KSHE 95 gave J.D. Blackfoot the audience Mercury Records never did.

J.D. Blackfoot, whose albums The Ultimate Prophecy and The Song of Crazy Horse found an enduring audience through KSHE 95, became one of St. Louis' most beloved rock musicians despite never achieving mainstream commercial success. Courtesy of J.D. Blackfoot

When Benjamin Franklin Van Dervort purchased a cheap guitar and amplifier in 1961, he had no formal training and no way of knowing the instrument would shape the rest of his life.
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More than six decades later, fans know him by another name—J.D. Blackfoot—the singer-songwriter whose albums The Ultimate Prophecy and The Song of Crazy Horse became staples of St. Louis rock radio. Although born in Ohio and largely overlooked by the national music industry, Blackfoot developed one of the most loyal followings in the Midwest thanks largely to the influence of KSHE 95, where listeners embraced his music with an enthusiasm few record executives ever anticipated.
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Born May 9, 1944, in Cleveland, Ohio, Blackfoot spent part of his childhood in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, before his family settled in Laurel, Maryland. After graduating from Laurel High School in 1962, he discovered that a guitar and determination could be a powerful combination.

"In 1961, I bought myself a $78 guitar and a $50 amplifier," he said. "I also got a chord chart and taught myself to play."
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Like many aspiring musicians, he helped form a local band known as The Starfires.

"I think we played three or four gigs before breaking up," he said with a laugh.

Music temporarily took a back seat in 1964 when he enlisted in the Army National Guard. After completing basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and advanced training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, he returned to civilian life in Columbus, Ohio. Since most National Guard positions were filled as the Vietnam War escalated, he continued serving his country in the Air Force Reserve as an Air Policeman until his discharge in 1970.

Between military obligations, Blackfoot accepted a job selling life insurance for Prudential. Ironically, it was while calling on customers that his music career truly began.

"I stopped by this house where a band was practicing in the basement," he remembered.

That chance encounter led him to join The Ebb Tides, a regional rock band that toured throughout 18 states and Canada. Although he remained with the group for less than a year, the experience convinced him that music—not insurance—was his future.

While still serving in the Air Force Reserve, Blackfoot found a financial backer willing to finance a three-song demonstration recording. The demo quickly attracted the attention of Mercury Records, earning him a recording contract.

"I didn't have a tough time getting signed," he said. "I had a tough time after I was signed."

In 1970, Mercury sent Blackfoot to a New York recording studio where he recorded his debut album, The Ultimate Prophecy, in only two days. The record blended progressive rock with deeply personal lyrics and imaginative storytelling, all of which were qualities that would define his career.

Unfortunately, timing worked against him. Before the album's release, the Mercury vice president who had championed Blackfoot left the company. His replacement focused on promoting artists he had personally signed, leaving Blackfoot's debut without the support of the label's promotional machine. Instead of joining a major tour with Rod Stewart, the opportunity went to another act.

Despite the lack of national promotion, The Ultimate Prophecy became the best-selling album in central Ohio during the summer of 1970. Yet without Mercury's backing, it failed to reach the broader audience many believed it deserved. Frustrated by the label's lack of support, Blackfoot eventually negotiated his release from Mercury Records. What happened next would forever connect an Ohio musician with St. Louis.

In 1972, a man purchased a copy of The Ultimate Prophecy from a cutout bin for just 10 cents. Believing he had discovered something special, he passed the album to Ron Stevens, one of the influential personalities at KSHE 95. Stevens then shared it with program director Shelley Grafman.

The station decided to give the record a chance and the response was immediate.

"When they played it," Blackfoot recalled, "the phones lit up."

Listeners flooded KSHE with requests, and The Ultimate Prophecy quickly became one of the station's signature albums. While Mercury Records had failed to recognize the record's commercial potential, St. Louis listeners embraced it wholeheartedly.

The same phenomenon occurred a few years later with The Song of Crazy Horse, the ambitious concept album that many consider Blackfoot's masterpiece.

Inspired by a vivid vision he experienced while living in New Zealand during the early 1970s, Blackfoot wrote the album as a tribute to Native American history and the legendary Lakota leader Crazy Horse. Once again, KSHE introduced the music to its audience, and once again, the station's telephones lit up. The overwhelming response transformed The Song of Crazy Horse into a regional classic and cemented Blackfoot's reputation as one of St. Louis' most respected rock musicians.

While national fame largely eluded him, Blackfoot continued writing, recording and performing. Over the years he released 16 full-length projects and an EP, building a catalog that reflected his fascination with history, spirituality and the human experience.

Determined never again to surrender control of his music, he established Sisapa Records in 1988. The name, he explained, is "Blackfoot" in the Lakota language. By reclaiming ownership of both his recordings and publishing rights, he accomplished something many recording artists only dream about.

Later, he formed Yonder Music, continuing to release and distribute his work independently.

His personal life also brought profound challenges. In 1997, his first wife died from cancer. During the early 2000s, he and his second wife returned to New Zealand, where he recorded the album Co-Dependent Dysfunctional You, another example of how travel and personal experience continued to shape his songwriting.

Blackfoot now sells his music primarily through Amazon, eBay and his website, which is currently undergoing updates. He noted that it took years to eliminate unauthorized bootleg recordings and regain control of his catalog. 

Although declining health forced him to retire from live performances following his final concert in St. Louis in 2017, he remains creatively active. He is currently writing a memoir chronicling his extraordinary life and career. 

Looking back, Blackfoot believes one guiding principle has remained constant.

"I have always taken that inner voice that people talk about and listened to it," he said. "Whether it has been to warn me about something or to provide inspiration, it's been there for a reason."

That inner voice led him from a self-taught guitarist with a chord chart to a recording artist whose music found an enduring home hundreds of miles away from where it began. Record executives may have underestimated The Ultimate Prophecy, but St. Louis listeners did not.

Thanks to KSHE 95 and generations of devoted fans, J.D. Blackfoot's music continues to inspire audiences more than half a century after it first reached the airwaves, serving as a testament to the power of great songs, perseverance and the unexpected places where legends are born.

Jeremy P. Ämick is author of biographies of the rock bands Missouri, Shooting Star and Head East.