John Ford Coley to bring '70s hits to CMAC

CANANDAIGUA, NY — These days, when John Ford Coley — who made up half of the 1970s soft rock duo England Dan and John Ford Coley — hits the stage, he spends a lot of time laughing and telling stories, in addition to performing songs that have been heard gazillions of times over the last six decades.

Their “I’d Really Like to See You Tonight” may have been played that many times in 1976 alone when the smash hit was a staple of pop radio stations across the country.

Coley is on the CMAC bill Aug. 9 that could serve as a heckuva Time Life music collection of the soft rock and adult contemporary hits of the 1970s. The headlining Little River Band has “Lonesome Loser,” “Reminiscing” and “Lady,” among others. Firefall is no slouch, with “Just Remember I Love You” and “Strange Way.”

England Dan and John Ford Coley are up there, especially when factoring in some of their other hits such as “Nights Are Forever Without You” and “We’ll Never Have to Say Goodbye Again.”

"None of us, I don’t think, ever thought that we’d still be doing this," said Coley in his Texas drawl from his home in Nashville, Tennessee. "It’s a very ephemeral business. You’re up today, you’re down tomorrow,. There’s a period when it ends. None of us thought we’d be out doing this again, but then to run across some of these guys, it’s kind of like the old days."

And his old days are worth a story or two and a song or two today.

“Anybody can get up and play song after song after song, but people, when they come out, they kind of want a piece of you,” said Coley, who also acted for a time, served as music producer and authored "Backstage Pass." “We’re gonna go down memory lane and we’re gonna laugh a lot.”

John Ford Coley on melody

The 1970s was the era of the singer-songwriter, and James Taylor, Carly Simon, Neil Diamond and many others come to mind. And if one worked, why not two together? The Everly Brothers of the late1950s and early 1960s proved the formula works with the right combination, and Simon and Garfunkel, Loggins and Messina, Hall and Oates and England Dan and John Ford Coley carried the torch.

Many of their monster hits of the ‘70s offered listeners spot-on vocals and harmonies, and something else that Coley said is lacking in many of the hit songs of today — melodies.

“There was a lot of good melodic music, and the songs hold up,” Coley said. “There’s hardly any melodies these days. The common person who just wants to sing along really can’t. With those songs, the melodies were so strong. It was focused on the song; it wasn’t focused on the artist. You could sing those songs.”

John Ford Coley on England Dan and John Ford Coley

“England” Dan Seals was given the nickname by his brother, Jim Seals, of another huge ‘70s pop duo, Seals and Crofts (“Summer Breeze”). England, because the younger Seals liked to sing Beatles songs.

Coley became “Ford,” after the director John Ford, which flowed a bit better than Coley's given middle name, Edward.

So, England Dan and John Ford Coley — and a career — was born, and Coley counts his blessings to this day.

“It's been such a boon for me because if you say John Ford Coley, honest to goodness, people will go, ‘Like, as in England Dan?’ They just know the name,” Coley said. “That’s been very good for me for playing gigs and stuff.”

John Ford Coley on yacht rock

Arguably, England Dan and John Ford Coley’s music belongs in this newish genre of soft rock that includes music by many 1970s artists.

Coley loves it.

Coley first became aware of yacht rock several years ago when he was doing an interview on a West Coast radio station, and the hosts mentioned they played his music “real loud” when they took the boat out on weekends.

“I started laughing. You play my music real loud? That’s comical right there,” Coley said. “I can just imagine ‘I’d Really Love to See You Tonight” blaring over the speakers.”

John Ford Coley on misheard lyrics

Speaking of England Dan and John Ford Coley's super hit, the song has a frequently and famously misheard lyric, called a mondegreen.

Actually, as Coley pointed out, there are two in the song.

What most everybody hears in the first example — “ ... I’m not talking 'bout the linen” — is supposed to be “ ... I’m not talking 'bout moving in.”

The next — “"But there’s a warm wind blowing, the stars are out" — is supposed to be — "But there’s a warm wind blowing the stars around."

Who knows why people hear what they hear.

“I know I got a thick accent,” Coley said, laughing. “For me, I’m firmly convinced that was the only reason the song got anywhere at all because nobody could understand the lyrics.”

John Coley on playing the hits

Coley still plays the songs that got him here, not that he will listen to those oldies but goodies. When one of the duo’s songs comes on the radio, he changes the station.

“I love to play the songs. I don’t like to listen to them,” Coley said. “When they come on the radio, I’ll turn them off because they never change.”

Coley may play them a little faster or slower at times, or he may change up a story or joke when introducing them, but he said he has a responsibility to perform those songs, precisely because they don’t change.

“You have to do them the same way because you’ve kind of been relegated to memory lane,” Coley said. “That’s something you have to come to terms with. When people come to see us play, they don’t come to hear new songs. They come to hear the things they remembered growing up. I’ve accepted that. I have no problems with it.”

John Ford Coley on storytelling

Coley loves to tell a story, especially if it’s about touring and performing with a who’s who of performers from the 1970s, including Jim Messina, of Loggins and Messina fame. The two recently performed in Buffalo.

Coley also loves to hear a good story, even after a gig when he’s ready to head home and the fans are not.

Here’s why.

Coley was performing with Susan Cowsill, of The Cowsills fame, when Coley, a professional’s professional, choked up, prompting Cowsill to later ask him what was wrong.

Turns out, Coley was having flashbacks to the early days when he and Dan Seals would drive through the night to gigs, singing songs together along the way. The duet with Cowsill was one of those songs.

“Now, when somebody tells me a story about what they did while they were listening to my songs, it takes on an entirely different understanding,” Coley said. “Those songs, they have memories and associations with various things. You never know the kind of impact you’ll have on someone, unknowingly.”

John Ford Coley on a trick question

People have asked Coley if he and England Dan are planning a reunion tour.

“I always tell them, at some point, eventually, not anytime soon, I hope,” Coley said, laughing. “I’m not in any hurry.”

If only he could for real. Seals, the other half of the duo and with whom Ford began performing with in high school, died in 2009.

Coley, 75, said he is still going strong. These days, when he and some of his '70s friends perform they do so mostly on weekends. And he expects to keep playing for the foreseeable future.

“God and I are gonna have a serious conversation about when I finally get out of this place,” Coley said. “Man, wait a minute, I’m just now starting to have fun again. What do you mean I gotta leave?”

John Ford Coley at CMAC

John Ford Coley, the Little River Band, Firefall and the Robbie Davis Band will be performimg Aug. 9 at Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center, 3355 Marvin Sands Drive. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and performances start at 7 p.m. For details and ticket information, visit https://www.cmacevents.com/event/littleriverband/.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: John Ford Coley to bring '70s hits to CMAC