Country rock songs with a Christian theme are very popular in the United States and John Michael Talbot is a successful singer and guitarist of the genre. He was born in 1954 in Oklahoma City and learned to play guitar as a young boy. His musical family were Methodists and he and older brother Terry founded a band called Mason Proffit, which Talbot left school for, so he could pursue a musical career with them. The band recorded five albums and broke up after moderate chart success and supporting Grateful Dead on tour.
Talbot and his brother became members of the hippie, Jesus Movement and released a record as a duo called Reborn. Talbot followed this with two solo albums, John Michael Talbot in 1976 and The New Earth, a year later. He went through a lot of life changes and got married, had a daughter and divorced. He became reclusive and studied at a Franciscan retreat, eventually joining the Secular Franciscan Order and converting to Catholicism. He had intended to shun the limelight but came out of retirement to please his many fans. Talbot has been very prolific, producing a number of albums over the years, most recently with the 2006 release, The Beautiful City.
In addition to recording and performing, Talbot has founded a monastic community known as the Brothers and Sisters of Charity. The headquarters is located at the Little Portion Hermitage retreat in Arizona. This welcomes Christians from any denomination with different membership for celibates, singles, couples and families. John Michael Talbot is a ministerial leader there and promotes their activities. He re-married in 1989. The community supports the work of the humanitarian relief agency, Mercy Corps and an orphanage in Nicaragua. The Hermitage also incorporates the Little Flower Clinic, a medical facility set up for people who cannot afford medical assistance or do not have any medical insurance. It's run by qualified staff that volunteer their time.
Talbot has written and co-written several books on religious themes, exploring the relationship between Christianity and music and meditation. He has also written about mystics, the creation and St. Francis of Assisi. There is an authorized biography of the life and musical and monastic career of John Michael Talbot, written by Dan O'Neill and titled Signatures, published in 2003. Talbot has combined a love of music and his Christian convictions, enjoying a long career with a loyal fan base.
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