Local balladeer and attorney John Blankenship held a reverse birthday party Thursday (4/28/2016) night at Chef C.J.'s Restaurant on West Northfield Boulevard. The intimate party room was packed with around a hundred of John's high school friends, local attorneys, judges and community leaders. Instead of gifts for the 65-year old crooner, he gave them the gift of a memorable evening with friends.
John began with a tribute to local attorney and former state representative Kent Coleman who just passed away from complications of cystic fibrosis that he fought most of his life.
Those in attendance enjoyed a three-hour concert from Johnny B. and the Balladeers, plus an opportunity to get to know, even better, the singer you hear on the Truman Show every Friday morning at 9:00 o'clock over WGNS.
Plus, all of the guests enjoyed a slice of the Johnny B Guitar birthday cake. Not only was it delicious, but it was a piece of art as well.
Blankenship was not just moved by the large turnout, but with how the audience was literally spellbound with his music. He commented . . .
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Close friends shared personal memories of their life with John, and he told about how he got to meet and get to know Marty Robbins, his musician mentor.
BOOK IN THE WORKS
John wrote "The Valley of the Guns", a song about massacres of Native Americans during California's Gold Rush. As he researched those atrocities, Blankenship learned of Indian communities totally being wiped out. For example, the Yana tribe in the Sacramento valley disappeared as a result of deliberate massacres by gold miners between 1850 and 1870. That dark history birthed the song "The Valley of the Guns".
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The research for the music also spawned the beginning chapters for a book. In fact, as an observer, it has the ingredients to become a movie as well.
And speaking of movies, another item in Blankenship's bucket list is a movie telling how he and his brother stumbled into the Grand Ole Opry one night, heard Marty Robbins and how that changed their lives. It's a story of the south in the 60's when country music and hot rods were a major part of the culture.
Tune into The Truman Show with former 38-year Rutherford County Sheriff Truman Jones every Friday morning at 9:00 on WGNS (FM 100.5, FM 101.9, AM 1450 and worldwide at www.WGNSradio.com) and enjoy a relaxing hour of conversation with John Blankenship.
