John Batdorf

Born on March 26, 1952, in Springfield, Ohio, John Batdorf experienced his decisive musical awakening in the 1960s after seeing the Beatles, an event that immediately convinced him music was his calling. Apart from one year of sight-singing instruction taken in 1983 at the Dick Grove School of Music, he developed his abilities without formal training; although his father and uncle supplied the earliest influences, he has stated that the British Invasion “changed everything for me.”

Jack Batdorf, his musician father, included young John in club performances from the age of five, where the boy sang numbers such as “Blue Suede Shoes” and “Hound Dog,” an upbringing that naturally led to lifelong band activity.

At fifteen, Batdorf’s group the Luv’d Ones opened for the Young Rascals in Los Angeles. During the summer of 1970 he met future partner Mark Rodney while both were playing at The Kitchen, a coffee house on the University of Las Vegas campus; the pair soon formed Batdorf & Rodney. In December 1970 they secured a contract by auditioning live for Ahmet Ertegun at the Beverly Hills Hotel, after which Atlantic Records signed them the following day without any demo tape, relying solely on their demonstrated songwriting and performance skills.

The duo completed three albums, beginning with the 1971 Atlantic release Off the Shelf and continuing with the self-titled 1972 Asylum album. In 1973 Batdorf contributed vocals to Dave Mason’s It’s Like You Never Left while Batdorf & Rodney, now on Arista, recorded Life Is You; that album yielded a minor hit with Jim Weatherly’s “You Are a Song.” The pair next cut a single version of “Somewhere in the Night,” produced by Clive Davis, which became their highest-charting release despite a promotional clash with Helen Reddy’s competing rendition. The resulting conflict damaged both versions yet ultimately cleared the way for Barry Manilow’s successful recording of the same song. “Somewhere in the Night” never appeared on an album, and shortly afterward Batdorf & Rodney disbanded.

Batdorf then joined the Arista group Silver, which scored a minor 1976 hit with “Wham Bam.” Concurrently his voice was sought for sessions with Eric Andersen, Berlin, Rod Stewart, Donna Summer, David Lee Roth, Harry Connick, Jr., Michael McLean, and numerous additional artists. In 1982 he issued the solo single “Be My Baby,” a cover of the Ronettes classic, on 20th Century Fox Records.

During the 1980s he worked as a staff songwriter for Kim Carnes, America, England Dan, and others, while also singing on countless jingles, films, and television programs. Few listeners realize that Batdorf and Max Gronenthal supplied the backing vocals for Mötley Crüe’s 1985 Theatre of Pain sessions; although the band preferred secrecy, the pair performed on every track and received credit only under “Special Thanks.” Batdorf’s voice can likewise be heard on the main-title themes for Tom and Jerry Kids, Garfield and Friends, Promised Land, and Doctor, Doctor.

By 1996 he had become the composer for the CBS series Promised Land starring Gerald McRaney; after the show’s three-season run he spent four years as alternate composer on Touched by an Angel, supplying 90 percent of its source music until cancellation in 2003. In 1997 he formed the duo Batdorf & McLean with Michael McLean, previously a collaborator as arranger and vocalist, and they issued the album Don’t You Know, one of four recordings the pair would complete.

In 2002 Batdorf wrote the complete score for the PAX TV film Book of Days, which premiered in 2003. With James Lee Stanley he recorded All Wood and Stones, presenting fresh interpretations of Rolling Stones material, followed by his debut solo EP. The 2006 solo album Home Again reunited him with Mark Rodney on several tracks and incorporated numerous Batdorf & McLean compositions. John Batdorf, whose work was recorded by both Ahmet Ertegun and Clive Davis during the 1970s, continues soundtrack and session activity while writing and releasing additional original material.