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John Batdorf
Biography
John Batdorf was born in Springfield, OH on March 26, 1952 and musically it all came together for him in the '60s when he saw the Beatles. He knew at that moment that music was what he was meant to do. Self-taught, except for a year of sight-singing courses in 1983 at the Dick Grove School of Music, his earliest musical influences were his dad and uncle, but it was the British Invasion that he says "changed everything for me."

His father, Jack Batdorf, was a musician and young John performed with him in clubs from around the age of five singing material like "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Hound Dog," a natural part of his upbringing which led to him being in bands all his life.

At the age of 15 his group, the Luv'd Ones, opened for the Young Rascals in Los Angeles. He met eventual music partner Mark Rodney in Las Vegas in the summer of 1970 while performing at a coffee house on the University of Las Vegas (UNLV) campus called The Kitchen. The duo, Batdorf & Rodney, got their deal auditioning live for Ahmet Ertegen at the Beverly Hills Hotel in December of 1970. Atlantic Records signed them the next day. There was never a tape demo; Batdorf & Rodney were signed on the strength of their ability to perform and write songs.
Selected Discography