John Garner, American rock drummer and vocalist, Died at 63

John Garner real name John Guarneri was born in Manhattan and died on December 5, 2015.

He graduated from high school in Brooklyn, where he grew up.

After school, John teamed up with Louis Dambra (guitar) and Gary Justin (bass) to form a band.

Producer Mike Appel’s ad for a “heavy band needed for recording” in the Village Voice in 1968, and called their band Sir Lord Baltimore.

The group would be Managed by Dee Anthony, Sir Lord Baltimore recorded for Mercury Records, and their album.

Their song, called “Kingdom Come,” was considered to be America’s answer to Britain’s Led Zeppelin.

He performed at Carnegie Hall and at Fillmore East, as the opening act on a bill that included The J. Geils Band and Black Sabbath.

Garner then worked for 10 years for the city Sanitation Department.

He lived in Brooklyn until moving to Richmond in 2002.

John Garner cherished his family and loved spending time with them.

His family said in an interview, “He was an ever-thoughtful son, loving brother and uncle to 20 nieces and nephews and 20 grandnieces and grandnephews, and will remain forever in our hearts and always on our minds,” his family said.

Around the year 2006, Garner and Dambra reunited as Sir Lord Baltimore and released a new album, Sir Lord Baltimore III Raw.

The reformed band featured a Christian focus and lyrics, an emphasis not found in their earlier work.

Justin had left the band no longer an active musician, did not participate.

John Garner also had a soft spot for animals and was an advocate for them.

John was devoted in his faith as a born again christian.

Garner was a parishioner of Our Lady Queen of Peace R.C. Church, New Dorp.

He left behind his brothers, Rosario, Eugene and Carlo, and his sisters, Mary Lalli, Jean Gorga, Josephine Pangia and Elvira Santo.

John Garner passed away at 63 yrs old.