Stories

CMRMC Presents: Greg Godovitz of Goddo

July 3, 2021

Greg Godovitz (born March 20, 1951) is a Canadian musician, best known as the bassist and vocalist of the power trio, Goddo. Prior to his success with Goddo, Godovitz was a founding member of Fludd and played in Sherman and Peabody with Buzz Shearman of Moxy and Gil Moore of Triumph.

Goddo was a Canadian rock band formed in Scarborough, Ontario in 1975. Goddo had mixed major label success from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. After reforming in 1989, they revived their career with several new studio and ‘best of’ packages. Goddo was signed to Bullseye Records of Canada. Goddo disbanded after their last show on December 15 2018 at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto. Note : Goddo’s last show with the original recording band and most famous line up of Greg Godovitz, Gino Scarpelli, and Doug Inglis was at Spot 1 Grill & Music Hall Brampton in October 2018.


CMRMC Presents: Keith Hampshire

July 2, 2021

Keith Hampshire (born 23 November 1945) is an English-born popular singer of the 1970s. He recorded three songs which were top ten hits in Canada, and hosted the CBC Television show Keith Hampshire’s Music Machine. His voice has been compared to David Clayton-Thomas. In the United States his highest charting single reached No. 51.

Hampshire was born in Dulwich, London, England. He moved with his family to Canada at the age of six. He lived in Toronto and later Calgary, where he took singing lessons, and formed several short-lived high-school bands which performed in local venues.

After graduating from high school, Hampshire began working as a radio disk jockey. Between July 1966 and mid-August 1967, He lived in the UK and was a DJ for the offshore pirate radio station Radio Caroline South. His show was called “Keefer’s Commotions”, and later “Keefer’s Uprising”.

Beginning in 1971, Hampshire recorded a number of pop music singles, including his #1 version of “The First Cut Is the Deepest”, which topped the RPM 100 national singles chart in May 1973.

In 1974, Hampshire was nominated for a Juno Award as Male Vocalist of the Year. That year he became the host of the CBC Television show Keith Hampshire’s Music Machine.

In 1981, Hampshire released an album, Variations, through Freedom Records.

In 1983, Hampshire, with the Bat Boys, recorded a song entitled “OK Blue Jays” which became an unofficial anthem for the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball team. Blue Jays fans frequently sing it during the seventh-inning stretch of home games. The song was written by Alan Smith, Pat Arbour, Jack Lenz and Tony Kosinec. The song was remixed by Rob Wells and Chris Anderson of Big Honkin’ Spaceship Inc. in 2003.

On 18 June 2005, Hampshire was hired to host a 1960s–1970s based oldies radio show on CHAY-FM in Barrie, Ontario. That year 20th Century Masters released an album of his past singles, The Millennium Collection: The Best of Keith Hampshire.