Our beloved founder John Rhys-Eddins, musician, songwriter, engineer, producer, husband, father, and friend to me and many others, left this world on Sunday, August 27, 2023 at the age of 82.

My name is Mike Toth and I manage the tech for Bluepower.com. I met John about 30 years ago through his long time friend and old roommate John Braheny, who is my biological father. It shortly worked out that I was able to help John with the technical aspects of publishing his labor of love, Bluepower.com, a huge archive of recorded interviews with musicians that delve deep into the musical history of the last century.

I took on this role about 20 years ago and will continue to maintain this site so that John's wonderful work can educate and entertain the world in perpetuity.

I sure will miss John, though. My heartfelt condolences go out to everyone touched by him.

Sharing some beautiful words below from John's daughter Robin Rhys-Eddins:

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My dad loved sweets. He loved things like black licorice, chocolate covered cherries in fall, and could never resist a box of See’s chocolates.

Sometimes when he couldn’t sleep I would catch him in the kitchen making chocolate cake. He would stand over the counter for an hour making the most luxurious white whipped frosting with a hand mixer. 

He was a master chef making family staples such as Swedish pancakes, lemon chicken, lamb thing, home fries, paper bag fried chicken and okra,  candied ham, and the best in-the-bird stuffing you’d ever taste.

He always took the long way around no matter where we were going.

He loved anchovies on pizza, and mayo on his burgers.

When he opened gifts he would do so with precision and care, careful to never rip the paper (something we would always give him a hard time about).

He was a poet and would write my mom beautiful love letters.

He cried at every Disney movie.

He kept everything I ever gave him.

He filled our home with music and love.

Once you met him, he was your friend for life. He would give you his last dollar or the shirt off his back if he thought you needed it more.

He was the legend known as John Rhys, or JR to his friends, with a long career and more stories and adventures in his pinky than most experience in a lifetime. But, he was modest as hell, and never liked to be the center of attention, unless he had a guitar in his hand. He loved to play, and worked at it every day of his life because it made him happy.

Nothing made him happier though then being surrounded by his family. He was funny and goofy and loved english humor. He put on a serious face a lot of the time, but there was nothing more satisfying then when you could get him to crack a smile.

He was brilliant. I feel so lucky and proud that I got to have him as MY Dad. My Dad always used to say I had ‘the shine’ something I no doubt inherited from him. My dad was always my biggest fan. But, I will forever be his.

❤️ Rock on dadio.

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Feel free to tell us your stories about John in the comments!

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