The band formed in Calgary, Alberta in 1964 as The Rebounds. The Rebounds had five members: Rich Dodson, Len Roemer, Brendan Lyttle, Kim Berly, and Race Holiday. They renamed themselves The Stampeders in 1965 and Len Roemer was replaced with Ronnie King and Van Louis. In 1966 they relocated to Toronto, Ontario, and became a trio in 1968 when Lyttle, Louis, and Holiday left.
In 1971 the Stampeders had a hit with “Sweet City Woman,” which won Best Single at the Juno Awards, reached #1 on the RPM magazine charts, and #8 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Written by Dodson, the track stayed in the Billboard chart for 16 weeks and the disc sold a million by September 1971, and the R.I.A.A. granted gold disc status. The Stampeders also won Juno Awards for Best Group, Best Producer (Mel Shaw), and Best Composer (Dodson) that year. The band signed with Polydor Records for US distribution.
By 1975 the band had toured extensively in the United States and appeared on television shows. In 1976 they had another Canadian hit with “Hit The Road Jack”, featuring Wolfman Jack. In Canada they produced seven more hits.
Dodson left the group in 1977. Berly and King recruited new members for the LP Platinum (1977). Berly then departed, leaving King to bring in three new members for the LP Ballsy (1979), and the band broke up shortly thereafter. The hitmaking trio reunited at the Calgary Stampede in 1992. They released a new album in 1998 titled Sure Beats Working.
On November 21, 2011, The Stampeders received the Lifetime Achievement Award from SOCAN at the 2011 SOCAN Awards in Toronto. In 2015 the band received SOCAN Classic Awards for their songs “Monday Morning” and “Wild Eyes.”
They continue to tour Canada doing fairs, festivals, casinos, and theatres.
Ritchie Yorke (12 January 1944 – 6 February 2017) was an Australian-born author, broadcaster, historian and music journalist, whose work was widely published in the U.S., UK, Canada and elsewhere.
Yorke arrived in Canada in 1967, settling in Toronto. He found work with the Toronto Telegram before being appointed the first full-time rock writer for Canada’s national newspaper, The Globe and Mail. He also became the Canadian editor of Billboard magazine from 1970 to 1980 and Rolling Stone magazine from 1969 to 1970. He also began contributing features to NME magazine.[citation needed] In late 1969, Yorke assisted John Lennon with the coordination and execution of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s War Is Over! peace campaign. As well as helping to plan the Montreal bed-in from which Lennon’s peace anthem “Give Peace a Chance” emerged, and the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival, he was one of many volunteers who assisted in plastering the posters all over Toronto. Yorke also carried the posters alongside rock musician and friend Ronnie Hawkins in a 52,000 mile world tour as the Lennons’ official peace envoy. This five week tour even had them carry and display the posters illegally across the Chinese border near Hong Kong where they were stopped by Red Guards and solemnly warned they would be shot if they did not leave.
During this time, Yorke also produced Edward Bear’s first album Bearings under the pseudonym “Tuft”. He also appears on the Bad Manors album by Crowbar, credited with playing the anvil on “Prince Of Peace” and tambourine on “Oh What A Feeling”.
Yorke was partly responsible for the introduction of the Canadian Content legislation that was instated in 1971, acting as a major advocate of the policy from a music industry point of view. He testified both to the adequacy of Canada’s music supply as well as the necessity of radio support to create a viable Canadian music industry.
Later in 1971 he published the book Axes, Chops & Hot Licks, the first book to cover Canadian music culture and the development of the Canadian content laws, as well as the first book to be devoted entirely to any music scene outside of the United States or England. Later that year Yorke was named Canadian Journalist of the Year at the Juno Music Awards in Toronto.
The following year, Yorke assisted in organising the Maple Music Junket in which numerous continental writers, radio and TV programmers and editors and filmmakers were invited to observe five concerts in Montreal and Toronto (two of the concerts were in French).
In 1973, Yorke cut back on his assorted journalism and broadcasting activities to focus more heavily on books. Having befriended Led Zeppelin years earlier, he moved to London to work on their first official biography. He returned to Toronto in 1974, after serving on the Committee of Honour at the 8th Montreux International Jazz and Blues Festival In 1975, he published his next book, Into the Music: The Van Morrison Biography.
Early in 1976 he released the widely acclaimed book The History of Rock ’n’ Roll to coincide with the CHUM produced documentary of the same name he had been working on, as well as publishing The Led Zeppelin Biography.
Robbie Lane and the Disciples is a Canadian rock band, that peaked in the 1960s. A cover of Neil Sedaka’s “What Am I Gonna Do” was their biggest success, reaching #10 in 1966. They also recorded an early version of the hit song “Soul Deep” in 1966.
