b. 19 March 1952, Savannah, Georgia, USA. Country singer John Brannen was raised by his mother in Charleston, South Carolina, USA. He became interested in travelling and playing music and, combining the two, he sailed the Caribbean for a year, pulling into ports and playing in local clubs. Back in Charleston, he joined Wheat Ridge and became converted to country music through Waylon Jennings’ records. He signed recording contracts with Capitol Records and then Apache (releasing his 1988 debut Mystery Street on the latter), but when they did not work out, he spent a year as a labourer. The songwriter and producer David Malloy signed Brannen to Mercury Records and produced his major-label debut, 1993’s John Brannen. He has a wide-ranging voice, capable of Roy Orbison’s heights, but he has yet to achieve a US country hit.