John Babcock (musician) - Early Recordings

Early Recordings

John left his drum corps days behind in 1978 when he was offered an artist development deal with Suede Productions and New Jersey producer Bob Suede - a man of indomitable faith in his young charge. Coming of age in the early, rough-and-tumble days of arena rock, Bob had built a communications empire in the then-economically-rebounding area of Hackensack, NJ. Over the next couple of years, John composed and recorded dozens of original songs, developing and refining his work. John worked with singer-songwriter Leslie Pearl (If The Love Fits Wear It) who sang background vocals on his sessions, along with session guitarist Keith Loving (Killing Me Softly. The Closer I Get To You). To understand how far the industry has evolved in the time John Babcock has been in the business, one has to remember that this was a little while before cassettes were the regular, let alone digital technology. John first had to have his friends and family listen to his handiwork via a crude, self-contained tape loop machine with eager listeners sharing headphones. Also, long before the word "Indie" carried any credibility there was John and Bob, knocking on doors, trying to earn the respect of the "big boys". John was hawked as a solo project under his initials: JB, and also was encouraged to get involved with various group projects. At various junctures in his early career John cut his teeth as a member in good standing bands like "Spectrum", "ShadowFax", "Four On The Floor", and a memorable pop/early-new wave unit that he would record with called "U.S. City". Headlining at C.B.G.B.s in the early-80's to capacity crowds John penned one of his best early tunes during this period for this band; "The Car Tune".