Beginning as Ronnie Hawkins’ backup band, Robbie Lane & the Disciples later gained attention as the band for Canadian CTV’s It’s Happening. Composed of guitarist Terry Bush, drummer Doug Copeland, harmonica player William Cudmore, keyboardist Paul Denyes, vocalist Robbie Lane, tenor saxophonist Paul Mifsud and bassist Gene Trach, the group recorded several singles during the mid-’60s. After an unsuccessful solo career in the mid-’70s, Robbie Lane (aka Robin Curry) and the band re-formed in the mid-’80s.
Paul White (1933-2018) Obituary, FYI Music News, March 14, 2018
A former UK journalist, his achievements during his tenure at Capitol Records Canada, from 1957-1978, were notable – but his legacy will always be shaped by the fact that he was instrumental in bringing Beatlemania to North America, releasing the group’s earliest UK Parlophone singles and championing the Merseybeat ‘sound’ that included Gerry & The Pacemakers, Cilla Black, Billy J Kramer and The Searchers.
In hindsight, White’s greatest contribution as head of Capitol Canada’s A&R department was his enthusiasm for developing a roster of successful Canadian artists, and he was given a budget to do so. Among the acts that he signed were Anne Murray, Edward Bear, Jack London & the Sparrow (later to become Steppenwolf), the Staccatos (renamed Five Man Electrical Band), Pierre Lalonde, the Ugly Ducklings, The Sugar Shoppe, Copperpenny, The Esquires, and David Clayton-Thomas.
White would also consult for BMG Canada later in his career where, in 1990, he produced the three-record set Made in Canada/Our Rock ‘n’ Roll History, containing 54 Canadian hits from the period 1960-74.
“I have many good stories to say in this sad moment about my time with Paul while President of Capitol Records,” Arnold Gosewich recalled yesterday. “One would be the day he brought Anne Murray and (producer) Brian Ahern into my office to meet for the first time. I had just weeks earlier started my Presidency. John MacLeod, our in-house lawyer, handed me the contract he had negotiated for Anne to become a Capitol recording artist. Paul had found her, and it was my good fortune in timing, to sign her contract, and the rest is history thanks to Paul’s great belief…and ears.
“The other story briefly is when Paul and I travelled to England and Europe for about 10 days promoting the company’s roster of Canadian artists, including Anne, to our fellow EMI Records Managing Directors, A&R and Promotion people in cities like London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, Rome, and in Spain. It was a great moment and a first for any Canadian company. Paul was great in his pitches and I backed him up. I thought that moment solidified our relationship.”
Deane Cameron, another former Capitol Canada president, is equally respectful of White’s charm, enthusiasm, and his uncanny ear for a hit song, describing him as a “creative pioneer.”
“Paul was one of Canada’s creative pioneers within the Canadian music industry. He was Capitol Canada’s first A and R person, but he also built significant credibility for the entire music business in this country,” Cameron reflects.
“He brought to Canada so much incredible UK music before others in North America had caught on to The British Invasion! The Beatles and Cliff Richard being just two of the many he championed. He signed Anne Murray and Edward Bear, both of whom achieved U.S. success when that was a rarity for Canadian artists.
”Paul’s British roots helped make the very most of EMI’s strength in UK repertoire at that time and gave him a global perspective on where Canada could fit into the international music business.
“He was truly one of The Canadian music industry’s genuine founding pillars. It was an honour for me to work for him and learn from him. His achievements will be remembered for a very long time.”
Another expat who knew him well during his tenure at Capitol is Frank Davies who had come to Canada and started the Daffodil label. Asked about his dealings with White, Davies offered the following:
“Very sad news! Paul was the very first Canadian record person I ever spoke to or worked with, but from a distance, initially. I connected with him while I was still at EMI Records in the UK in their international division and just a couple of years before coming here in 1970 to form Daffodil Records. Paul had recently signed the Staccatos from Ottawa and wanted me to meet their manager Sandy Gardiner, who was coming to London to see if EMI would release the band’s records in the UK. Paul was the A&R head at Capitol Canada back then and a very early promoter of Canadian music.
“After arriving in Canada and doing a distribution deal for my new label with Arnold Gosewich (who had just succeeded Ron Plumb as the President of Capitol shortly after my arrival), Paul became my main contact at Capitol for several of those early years. Paul had a great sense of humour and a strong opinion about what he liked and what he didn’t. Fortunately, he liked a lot of what I was doing with my label and was very supportive, even though we were actually in competition for signing Canadian artists since Daffodil was a distributed label.
“Paul was Canada’s original major label A&R guy back at a time when very few local acts were being signed by the majors. Unfortunately, I’ve not been in touch with him for many years now, but I remember he had a unique insight into an era of Canadian music and it is history that’s disappearing fast in the rear-view mirror.”
