M.G. & the Escorts, from left: Glen Stephen, Mike Gauthier, Graham Powers, Glenn Grecco and Bill Bryans
Where does a song like “A Someday Fool” come from? The parts are not much more than a steady snare beat, a repetitive fuzz riff, simple rhythm guitar and faked at-wits-end vocal, but the result is staggering, a template for what garage bands have been trying to do ever since. The unstoppable drum beat and the mesmerizing guitar really give this song its hooks, and they catch you fast.
The band was Glenn Grecco lead guitar, Graham Powers vocals, Mike Gauthier guitar, Glen Stephen bass and Bill Bryans on drums, from the Pointe Claire section of Montreal.
Their other 45s are excellent as well. You can hear that distorted guitar sound on their very first 45, “Please Don’t Ever Change”, which was a top ten Canadian hit in May of ’66. It was written by Glenn Grecco, who also wrote “A Someday Fool”, and backed with a slow ballad, “Sorry to Hear”.
Their second 45 featured a great British-sounding beat number, “I Can’t Go On” backed by one I haven’t heard yet, “The One Who Wants You”.
“It’s Too Late”, the flip of “A Someday Fool”, is maybe their most complex song, featuring organ, celeste, solid rhythm playing and good harmonies and was written by Grecco and Bill Bryans.
The band’s fourth and final 45, “Next to Nowhere” shows a more soulful direction, and lightly psychedelic. It was backed with “Remembering”, a well-crafted ballad with more fine harmonies, and a personal favorite of mine. This single also was released in the U.S. on the Mala label.
Update, June 2024: Glen Stephen kindly sent four more snapshots of M.G. & the Escorts on stage at the Garden of Stars at the 1967 World’s Fair in Montreal:
Graham Powers singing, with Glenn Grecco on keyboards, on stage the Garden Of Stars, 1967 World’s Fair in MontrealBilly Bryans on stage the Garden Of Stars, 1967 World’s Fair in MontrealGlenn Grecco of M.G. & the Escorts with Graham Powers on keyboards, on stage the Garden Of Stars, 1967 World’s Fair in MontrealMike Gauthier on stage the Garden Of Stars, 1967 World’s Fair in MontrealRPM, November 28, 1966
Bill Bryans and Glen Stephen at the Garden of Stars, Montreal World’s Fair, September 1967Bill Bryans has been keeping a blog, misterbryans, which is focused mainly on Cuban music, but he has an entry about the band that I’ll quote here, with his permission, along with the photo he posted:
We were called M.G. & The Escorts. This type of name was trendy back then, initials followed by a name (I’ve no idea why). The biggest group at the time was called J.B. & The Playboys – another suit band – who were from NDG [Notre-Dame-de-Grace]. We were from Pointe Claire, which was a bit more middle class. But eventually, we became more popular.
We did pretty good, we had a good run. We put out three singles that got a lot of airplay and we played every weekend in Montreal or Ottawa, Kingston, Brockville – that area of the country. We played teen clubs and high school dances mostly and a lot of “Battle of The Bands”, which were popular back then.
We had an advantage because my father owned a record store, so we could get the newest songs before anyone else because back then all the music came out as singles, and whoever could play the hit parade was the most popular. The hit parade was the best music back then. Albums were just the singles with a few filler tunes.
Everything changed in 67. Pop music began to get more complex. I remember seeing the Grateful Dead and The Jefferson Airplane at Expo 67 and that changed everything for me. I began to listen to Frank Zappa, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, blues music, free jazz, Aretha Franklin. I began to connect the music to the other things going on in the world, mostly triggered by the war in Viet Nam. I didn’t even hang out with the guys in MG & The Escorts anymore.
I followed up with a few short questions:
Q. I read a rumor that the group was going to record an album in Texas – is that true?
Billy Bryans: News to me although I’d love to know where you read the rumour.
M.G. & the Escorts[I read this in the liner notes to Nightmares from the Underworld, a great Canadian garage compilation by Andre Gibeault that was released over 20 years ago – but even there it’s called a rumor.]
Q. Was there much recorded that was never released?
Billy Bryans: I don’t believe so. We just recorded single by single.
Q. Did you ever play any TV shows – is there any live footage of the band?
Billy Bryans: We did play TV shows (usually lip-synching) but I’ve no idea if any of that footage exists.
Music Trend, June 16, 1967 from left: Bill Bryans, Glen Stephen, Graham Powers, Mike Gauthier and Glenn Grecco
In late 2010, Glen Stephen sent in photos and news clippings on the group. An article from Music Trend in June of ’67 quotes Bill Bryans: “we got to a point where we were out and out tired of the music we were playing. It had served a purpose for a while but … we want to put something into our performances now that we couldn’t do before with top 40 material. So, we’re drifting away from it but not divorcing ourselves altogether. We’ve learned a lot from watching the big name groups on the tours. Now I think we’ve become a little more artistic in our music rather than mechanical.”
