- Served in the United States Marine Corps.
- Graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in aeronautical engineering.
- John Koerner was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter.
- In a profile on Koerner for the magazine Record Collector in 2013, the musician discussed his relative lack of fame compared to musicians like Dylan and Raitt who came after him: "I think you have to really want that kind of success and adulation. And I'm just not like that. ... It's just not in my character to go chasing after fame.".
- In 2008, Koerner, Ray & Glover were inducted into the Minnesota Blues Hall of Fame under the category Blues Recordings for Blues, Rags and Hollers.
- Filmmaker Don McGlynn made a documentary about Koerner, Been Here... Done That, in 2005.
- Koerner, Ray & Glover were honored with a star on the outside mural of the Minneapolis nightclub First Avenue,[24] recognizing performers that have played sold-out shows or have otherwise demonstrated a major contribution to the culture at the iconic venue. Receiving a star "might be the most prestigious public honor an artist can receive in Minneapolis," according to journalist Steve Marsh.
- He was best known as a guitarist and vocalist in the blues trio Koerner, Ray & Glover, with Dave Ray and Tony Glover.
- He made albums as a solo performer and with Willie Murphy, and was an important mentor to the young Bob Dylan.
- In 2013, music writer Elijah Wald said that "Koerner was in some ways the most exciting artist in the folk-blues revival. He was the only young white artist who shaped a unique, personal style rather than trying to sound like older black performers. He made up his own songs, developed not only his own guitar style but a seven-string guitar, and had an incredible sense of rhythm. I've talked with many of the other players of that period, and all thought of him as particularly innovative and talented.".
- He played his final shows at the Cedar Cultural Center in 2017 and 2019.
- In 1983 the Minnesota Music Academy named Koerner, Ray and Glover "Best Folk Group" and in 1985 inducted them into the MMA Hall of Fame.
- Koerner also was an amateur astronomer, and never lost the habit of tinkering from his never-completed engineering degree, designing and building his own telescope, boat, harmonica stand, and what an article in City Pages described as "a makeshift lawnmower assembled partly from a bicycle.".
- Music writer David Dicaire, in his book The Folk Music Revival, 1958-1970, called Koerner "a folk blues heavyweight" and said that "perhaps more than any other figure during the folk revival, he championed the bluesier side of traditional music.".
- Science fiction writer Spider Robinson adopted his nickname out of admiration for Koerner and his music.
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