. So we thought. Thus Jeff recorded Zoot Moneys Big time operator, This one which was a trippy 1968 song from the Rotary Connexion and Leon Russell's Hummingbird. .Ray Brown, JOK , Normie and Thorpie did great covers of US and UK songs but diid them better..well that is our opinion hahaha