In the mid 1960s, Schroeder moved to Pye and formed the instrumental pop outfit Sounds Orchestral with Johnny Pearson. They had an international hit with their version of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind", which included reaching No. 5 in the UK chart.[6][7] With this group as well as under several other names, including his own, he released a large number of easy listeningcovers of popular songs. While many of these saw little critical acclaim upon release, there was a resurgence in interest in them in the 1990s, when they became popular tracks in London dance clubs,[6] and appeared on soundtracks to films such as the Ocean's Eleven franchise.
In the early 1970s, John Schroeder started Alaska Records, best known for the label's work with Cymande.[3] and produced "Hands Across The Sea", which was one of The Dooleys earliest recordings, written by Ben Findon.[9] In 1971, he appeared with Rick Wakeman, the latter playing as a session pianist, on the Piano Vibrations album. The Alaska label was subsequently joined by another founded by Schroeder, Janus Records. In the early 1980s, John Schroeder moved to Canada, living and working there until the early 1990s. He started Centamark International with Gary Bizzo in Vancouver as consultants to the music industry in 1981.
He later lived in Surrey, England. His autobiography, Sex and Violins was published in 2009.[10] Two years later, Schroeder again became an author, writing and publishing a second book titled, Cozy Cats Cottage plc.[11] This book is unrelated to the music industry and told the story of fictional character Angela Tillsworthy, and how she formed a company employing friendly cats to help the needy. It was published in 2011.
Death
John Schroeder died at his home on 31 January 2017 after a long battle with cancer. He was 82 years old. His funeral took place at Randall's Park Crematorium on 3 March 2017.
