B. John Burns

The year 2022 marked B. John Burns' Golden Jamboree as a songwriter. In September, 1972 he sat down at his mother's Cable-Nelson piano and wrote his first song, "Last Airport Home." In the 50 years that followed, he has written approximately 5,000 songs in a variety of styles. He performs about 250 of them on piano, guitar and ukulele. He has appeared in 23 states, from California to Georgia, from Washington D.C. to Seattle, Washington.

Over the years, when he was not earning his keep as a musician, John has put food on the table, and acquired the experiences that fuel his songwriting, working as a bus boy, a bank messenger, a stereo salesman, a Pinkerton guard, a paid actor, a lawyer, a grill cook, a political organizer, a bookkeeper in a bank and a published author.

Before going solo as a singer/songwriter focusing exclusively on his original tunes, John was a side man in a number of bands. In the mid-70s he toured the United States with Baby Lester and the Buggybumpers, a show band out of Omaha.

John's sole remaining goal in life is to the be oldest recipient of the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. The longer this objective eludes him, the more likely it will be that anyone will ever take it away.