JEFF ST. JOHN AND COPPERWINE / COPPERWINE

In early 1969, Jeff St.John unveiled his new band, Copperwine (AKA Jeff St John's Copperwine), with low-key dates in Perth, before returning to Sydney. Copperwine soon created a following in that city's fast developing 'head' scene. Around the time of the new band's formation, guitarist Ross East was also invited to join the revised Masters Apprentices line-up, but he turned it down, opting to stay with Jeff. Aided by East and Peter Figures (ex-The Throb), plus Alan Ingham on bass and keyboardist Barry Kelly, Jeff St John wowed punters at the Ourimbah "Pilgrimage For Pop", Australia's first major outdoor rock festival, held at Ourimbah, NSW at the end of January 1970.

The band's dynamic repertoire mixed quality prog-flavoured group originals with powerful renditions of Sly & the Family Stone's funk classic "Sing A Simple Song", a storming version of The Temptations' psych-soul masterpiece "Cloud Nine" and Blind Faith's "Can't Find My Way Home". This body of songs was captured by producer Spencer Lee that remains one of the most accomplished and musically adventurous LPs of the time. The album entitled 'Joint Effort' won considerable critical acclaim, but failed to generate significant sales.

The single "Cloud Nine" suffered a similar fate in February 1970. An EP, 'Sing A Simple Song', which featured four songs from the album, was released in May 1970. 'Joint Effort' as an album was one of Festival Record's most consistent sellers for many years, it's a fine example of what was musically going on with Australian rock in this fertile time, and it documents what a fine band Copperwine was and provided conclusive proof that Jeff St. John was one of the best rock vocalists this country has ever produced. 

Another single, released in November 1970, fared extremely well. The smoothly confident, organ-led cover of Rotary Connection's "Teach Me How To Fly" propelled the band to #12 on the Melbourne charts and a very encouraging #3 in Sydney. Jeff's dazzling vocal performance on this record is probably the main reason why. The band toured relentlessly during 1971 and appeared with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra plus they supported The Hollies on their Australian tour in 1971. They also released another single, the delicate "Hummingbird". By late 1971 friction had emerged between Jeff St. John and Copperwine. He left them early in 1972 to form his own band and pursue a solo career. Ross East died in 2015. Jeff St. John died in 2018

Members

Jeff St. John (vocals), Harry Brus (bass), Ross East (guitar, vocals), Johnny Green (guitar), Barry Kelly (piano, clarinet), Wendy Saddington (vocals), Peter Figures (drums), Alan Ingham (bass), Phil Wooding (guitar)

SINGLES 
''Days To Come / Cloud Nine'' 1970 Spin 
''Teach Me How To Fly (#11) / Freedom Blues'' 1970 Chart 
''Hummingbird / Keep On Growing'' 1971 Infinity
''Golden Angels / What's In A Day'' 1972 Infinity 

EPs 

'Sing A Simple Song' 1970 Spin

ALBUMS 
'Joint Effort' 1971 Spin 

References

http://www.candomusos.com/profile-jeff-st-john.php

http://top100singles.blogspot.com.au/