John Bunzow (born May 2, 1951[1]) is an American country music singer-songwriter. Bunzow was signed to Liberty Records and charted one single on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.

John Bunzow
Born (1951-05-02) May 2, 1951 (age 73)
Portland, Oregon
GenresAmericana
OccupationSinger-songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active1995–present
LabelsLiberty, ZoDog, Sideburn
Websitewww.johnbunzow.com

Career

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Bunzow was signed to Liberty Records (which was then the name of the Nashville subsidiary of Capitol Records) and released his debut single, "Easy as One, Two, Three", in 1995.[2] Deborah Evans Price of Billboard gave the song a favorable review, writing that "Bunzow plays it simple, but keeps things interesting by throwing in some nifty chord-change curves."[3] It peaked at number 69 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.[1] Liberty planned to release Bunzow's album, Stories of the Years, on May 23, 1995.[4] Pemberton Roach of AllMusic gave the album three stars out of five, calling it "a refreshingly direct, no-nonsense country record that had more in common with Steve Earle's best work than with any dance-club pretty boys."[5] Alanna Nash of Entertainment Weekly gave the album an A grade, writing that Bunzow blends "an amiable tenor with economy of language and the minimalistic production of Dwight Yoakam collaborator Pete Anderson."[6] After Jimmy Bowen left Liberty Records in March 1995 and the label returned to its Capitol Nashville name, the album was shelved and Bunzow was dropped.[7][8]

Bunzow continued writing and performing.[7] A compilation of material Bunzow wrote for publishing companies in Nashville, Off the Shelf, was released by ZoDog Records in 2000.[9] In 2002, Bunzow recorded an album, Darkness and Light, which was released by independent label Sideburn Records.[7] Bob Gottlieb of AllMusic gave the album four stars out of five, calling it "a strong disc that rips into each new song with a strong ferocity that brings the song home."[10] Bunzow also released a live album, Alive at O'Connor's, in 2004.[9]

Discography

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Albums

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Title Album details
Off the Shelf
  • Release date: 2000
  • Label: ZoDog Records
Darkness and Light
  • Release date: June 18, 2002
  • Label: Sideburn Records
Alive at O'Connor's
  • Release date: January 17, 2004
  • Label: ZoDog Records

Singles

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Year Single Peak positions Album
US Country
1995 "Easy as One, Two, Three" 69 Stories of the Years (unreleased)

Music videos

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Year Video Director
1995 "Easy as One, Two, Three" Chris Lovett

References

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  1. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
  2. ^ Hurst, Jack (April 9, 1995). "Getting Personal". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
  3. ^ Price, Deborah Evans (March 11, 1995). "Single Reviews". Billboard. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
  4. ^ "Stories of the Years – John Bunzow". AllMusic. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
  5. ^ Roach, Pemberton. "Stories of the Years review". AllMusic. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
  6. ^ Nash, Alanna (August 25, 1995). "Stories of the Years Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
  7. ^ a b c Griffith, Paul (November 2002). "John Bunzow – Liberated from the dark". No Depression. Archived from the original on August 30, 2011. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
  8. ^ Cox, Pasti Bale (May 28, 2009). The Garth Factor: The Career Behind Country's Big Boom. Hachette Digital, Inc. ISBN 978-1-599-95275-8.
  9. ^ a b Cullivan, Rob (December 23, 2008). "Bunzow: Will play for food". Portland Tribune. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
  10. ^ Gottlieb, Bob. "Darkness and Light review". AllMusic. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
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