John Ford Coley performing in Tiffin

TIFFIN — John Ford Coley, of England Dan and John Ford Coley fame, has not yet performed at The Lincoln Center, but his career is not yet over, he said in an interview with The A-T this week. He has been around the block, appearing at the Grand Ole Opry, Carnegie Hall and many other famous venues around the country. Coley's next tour will make its way to The Ritz Theater in Tiffin. Coley will appear with Ambrosia and Peter Beckett at The Ritz in downtown Tiffin April 26. Coley grew up in Dallas, starting classical piano lessons when he was just six-years-old. This classical beginning prepared him for what was to come, but he also felt like it set him apart from others his age. "My friends are listening to Floyd Cramer and Jim Reeves, I'm playing Bach and Beethoven. It was an interesting dichotomy," Coley said. Throughout his adolescence, Coley said he was in and out of bands, later taking up with England Dan Seals and making it big time. When talking about his longtime bandmate, he speaks with a sincerity found among good friends, saying Seals was a funny guy and a good person. "We had a significant number of hit records that played on the radio," Coley said. "... It just kind of took off from there. I don't think any of us ever meant it to go as far as it did … We just got blessed." Among those hit records were American classics like "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight," "Nights Are Forever Without You," "Soldier in the Rain" and "We'll Never Have to Say Goodbye Again." To Coley, music was never a recording contract or a means to get rich, but something to bring people together and make new friends. He thinks current mainstream music "is not what it was meant to be. It's about the singer, but that's boring. It's supposed to be about the song and the music." After having been around creatives for a large majority of his life, he finds some artists are more intense about their work than others. "You know guys, we're supposed to be having fun with this," he said. "... Lighten up; we're supposed to be having fun." When performing, he appreciates that every show brings a new audience and a new energy from the crowd. He especially appreciates playing in smaller areas, he said, finding that people in the big cities are spoiled by how many acts come through per year. Audiences in small towns like Tiffin are more appreciative of the acts that take the time to come to the more intimate venues, he said. "They're much more attentive and appreciative of the fact that you have come," he said. "Those people are hungry for the music; everyone else is spoiled." When asked about the coolest place he has performed, Coley said it was a hard choice but said Israel and the Philippines. A restless spirit by nature, Coley described what he called his "go-bag" that he keeps packed at all times so he can hit the road to undetermined destinations when he feels like it. It is this spirit that drives Coley to continue touring and playing music well into his 70s. When asked about retirement, he said he tried it for a while, but it didn't stick. "I don't want to get old, I don't sit down well," he said. As for his music, he has no plans to stop performing, he said. Tickets for the April 26 show, which also features performances by Ambrosia and Peter Beckett, start at $45 and can be purchased online at ritztheatre.org.