Grant Smith & The Power were a popular Canadian (from Toronto) rock-soul outfit from the 1960s that had a hit with a cover of Jackie Edwards’ “Keep On Running” (previously a big hit for The Spencer Davis Group) and was also a training ground for musicians who went on to the likes of McKenna Mendelson Mainline and Motherlode.
Forming early in October 1966, vocalist Eddie Spencer, organist Val Stevens, guitarist Les Morris, bassist Mike Harrison, drummer Charlie Miller, (his brother) trumpeter Ralph Miller, and Jerry Mann (Shymanski) on tenor saxophone performed in popular Toronto R&B venues as Eddie Spencer & The Power. On 31 December 1966, the band announced that a new frontman, vocalist Ellis Grant Smith, would replace Eddie Spencer, and that guitarist Jim Pauley would take over from Les Morris. Smith and Pauley were both from popular London (Ontario) band E. G. Smith & The Express. Shortly after, the band’s advisor, Brian “Otis” Ayers — who had earlier played with Ralph Miller in Las Vegas showband The Beau Keys — replaced Jerry Mann on sax. Within a few weeks, Wayne “Stoney” Stone, another former member of The Express, joined the band, creating a unique two-drummer lineup.
During its first year, the band established a solid fan base on southern Ontario’s dance circuit, billed either as E. G. Smith & The Power or as Grant Smith & The Power. Shortly after a June 27, 1967 show at the Broom and Stone in Scarborough, Toronto, Charlie Miller left the band. With the lineup reduced to a single drummer, Wayne Stone cut his teeth in the solo drummer chair at a week-long summer resort gig in Grand Bend, Ontario, after which the band headed to the United States, spending 1967’s famous “Summer of Love” working clubs in the Boston area and in upstate New York. On the band’s return to Toronto in early September, Jim Pauley left the band and was replaced by guitarist Jon Palma.
In the fall of 1967, the band recorded its debut single, an R&B version of “Keep on Running”, previously a hit for The Spencer Davis Group, at Toronto music mogul Art Snider’s Sound Canada studios in Don Mills, Ontario. Backed with “Her Own Life”, an original composition by Grant Smith and organist Val Stevens, “Keep on Running” was released in January, 1968, on early indie label Boo! Records. Within weeks, the band had recorded a second single, “Thinkin’ About You” b/w “You Got What I Want”, both penned by Toronto songwriter Al Rain. Both singles were recorded with guest sax player and de facto musical director Steve Kennedy, who in early 1968 flew down to Boston to join the band full-time while it was on tour. In New York City during the same tour, the band was offered a deal by Tony Orlando, pop star and A&R man for MGM, and in the early spring, “Thinkin’ About You” was released on MGM Records.
While in New York, guitarist Kenny Marco replaced Palma. Marco had played with The Upset, but especially with Ayres and Ralph Miller in The Beau Keys during the mid-‘60s. On March 17, 1968, between U.S. dates, Grant Smith & The Power opened for The Hollies and Spanky & Our Gang at Toronto’s O’Keefe Centre. The following month, the band headed out on another leg of U.S. touring.
Back in Canada later that summer, former Dianne Brooks, Eric Mercury and The Soul Searchers member, Steve Kennedy joined full-time on saxophone. Following a show at the Hidden Valley in Huntsville, Ontario on October 13, Mike Harrison left to join McKenna Mendelson Mainline. With Val Stevens leaving at about the same time to form his own jazz trio (he later spent some time in England, where he had spells with Tucky Buzzard and Steve Hillage’s Khan), Kennedy convinced the group to recruit fellow former Soul Searcher William “Smitty” Smith on the grounds that he could play bass on the pedals of his Hammond organ, meaning there would be fewer musicians to pay.
The revised line up, comprising Grant Smith (vocals), Ralph Miller (trumpet), Brian Ayres and Steve Kennedy (saxophone), Ken Marco (guitar), Wayne Stone (drums) and William Smith (keyboards) was responsible for recording the bulk of the group’s album in November 1968, which also included the band’s debut single. In early 1969, however, Marco, Kennedy, Smith and Stone left to form Motherlode, who had a massive hit with “When I Die”.
Drummer Sonny “Jiggs” Bernardi (from The Spirit Revue) and keyboard player Josef Chirowski (from various bands, including Mandala and The Power Project) came in as replacements and remained until February 1970 when they were recruited to join Crowbar. (Chirowski later did sessions for Alice Cooper among others.)
Bassist Joe Agnello also came in at this time from the Lee Ashford Blues Band, though he soon left to rejoin his old mates in a renamed Leigh Ashford. Former Franklin Sheppard sideman, Frank De Felice, filled in for the last few months on drums before joining Jericho in March 1970. The band split up at this stage.