John William Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005), better known as Long John Baldry, was an English-Canadian singer and voice actor born in Northamptonshire, England.
Getting his nickname from his 6'7" height, Baldry was one of the first British artists to perform blues music in the 1960s. He worked with many artists and bands of the time including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and the soon-to-be-famous Rod Stewart and Elton John (the latter got the second half of his nickname from Long John). As a solo artist, his best-known hit was the 1967 single "Let the Heartaches Begin".
Baldry moved to Canada in 1978, where he would live the remainder of his life. He continued to make music, and eventually also had a successful secondary career as a voice actor, most notably voicing Dr. Robotnik in Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.
He died on July 21, 2005 from a chest infection.
Studio discography:
- Long John's Blues (1964)
- Looking at Long John (1966)
- Let the Heartaches Begin (1967)
- Wait for Me (1969)
- It Ain't Easy (1971)
- Everything Stops for Tea (1972)
- Good to Be Alive (1973)
- Welcome to Club Casablanca (1976)
- Baldry's Out! (1979)
- Long John Baldry (1980)
- Boys in the Band (1980)
- Rock With the Best (1982)
- Silent Treatment (1986)
- Long John Baldry & Friends (1987)
- A Touch of the Blues (1988)
- It Still Ain't Easy (1991)
- Right to Sing the Blues (1996)
- You Got the Bread... We Got the Jam! (1998; with Schuld & Stamer and Chris Nordquist)
- Remembering Lead Belly (2001)
Voice acting roles:
- Adventures of Corduroy the Bear: Mr. Tusk, Additional voices
- Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog: Dr. Robotnik
- Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars!: Komplex
- Captain N: The Game Master: King Charles, Mirror King Charles, Poltergeist King, Clockman, Little John
- Dragon Quest: Legend of the Hero Abel: Narrator in English Dragon Warrior dub
- Ewoks: Additional voices
- Hurricanes: Additional voices
- Reboot: Captain Capacitor, Old Man Pearson
- RoboCop: Alpha Commando: Additional voices
- Sabrina: The Animated Series: Additional voices
- Star Wars: Droids: The Great Heep
- Toad Patrol: Mistle Toad
