John Chamberlin began his musical career with piano lessons at the age of 8. One of his earliest musical memories is attending a show by Nat King Cole at the Regal Theatre in Chicago Illinois . He really had been asking to see King Kong but his aunt misunderstood him. What a fortuitous mistake. At the age of nine, he sang in a city wide Christmas show in Fairmont West Virginia where he lived. By junior high he was playing saxophone and clarinet in the junior high school band and singing in the choir while continuing to take piano lessons.

At the age of 14, as a sophomore at the high school band camp John was recruited by a local band leader to play sax and clarinet in his dance band and this began his career as a professional musician. John went on to make both the West Virginia All State Band and All State Chorus culminating with a trip to perform at the Seattle World's Fair in 1962.

After winning a scholarship, John began studying music at West Virginia University while continuing to gig with local bands. During the summer after his sophomore year, John got the opportunity to play in a stage band at a club in Atlantic City New Jersey . Playing two shows a night Tuesday – Friday and 3 shows Saturday night/Sunday morning, John had the opportunity to back up some famous vocalists including Billy Eckstein, Jerry Butler, Aretha Franklin, and Sammy Davis Jr.

After transferring to Indiana University as a junior to study Music Therapy, John continued to play with college rock bands and soon formed his own group. During this time he learned to play the flute. After graduating from college, John moved to Elgin Illinois to work as a music therapist. There he met and married his wife Gail. The two of them moved to Kalamazoo Michigan when John was offered a music therapy job at the Kalamazoo State Hospital . John gigged with several local bands before becoming a mainstay in the group Larry Ballard and the All Nite Tennis Shoes, playing, sax, flute, piano and singing.

After the Shoes broke up John began sitting in with and eventually joined his wife Gail and a vocalist and flutist named Janice Lakers. After awhile they decided to add a rhythm section and so was born Sweet Maya . John played with Sweet Maya during both incarnations of the group: 1972 to 74 and 1974 to 78.

During the period from 1974 – 1976, John and Gail divorced and John moved to Ann Arbor to work at the University of Michigan Neuro-Psychiatric Institute. During this time, he met and married his second wife, Ann. After a joyful reunion concert of Sweet Maya (which was only supposed to be a one time event), the other members of the group persuaded John and Ann to leave Ann Arbor and come back to Kalamazoo where John rejoined Sweet Maya .

During his time with Sweet Maya , John composed a number of songs played by the band, two of which are on Maya's first and only album recorded in 1976. While John was influenced by many different idioms and performers, his strongest desire has always been and continues to be the expression of joy and spirituality through his music.

Since the break of of Sweet Maya in 1976, John has continued to live in Kalamazoo and lead his own group, for a while in the pop genre and gradually shifting to jazz. Around 1994, he decided to concentrate on playing the piano and singing and has been working steadily with his piano trio and as a solo act in the West Michigan Area while continuing to work in mental health. John has also been musical director for a church and has written quite a few praise songs some of which are favorites with his congregation, Westwood United Methodist Church , and with other West Michigan congregations who have heard and asked to use them. Currently he is playing electric bass and singing with the church's praise band as well as playing piano during the service.

John has been married to his third wife, Pam for 19 years and they have two children, Mark and Sara. John is devoted to his family and in recent years has cut back some on gigging so he could fulfill his responsibilities as a father. He has expressed that the opportunity to perform one more time with his band mates from Sweet Maya is a true blessing.