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John Windle is the solid, reliable bass man who rounds out StoneAge’s meaty arrangements and forceful sounds. He also sings back up lending his voice to the tight harmonies for which StoneAge is famous. Occasionally he steps up to the mike as lead singer,. He draws the audience in with his actions and witty banter. While John believes the band’s name is a bit tongue in cheek, he believes that good music at any age is still good music if it is performed well.
John was born in Oak Cliff, Texas, a community which produced dozens of celebrated musicians. John honed his guitar skill in the same garages where blues legend Stevie Ray Vaughn learned to play. Traveling a similar path, John and his various bands were regulars on the skating rink circuit of the era and eventually worked his way to Dallas’ famous club circuit.
John’s musical aptitude emerged early. After watching the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan show, John turned to his mother and said he wanted to grow his hair long and learn to play the guitar. Laughing, his mother agreed. By 10, he had appeared on the Mr. Peppermint show, a popular children’s television program. By 16 he played his first club gig at the long-defunct Ace of Clubs. He began playing the circuit with regularity just two years later.
In 1973, he cut his first record, playing guitar with Kenny Wayne and the Commotions. John was a Commotion. John joined Southern Cross at 21 and switched to bass guitar. It’s been his instrument of choice ever since. He later joined First State Bank. Both bands traveled extensively and developed a wide fan base. John eventually switched to Shotgun, which later became Vizion. Shotgun and Vizion had an even larger following. In 1979, Vizion cut an album titled Rock For Your Life which received airplay on rock stations throughout the South and Southwest. The album hit the top ten charts in many local markets. One of John’s greatest thrills was to hear the album played over the airwaves.
John left touring in the early 1980s to take up marketing. One of his claims to fame was negotiating one of the first local exclusive advertising deals with a fledgling music-oriented cable station called MTV.
At the end of the decade, John returned to performing with renewed energy, this time hooking up with the wildly popular show band, C.C.Crow. Rockwall, Texas-based C.C.Crow was known for its entertaining stage performance and was in high demand at conventions and private parties throughout North Texas. When C.C.Crow wasn’t performing, John played with Texas Twister, a fun side project that toured the East Texas lake club circuit.
With more than four decades of musical experience, John plays guitar, bass, banjo, mandolin and keyboard. His musical influences include Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Yes, Eric Clapton, Queen, and of course, the Beatles.
For more than 15 years, John taught off-campus credit courses in classical guitar and jazz theory for the Rockwall Independent School District. John is the one-time owner of C.C. Crow Music Co., a recording studio that catered to indie artists from a wide range of genres. He used his knowledge of arranging and sound engineering to help these artists improve their sound.
Ready to seek new adventures, John sold the recording studio in 1999, and became a realtor with RE/MAX Properties in Rockwall, Texas. John and his wife, Lynn, live in Allen, and they have four grown children and one granddaughter. When he’s not on stage or with a client, John can be found out on the links working on his golf swing.
From left to right, Terry Salyer, John Windle, and Randy Nunnaly 1975
photo from Vicki Brase
