John Maus was born in New York City, but moved to southern California at an early age. He began his stage career as a child actor in the
early 50’s, began playing guitar at age 14, and starting forming his own rock and roll bands at age 16 in 1959.
He wrote and recorded his first songs, signing to the early rock and roll labels like Dore and Arvee in Los Angeles, laying down the tracks
at the famed Goldstar studio in Hollywood. At age 19, John’s bands were in demand in the club and college circuit, but he was underage so he
began using the name “John Walker,” obtaining an phony ID in that name in Tijuana, Mexico. Eventually, he obtained a legitimate social security
card and California driver’s license in the same name.
By 1964, John and his bands were well known in the Hollywood clubs like Pandora’s Box, where they backed many well known recording artists, and
at the legendary Gazazari’s, where they became the house band six nights a week.
Then known as “The Walker Brothers Trio”, he and Scott Engel were signed to Mercury records in LA in 1964 and their name was changed to “The
Walker Brothers”. They began appearing regularly on the new American television rock and roll shows like Shindig and Ninth Street A GoGo. They
performed in the movie “Beach Ball”, and appeared in Newsweek magazine.
At the invitation of local drummer, Gary Leeds, John and Scott went to England where they promoted their recording of “Love Her”. The song went
into the UK charts, followed by a succession of ten more hits, including No. 3 “My Ship Is Comin’ In”, and the iconic No. 1’s “The Sun Ain’t Shine
Anymore” and “Make It Easy On “Yourself”.
“Walkermania” took hold in the UK - ironically at the same time that the British Invasion was captivating America. Appearances by John and
The Walker Brothers required heavy security and several ambulances parked and waiting outside of the theatres. After countless television
and magazine appearances, tours with Roy Orbison, The Yardbirds, Jim Hendrix, Lulu, Englebert
Humperdinck, The Troggs, and many other well
known artists, John went onto a successful solo career with hits like “Annabella” and subsequent tours, and appearances on European and UK
television shows like Top Of The Pops, The Sandy Shaw Show, and The David Frost Show.
The 70’s continued to be a fruitful time for John, with The Walker Brothers reforming in the mid 70’s, and “No Regrets” - their new album and
single, quickly going to No. 3 in the UK charts. After the group recorded a few more notable albums, including the cult classic
“Niteflites,” John
moved to the south of France to record an (as yet) unreleased collection of original and cover tracks with his friend, Bill Wyman (Rolling Stone’s
bassist at the time) who produced and performed on the album, with appearances by Keith Richards, Nicky Hopkins, Sue and Sunny, Jim Price,
Bobby Keyes, Mike Moran, and John Uribe.
Worldwide sales of Walker Brothers and John’s CD’s are in excess of 30 million.
John returned to the US in the mid 80’s, and has lived here since. He turned his attention to the recording process, and along with his touring
schedule, is a recording engineer with his own studio in the Los Angeles area. He continues to write music, and is the only Walker Brother who
still regularly performs. Most recent television appearances include the German mega show “Hits Giganten”, and an American PBS show featuring
British Invasion artists.
John is working on his next CD, which is due for release in 2011.
JOHN WALKER
