 In 1967, he signed a contract with Columbia records and released a string of singles with help from writing partner Mike Gately.After a short tenure from 1970-1971 with Herb Alpert's A&M Records, 1971 brought his next hit, a cover version of The Tokens' 1961 hit, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", which climbed to number 3 in 1972, selling over one million copies and receiving a gold disc awarded by the Recording Industry Association of America on March 15, 1972.Several years later, recording for EMI Records, John hit number 1 with "Sad Eyes", one of the few chart-topping singles of 1979 that had no disco beat or influence.