Not many people can boast that they’ve had Tommy Newsom, the assistant music director of “The Tonight Show,” chart a song for them. But when local musician John Baldwin was a student at Old Dominion University, that’s exactly what happened.
“I had Newsom arrange one of my songs for big band,” he said. “I was writing articles for the (college) Mace & Crown newspaper and I interviewed Tommy, who went to ODU. At the end of the interview I asked him if he would chart a song for me. He said, ‘Great, come on over next Saturday and show me what you’ve got.’”
That song, “Jeannie Marie,” ended up on Baldwin’s second CD, “Six String Slinger.”
Baldwin claims he’s never worked a day in his life. Instead, he’s spent his days doing what he loves: writing and playing music. He says every album — he’s currently working on his fourth — has explored a different music genre, including rock and blues, alternative, country and Christian.
“This album I’m working on is country and Americana,” he says of his current album. “The last album will be Christian. So I’ll end it praising the Lord. That will be my life’s work.”