The article continues “The groups [sic] has also finally produced a record that they are satisfied with,” and quotes Glen Grecco saying “We are really pleased with it. It’s a bigger sound and a bigger arrangement and not like the others which shouldn’t have been released. But at the time we didn’t have the money or the time to keep working at a track until it was an ideally perfect product. The record will be out in the beginning of July. We have no title for it yet but that’s because we haven’t been able to get together on the name.”
Since the article says the band’s previous record was “Someday Fool”, it seems the song they’re discussing is either “Next to Nowhere” or “Remembering”, the two sides of their last single.
I asked Glen Stephen about the Music Trend article, and also about the band’s early days:
I played in a couple of groups prior to M.G. and the Escorts. The first band was in high school in a group called the Crescents which focused on Buddy Holly songs. I later joined a group with Glenn Grecco and Billy Bryans in a group called the Strangers and the focus of the music was Cliff Richard and the Shadows.
The Stratocaster was purchased in New York City in 1961 and it was coral red. I played rhythm guitar and we used a Danelectro reverb for the lead guitar. Glenn Grecco could imitate the Shadows guitar sound to the letter. We also played the Chet Akins style of finger picking as there were several people in the Pointe Claire area that played that style.
I don’t remember the details of how the group formed into M.G. and the Escorts. Part of the group The Strangers joined with another part of a group with Graham Powers and Mike Gauthier.
Our first major performance as M.G. and the Escorts was at the Maurice Richard Arena where we were the opening act for the Beach Boys” Other groups we opened for were The Young Rascals, Tommy James and the Shondells, Neil Diamond, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Serendipity Singers, & the Happenings. Our group would play a lot of the top 40 of the hit parade, many of which involved four part harmony which we did fairly well.
Glen Stephen with 1960 Fender StratocasterWe could see that there was a trend towards a heavier sound, ex. The Rolling Stones and we started to adjust accordingly, but still maintained much music that involved harmonies. That is where “Someday Fool” flowed from. There was no harmony, some background singing, but a solid beat which was different from the style we played.
The first recording we did was at Stereo Sound Studios where we recorded on a two track system which was one one of the better ones in Montreal. It cost $100/hour in the early 60s which was alot of money in those days. When recording you had to play and sing at the same time and make no mistakes or you would have to redo the song. Once completed you would hope for a good mix.
In one song, we recorded the guitar and lead on a 4 track tape machine in a house; brought the track to the recording studio and added in the drums and bass at the studio. The last song we recorded was in the RCA studio in Montreal which had a 4 track system. It was called “Next To Nowhere.”
MG and the Escorts Glen Stephen on stage the Garden Of Stars, 1967 World’s Fair in MontrealQ. The article in Music Trend in June of ’67 mentions many long hours in a recording studio – what kinds of songs was the band working on? What became of them? Is it true the band had clearance for an album?
All the songs that we worked on in the studio, we recorded. There was some talk of an album. but it never materialized.
We played in the Garden of Stars at the World’s Fair in 1967 and it was not much longer after that that we disbanded.
Q. The article also says the band was in semi-retirement before June ’67? Is this true?
Lead guitarist Glenn Greco with manager Mel McCormickWhat we did was re-evaluate our direction and a change in the style of music. It was more of a time of reflection. We were offered a possible recording session to produce advertising music for French’s Sloppy Joe Mix. We were to go to Texas for the recording, but it didn’t materialize.
M.G. and the Escorts 45 releases:
Reo 8936 Please Don’t Ever Change / Sorry to Hear Reo 8960 I Can’t Go On / The One Who Wants You Reo 8975 A Someday Fool / It’s Too Late (early 1967) Reo 8998 Next to Nowhere / Remembering (released in the U.S. on Mala 582) (late 1967)
Thank you to Billy Bryans and Glen Stephen for the photos and clippings, and for answering my questions. Thanks to Ivan Amirault for many of the scans from RPM.
Update, April 2012:
I’m sorry to hear that Billy Bryans passed away on April 23, 2012. Bill was seventeen when he started recording with the Escorts, and he spent the rest of his live working in music as musician, promoter, producer, and writer.
Now defunct: a short audio interview with Bill and a clip of the Parachute Club at http://music.cbc.ca/#/blogs/2012/4/Parachute-Clubs-Billy-Bryans-dies-at-63
The Globe and Mail also had a good overview of his life at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/billy-bryans-eclectic-musical-tastes-took-him-far/article2411780/, now taken down but available on Archive.org.
