John "Slick" Banks was born in New Orleans Louisiana on November 1,1951. A graduate of the University of Southern California. In 1976 John was invited to join Tower of Power. He would later work his way to the  Dallas  area to play with the legend Johnny  Taylor in the 1980's into the 1990's. In 1996 John found himself back home in New Orleans playing with Blues great Brian Lee. On return to Dallas in 2001 playing with his power Trio John would play with Jazz and Blues greats in the  Dallas area. In the summer of 2009 John and Richard would reunite to form The Renown Sound Trio.