John Batdorf began his career in the 70's as a recording artist with Batdorf and Rodney. John and Mark Rodney  were both heavily in the new sound of Crosby, Stills, and Nash, Neil Young, James Taylor, and Simon & Garfunkel. After three months they had enough originals to head back to Los Angeles. By a magic coincidence, Ahmet Ertegun was in Los Angeles and offered to audition them. He immediately signed them to Atlantic Records and produced them himself in legendary Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

They made records and toured this country and Canada for most of the 70s.  As an opening act they played with many great groups including America, Seals and Crofts, Dan Fogelberg, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Fleetwood Mac, The Doobie Brothers, Bread, The Youngbloods, Hall and Oats, Cheech and Chong, England Dan and John Ford Coley, Pure Prairie League, Harry Chapin, John Prine, Dave Mason, and Kris Kristofferson .

John spent the 80's as a staff songwriter writing songs for America, England Dan, and Kim Carnes, and as studio singer singing on hundreds of jingles, movies, and TV shows. He also sang background vocals on some really great recordings by Rod Stewart, Motley Crue, Dave Mason, The Jefferson Starship, Berlin, Donna Summer, Dwight Yoakam, Boy Meets Girl, Mickey Thomas, Stan Ridgeway, James Lee Stanley, David Lee Roth, and The London Choir Boys to name a few.

Then came the 90's and he started producing records and commercials. In 1996 John got a  chance to score a CBS TV prime time show, "Promised Land". He composed all the music underscore for three years until the show came to an end. He also went on to compose music for another CBS drama, "Touched By An Angel.”