Music Trend, June 16, 1967from left: Mike Gauthier, Glenn Grecco, Graham Powers, Glen Stephen and Bill BryansRPM, October 2, 1967RPM, October 21, 1967RPM, July 4, 1966RPM, January 21, 1967Promo shot from the 1967 Canadian Music Industry Directory from RPM Magazine, November 11, 1967 – but not the Escorts!
Is this the same band as Les Chantels who had several 45s on the Fantastic and A1 labels, including “L’avion de Son”? Some sources say so, but it seems unlikely to me.
The sound is just too different. The band doing “Shaggy Baggy Joe” is extremely well produced compared to the murkier sound of many Montreal bands. As musicians they’re more accomplished than Les Chantels, nor do they use fuzz on the guitar. Plus there’s the fact that both of these songs are sung in English. Why would a jeans maker sponsor a French speaking band to make a promotional 45 in English? Furthermore, the songwriter on both these sides, one “Henry” does not match any of the names of Les Chantels.
Uncertainty aside, here are two very catchy numbers, with “Have You Ever Felt Blue” having a slight edge in my book. The guitarist throws in all kinds of riffs and the lyrics to both songs are a laugh. “Baggys are out … TeeKays are in!”
Since posting this there have been a lot of comments with more info. Also, their excellent first single (I think) has just been posted up at Mr Ed Music Round Up.
Another promotion for TeeKays (thanks to J. at Alpha Pest)
The Canadian Squires evolved from Ronnie Hawkins’ backing band the Hawks. Hawkins and his drummer Levon Helm were from Arkansas, but finding huge success in Ontario, they started recruiting local musicians as original members of the Hawks returned to the U.S.
After leaving Hawkins in 1964, the group toured on their own, usually billed as Levon and the Hawks. Personnel changed periodically, but by the time of this recording, all the members of the group that would go on to become the Band was in place, four of the five from southern Ontario.
Hawkins’ producer at Roulette, the legendary Henry Glover brought them into Bell Studios in New York to record two fine Robbie Robertson originals, “Leave Me Alone” and “Uh Uh Uh”, in the spring of 1965. Glover released these on the Ware label in the U.S., and on Apex in Canada.
In September they recorded two further Robertson originals, the soulful “He Don’t Love You” and “The Stones I Throw” that made it to the Atco label, but all this was overshadowed by their meeting Dylan in late summer of ’65. In late 1968, Atco dug up one further song, “Go Go Liza Jane”, recycling “He Don’t Love You” for the flip.
Thanks to Ivan for the scan of the Apex 45.
45 releases:
Ware 6002: Canadian Squires – Leave Me Alone / Uh Uh Uh (1965) Apex 76964: Canadian Squires – Leave Me Alone / Uh Uh Uh (1965) Atco 6383: Levon and the Hawks – He Don’t Love You / The Stones I Throw (1965) Atco 6625: Levon and the Hawks – He Don’t Love You / Go Go Liza Jane (1968)
The Sons of Adam, from left: Al Wilson, Henry LaLiberte, Leonard Saidman, Doug Policha and John Ede. The picture was taken on the south side of the Capilano Mall shopping centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
The New Wing was a singer by the name of Davy Peters backed by members of a group from Edmonton, Alberta, called the Sons of Adam.
This Sons of Adam was not the L.A. group who cut “Feathered Fish” and two singles on Decca. John Ede was a member of the Sons of Adam but was not in the group by the time producer Gary Paxton changed their name to the New Wing.
Members were:
Davy Peters – lead vocal Henry La Liberte – guitar and vocals Al Wilson – keyboards and vocals Doug Policha – bass and vocals Leonard Saidman – drums and vocals
Their first 45 on Pentacle was “The Thinking Animal” / “My Petite”, both very pop-oriented and not sounding much like their second release.
Pentacle or the band’s rep, Pete Manuele took out an ad in KRLA Beat to promote this release.
“I Need Love” is a solid number from 1968, featuring good ‘mosquito’ guitar work, and vocal interjections reminiscent of Steve Marriott of the Small Faces. It was written by Wilson/La Liberte; production credited to the Social Climbers. The flip is a scuzzy hard rocking tune, “Brown Eyed Woman”, written by Wilson, La Liberte and Policha, which I’m not as much a fan of.
Pentacle was one of the many labels run by Gary Paxton out of his Bakersfield International studio. The New Wing were the only band on Pentacle that can be called garage to my knowledge, but Paxton recorded other garage acts, like the Churchill Downs on Amazing 3.
