THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS ,EVER HEARD
1,231) Jeff St. John and the Copperwine — “Teach Me How to Fly”
If you are from Australia, where Jeff St. John (see #470) is justly legendary and beloved, read no further — as this song was a national hit (#11 (Badger45, https://www.45cat.com/record/cr214au)). Jeff was “one of the best rock vocalists [Australia] has ever produced” (Paul Culnane, MILESAGO: Australasian Music & Popular Culture 1964-1975, http://www.milesago.com/Artists/jeffstjohn.htm) with “performances . . . memorable not only for his strong, soulful vocals but for the wheelstands and spins he would execute with his wheelchair.” (Sidney Barnes, https://poparchives.com.au/jeff-st-john-and-copperwine/teach-me-how-to-fly/)
This soaring and inspiring, “smoothly confident, organ-led cover of Rotary Connection’s ‘Teach Me How To Fly’ (featuring a berserk guitar solo . . . ) propelled the band to #12 in Melbourne and . . . #3 [in] Sydney . . . . St John’s dazzling vocal performance on this record is probably the main reason why.” (Paul Culnane, MILESAGO, http://www.milesago.com/Artists/jeffstjohn.htm)
Steveowens403 reveals how the recording came to be:
[St. John] came to Orange when I was there at 2GZ in 1969 and came to a party at my place after the show at the Amoco Centre. I played the him the Rotary Connection albums. He had never heard of them. I suggested he record “Teach me How to Fly” and gave him the words a friend had written out. I knew how popular the Rotary Connection were, as I played them nearly every night. He went back to Melbourne [and] recorded the song . . . .
As to JSJ&C, Glenn Baker writes:
Word soon spread about this mind-blowing funky band and their freak-voiced singer who could scorch the paint off walls with his high notes. Every night the venue would be packed to the gunwales and each night the roaring, finely-controlled voice of Jeff St John would win more converts for life. Jeff St John’s Copperwine was hailed as “a truly magical outfit”, with an exhilarating mixture of fine musicianship, intense emotional vocals and a definite uncompromising direction. They soon trekked across the continent to become founding fathers, with Tully and Tamam Shud, of a flowering Sydney progressive concert scene. These bands ruled the all-important ‘head’ circuit, including the pioneering and pivotal 1970 Ourimbah festival.
As to JSJ’s early years, Paul Culnane tells us in the definitive MILESAGO: Australasian Music & Popular Culture 1964-1975:
Jeff St John was named Jeffrey Leo Newton when he was born . . . . [He] was diagnosed at birth with spina bifida, a congenital disability that causes malformation of the spine and resultant posture and walking difficulties. For much of his youth, Jeff walked with a caliper on his right leg, and underwent numerous painful operations. . . . Aged just 8, Jeffrey first performed in public in a kids’ talent quest on Sydney’s radio 2GB. By age 15 he had secured a guest spot on Channel Nine’s TV teen talent showcase, Opportunity Knocks . . . and he appeared regularly on the show between 1961 and 1963. A couple of years afterwards, by this time almost constantly supported by crutches because of his worsening condition, Jeff joined forces with an established Sydney blues-rock outfit called The Syndicate . . . . [It] soon evolved, via The Wild Oats, into The Id . . . with Jeff also adopting the stage name* he has used ever since. This powerhouse band quickly became a leading attraction in Sydney . . . and also made inroads in the Melbourne scene . . . with its powerful, brass-augmented repertoire and Jeff’s rich and soulful vocals. . . . [and earned a] reputation as one of the country’s top R&B bands . . . . On record, Jeff and The Id are probably best remembered for their scorching, brass-laden smash single, “Big Time Operator” . . . . Jeff parted ways with The Id. . . . [and] put together . . . Yama . . . . [which] folded prematurely around May 1968 . . . . St John underwent a series of . . . operations that . . . le[ft] him wheelchair-bound for the rest of his life. Undeterred, Jeff returned to live performance after a lengthy recuperation, and actually transformed his liability into his own trademark, executing ‘wheelies’ and pirouettes across the stage as he sang! . . . St. John unveiled his new band, Copperwine (aka Jeff St John’s Copperwine), in early 1969 . . . . Copperwine soon commanded a rabid following in [Sydney’s] fast-developing ‘head’ scene. . . . St John wowed punters at the Ourimbah “Pilgrimage For Pop”, Australia’s first major outdoor rock festival . . . at the end of January 1970. The band’s dynamic repertoire mixed quality prog-flavoured group originals with powerful [covers] . . . . [The LP] Joint Effort won considerable critical acclaim, but failed to generate significant sales. . . . A[] single [“Teach Me How to Fly”], issued on Spin in November 1970, fared extremely well. . . . An ‘insane” (as Jeff puts it) schedule of touring, concentrated in the eastern states, sustained Copperwine throughout 1970-71. . . .
* Christie Eliezer: “St John would later tell this writer, ‘Some of the band were upset for me that I’d been asked to change my name. But for a kid who lived this life which consisted mostly of going to hospital, getting a stage name, a stage persona, was fantastic, a way of living the dream.'” (https://themusicnetwork.com/vale-jeff-st-john-april-1946-march-2018/)
The 45:
Live at The Pilgrimage For Pop Festival at Ourimbah (from the 1970 movie “Once Around The Sun”):
Live ‘75:
Rotary Connection:
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