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About the Author

Author Info

B. John Burns is an obscure Johnston, Iowa songwriter celebrating his Golden Jubilee in 2022. Since writing "Last Airport Home" in September 1972, John has written approximately 5,000 songs in nearly every genre of music. He has appeared in 25 states, and continues to perform his tunes for mostly small, intimate audiences on piano, guitar, and ukulele.

To put food on the table, John has worked as a busboy, a stereo salesman, a bank messenger, a criminal defense attorney, a grill cook, a Pinkerton guard, a political organizer, a bank bookkeeper, a published author, a paid actor, and a martial arts instructor. Through it all, he has continued to write music on nearly a daily basis.

News

Reviews of Baby Pictures: My Year on the Road with Baby Lester and the Buggybumpers

"A compelling memoir about a musician's coming of age"
“Recalling a 1970s cross-country tour and written with dry wit, Baby Pictures is a compelling memoir about a musician’s coming of age.”— Carolina Ciucci, Foreword/Clarion Review.

"A joyful nostalgia trip to 1976"
“B. John Burns takes readers on a joyful nostalgia trip to 1976 with this account of his memorable year in a struggling Omaha, Nebraska-based band. This memoir conveys a
transformational period in his young life, when gas was cheap and Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours was in heavy rotation on the car’s AM radio.” Blue Ink Reviews

"A young man's road trip through the US making music"
"This book was a joy. A tale of humorous adventure, a young man’s road trip through the US making music. John is fearless in his portrayal of his young self and unafraid to laugh at his misadventures. His writing style reminded me a great deal of John Kennedy Toole’s “A Confederacy of Dunces”. Thanks John for this portrait of the ‘70’s I think you were one of the few who got through it sober.” — Iowa Blues Legend Vicki Price
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