Jeff St John
{{Short description|Australian musician (1946–2018)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox musical artist
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| name = Jeff St John
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| image = 191000 - Opening Ceremony Jeff St John performs - 3b - 2000 Sydney opening ceremony photo.jpg
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| caption = Jeff St John performing at the opening ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games
| alias =
| birth_name = Jeffrey Leo Newton
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1946|4|22}}
| birth_place = Newtown, New South Wales, Australia
| origin = Sydney
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2018|3|6|1946|4|22}}
| death_place = Perth, Western Australia
| genre =
| occupation = Singer
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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){{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1301&dat=19890420&id=VFBWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=c-cDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5515,396900/ |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald | title=Jeff St John has a new message for fans | date=20 April 1989 | page=78 | first=Sheila | last=Browne | via=News.google.com | access-date=5 February 2020}} and "A Fool in Love" (1977).{{Cite web|url=http://rockonvinyl.blogspot.com/2009/07/jeff-st-john-live-1973.html|title=Rock On Vinyl: Jeff St John - Live (1974)|website=Rockonvinyl.blogspot.com|date=4 July 2009|access-date=12 October 2021}}
Early life
St John was born Jeffrey Leo Newton{{cite web|author=Jack Russell |url=http://ausrock.8m.net/artists/stjohnjeff.htm/ |title=Jeff St John |website=Ausrock.8m.net |date=1973-12-27 |access-date=2013-06-25}} on 22 April 1946, in Newtown, Sydney, Australia, 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.
Music career
St John appeared with a number of bands during the late 1960s and early 1970s including; John The Syndicate aka The Wild Oats (1965), The Id{{cite book|last=McIntyre|first=Iain|title=Tomorrow Is Today: Australia in the Psychedelic Era, 1966–1970|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AGiu7Typ4iQC&pg=PA15|access-date=5 July 2013|date=2006-01-01|publisher=Wakefield Press|isbn=9781862546974|page=15}} (1966–67) with Bob Bertles (tenor sax 1967), Jeff St John & Yama (1967–68), Jeff St John & Copperwine (1969–72), with Harry Brus (bass 1970–72) and Wendy Saddington (co-lead vocals 1970–71), Jeff St John Band (1972–73) and Red Cloud (1975–76){{Cite web|url=http://www.milesago.com/artists/jeffstjohn.htm|title=MILESAGO - Groups & Solo Artists - Jeff St John & The Id / Yama / Copperwine|website=Milesago.com|access-date=12 October 2021}}
In 1980, St John was the subject of an episode of the documentary series The Australians, presented by Peter Luck. The episode was titled "Jeff St. John – Rock 'n' Roll Man".{{Citation | author1=Stephens, Tony | author2=Luck, Peter, 1944–2017 | author3=Levy, Curtis | author4=Stephens, Tony, 1939– | title=The Australians | year=1981 | publication-date=1981 | publisher=Lansdowne Press | isbn=978-0-7018-1551-6 }}
In 1988, as part of Australian Bicentenary celebrations along with many other Australian celebrities, St John took part in a video shoot at Uluru (once called Ayers Rock), called Celebration of a Nation.White, L., The Bicentenary of Australia: Celebration of a Nation in Fuller, L. K. (Ed.) (2004) National Days, National Ways – Historical, Political, and Religious Celebrations Around the World., p 33, {{ISBN|0275972704}}
St John was involved in educating people about disabilities and was a member of spina bifida support group MOSAIC. He appeared at the opening of the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney where he sang the Australian National Anthem.,{{cite book|last1=Gilbert|first1=Keith D.|last2=Schantz|first2=Otto J.|last3=Schantz|first3=Otto|title=The Paralympic Games: Empowerment Or Side Show?|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JnP_ZJUUdPwC&pg=PA22|access-date=5 July 2013|year=2008|publisher=Meyer & Meyer Verlag|isbn=9781841262659|pages=21–22}} and a song written for the opening ceremony called The Challenge.
St John's autobiography, The Jeff St John Story: The Inside Outsider, edited by James Anfuso, was published by Starman Books in 2015.{{Citation | author=St. John, Jeff | editor=Anfuso, James Vincent | title=The inside outsider : the Jeff St John story | date=October 2016 | publication-date=2015 | publisher=[Tuart Hill, Western Australia] Starman Books | isbn=978-0-9922758-1-5 }}
Discography
=Albums=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
|+ List of albums, with Australian chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Album details ! scope="col" colspan="1" | Peak chart |
| scope="col" style="text-align:center;" | AUS {{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=290}} |
|---|
| scope="row" | Joint Effort (as Jeff St John's Copperwine) |
| align="center" | - |
| scope="row" | The Best of Jeff St. John
|
| align="center" | - |
| scope="row" | Jeff St. John Live
|
| align="center" | - |
| scope="row" | Survivor 1965-75
|
| align="center" | - |
| scope="row" | So Far So Good
|
| align="center" | 66 |
| scope="row" | Will the Real Jeff St. John Please Stand Up. (with The Embers) |
| align="center" | - |
=Charting singles=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Year ! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Title ! scope="col" colspan="1" | Peak chart |
| scope="col" style="text-align:center;" | AUS |
|---|
| 1967
! scope="row" | "Big Time Operator" | style="text-align:center;" | 11 |
| 1970
! scope="row" | "Teach Me How to Fly" | style="text-align:center;" | 11 |
| rowspan="2" | 1977
! scope="row" | "A Fool in Love" | style="text-align:center;" | 10 |
| scope="row" | "Rock 'n' Roll Man"
| style="text-align:center;" | 81 |
| 1978
! scope="row" | "Starbrite" | style="text-align:center;" | 85 |
Death
Jeff St John died in the morning of 6 March 2018, at Fiona Stanley Hospital in Perth, Western Australia.{{cite news|last1=Baker|first1=Glenn A.|title=Jeff St John, musician proved disability no hurdle|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/jeff-st-john-rock-musician-who-battled-spina-bifida-to-perform-20180308-h0x6nw.html|access-date=2018-03-09|newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald|date=2018-03-08}}{{cite news|last1=Cashmere|first1=Paul|title=R.I.P. Jeff St John 1946–2018|url=http://www.noise11.com/news/r-i-p-jeff-st-john-1946-2018-20180306|access-date=2018-03-09|website=Noise11.com|date=2018-03-06}} His death was caused by a bacterial infection following surgery.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}