Stan Rogers from 5/28/1983

John Flynn is an American singer-songwriter and activist known for his powerful music and tireless efforts on behalf of the lost and the lonely, the shackled and scarred. His career has embodied an authentic troubadour odyssey. Over three and a half decades, John Flynn's music has carried him from Jersey shore bars to Nashville's Music Row; from home plate performances in major league ballparks to concerts in maximum-security prisons; from star-studded benefit shows at Tipitina's in New Orleans to appearances at the Walter Reed Military Hospital and the Dover Air Force Base. Along the way Flynn has continued to make new friends and fans as he has given of his defiantly unguarded heart and optimistic spirit from large and small stages, living rooms, pulpits and schools across this country. A wordsmith of rare facility, Flynn's songs are laced with keenly observed and soul-resonant scraps of irony, humor, stumbled-on wisdom, and streetwise compassion. John put himself through Temple University playing folk and country rock covers in bar bands, while slowly introducing his own songs into the mix. These days John's performances draw widely from a significant body of work, ranging from his early country offerings to story songs, love songs, songs for kids, funny songs, songs of social justice, and meditations on love, loss, presence, forgiveness, and hope. The father of four spurned touring when his kids were young, but, as the children grew older, superlatives began to welcome their dad's arrival to the national stage. Over the years John's work as a social justice activist has garnered almost as much attention as his music. An ardent opponent of the death penalty, he has organized, and been a principle performer in, a series of MERCy Concerts (Musicians Encouraging the Repeal of Capital punishment) in his home state of Delaware.

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