Remembering John Till
Born in 1945, John Till was a guitarist from Stratford, Ontario and when he was a teenager he formed a band named The Rockin' Revols (later known simply as The Revols) with his friends Richard Manuel (who went on to join Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks and then, The Band), Ken Kalmusky (who joined The Hawks, then Great Speckled Bird), Doug Rhodes and Jim Winkler. John himself later went on to join Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks and in 1969 he was recruited to become the guitarist for Janis Joplin and he toured with her and later played on Janis' quadruple platinum selling album Pearl.
Between 2012-2015, John Till generously provided GW Grainger with background stories and reflections for the play Manuel that Grainger wrote and that was performed in London, Ontario. Having become friends they shared phone calls and John liked to talk about his wife Dorcas whom he adored, the stars and the universe and the connection we all share. John had an acerbic sense of humour and Grainger cherished these conversations. Grainger also remembers speaking with legendary and genius keyboardist Garth Hudson from The Band about John Till. States Grainger:
Garth looked me straight in the eye
and in a real serious voice said,
"John Till is a great guitarist."
Well, Garth Hudson would know...
John Till liked to keep a low key profile but his incendiary guitar playing was easily identifiable. For decades following his work with Janis Joplin (and after Bobby Charles and others), John played across South-Western Ontario with great friends BW Pawley, Ken Kalmusky, Billy Hilton and others in an immensely talented band called Plum Loco It was clear to all that members of Plum Loco were having so much fun together. Later, John's son Shawn joined the band on bass guitar. Their shows were inspired, paying homage to the best in blues, soul and rock. Live music fans in attendance felt like they were were privy to the best kept secret.
The Richard G. Manuel Music Award at Western University is an award that John supported with his words of encouragement, live performances and his presence at accompanying events. In 2020 John was awarded with Stratford Ontario's Bronze Star for his significant contributions to arts and culture. This meant a lot to him. John Till passed away in 2022.
We miss him.