Popular Ghazal singer Sunny Benjamin John as known in the entertainment industry circles and among his fans as S.B John, passed away at the age of 90 here on Saturday, June 5th, 2021 after a long sickness. He was the father of Lead Vocalist Glenn Silverious John from the Pakistan Pop/Rock Band Gurus Trilogy.
Glenn tells that his father was born in October 1930 in Karachi. After finishing his studies at St. Paul’s School, he went to Kalyan Sangeet Vidyala which was situated near Burns Road, Karachi. There he learned music from Pandit Ram Chandra Trivedi. Initially, he went there to learn Tabla but later his Guru’s suggestion, he started singing. Pandit Ram Chandra migrated to India after the Partition of the Sub-Continent.
In a farewell speech, Glenn said that “He was an amazing father, although old-fashioned, but there was a great friendly personality within him. He was a strict teacher when it came to music and highly disciplined about the art. He would not tolerate non-seriousness. While talking to my mother, he told her that in the school his children could speak in English around the house, but they would have to speak in Urdu because it’s their mother tongue.
He was a book collector and in his best of the books, he owned the first print of Roots by Alex Haley.”
Mr. S.B. John was awarded the President’s Pride of Performance in the Year 2011.
The Funeral Services were held after Glenn arrived from Sweden as he lives there with his family.