“The Thinking Animal” was written by Ken Johnson, Jerry Ritchey and Bob Hopps. This team also wrote the Chocolate Tunnel’s “The Highly Successful Young Rupert White”, while Johnson and Hopps co-wrote the Chocolate Tunnel’s “Ostrich People”.
Ken Johnson wrote many songs for area bands, including his son’s group Ken & the Fourth Dimension’s “See If I Care”, the Avengers’ “I Told You So” and “You Can’t Hurt Me Anymore”, and “Love Can’t Be a One Way Deal” which was cut by both the Rev-Lons and Limey and the Yanks. Ken also owned the Starburst label which released most of these, usually with Gary Paxton’s production.
Garpax and Maverick were Paxton publishing companies. The production credit The Social Climbers is also Paxton’s; it also appears on “Please Mr. Johnson (I Don’t Wanna Go)” by the Put On Company featuring Doug Salma (Doug Salamanca) on the Jest label.
Ad clipping from the great KRLA Beat newspaper site!
Thank you to Marc Coulavin for the photos of the Sons of Adam.
Pentacle discography:
Pentacle P-1635 – The Captivations – “Red Hot Scramblers – Go” / same (by Buddy Biglow for Maverick Music, BMI, different numbering system but the publishing matches later releases. More commonly found on Garpax 45 44179V with “Speedshift” on flip.)
Pentacle P-101 – The New Wing – “The Thinking Animal” / “My Petite” Pentacle P-102 – The Greater Covina Interplanetary Childrens Space Program – “Rudolph vs. The Little” / “Hobo” (Janice Paxton) – kid Xmas vocal with pop instrumental Pentacle P-103 – Art Fields – “To All The World I Sing” / “Girls From Equador” (ballad and pop with a bossa feel) Pentacle P-104 – The New Wing – “Brown Eyed Woman” / “I Need Love” Pentacle P-105 – Bob Jackson – “It’s Hard To Say” / “Who Is My Supposed To Be” (country, there are two variations in the label design)
The early Witness, Inc. (l-r): Craig Kaleal, Les Bateman, Kenny Shields, Ed Clynton and Dennis Tremeer
Second and longest-lasting lineup, l-r: Ed Clynton, Dave Tupper, Kenny Shields, Allen Ayers and Les Bateman (kneeling)The Witness Inc. came out of Saskatoon in the central Canadian province of Saskatchewan and immediately became a touring sensation in the western provinces. They released a series of 45s which became increasingly pop after the second. The band finally caught on in Ontario after several years and many personnel changes.The original band consisted of Kenny Shields vocals, Ed Clynton guitar, Dennis Tremeer bass, Les Bateman organ and piano, and Craig Kaleal on drums. I was surprised to learn that the band traveled to New Mexico to record their first 45, probably at Norman Petty’s studio in Clovis.
“I’ll Forget Her Tomorrow”, is a fine pop song, backed with “Girl Before You Go”, an original by Dennis Tremeer (listed as Doug Tremeer in the BMI database). The picture sleeve features a different band lineup than the group on the recording, with new members Dave Tupper on drums and Allen Ayers on bass.
The A-side of their second record, “Jezebel”, is a cover of the old Frankie Laine standard. As good as the Teddy Boys version, it was probably their biggest hit, reaching #1 on CKXL in Calgary in February, 1968.
Younger fans like myself generally prefer the flip side, “Not You Girl”, an original by Ed Clynton and Les Bateman, which speeds by in a hasty 1:46 with a great scream from Shields and an nifty organ solo by Bateman.
The January 13, 1969 issue of RPM Weekly announces that the band had dropped the ‘Inc.’ from their name for their fifth single, “So Come With Me”, recorded at Sound Canada studios in Toronto. Surprisingly the article says this was their first Canadian session!
45 releases:
I’ll Forget Her Tomorrow/Girl Before You Go (Apex 77044) Sleeve Jezebel/Not You Girl (Apex 77063) Sleeve Harlem Lady/I Put A Spell On You (Apex 77077, & in U.S., Decca 32328) Sleeve Visions Of Vanessa/Another Side Of Her (Apex 77087) Sleeve / Reverse So Come With Me/I’ve Got To Go (Apex 77093)
Thank you to Ivan Amirault for providing scans of the sleeves, and to Peter Studer for the clip of I’ll Forget Her. Very special thanks to Cory for the photos and clippings of the original lineup from his father Dennis Tremeer’s scrapbook.First lineup at the Saskatoon Musicians Social, l-r: Craig Kaleal, Kenny Shields, Dennis Tremeer, Les Bateman and Ed ClyntonRPM Weekly, January 13, 1969, now simply ‘The Witness’. Thanks to Chris Smith of the Factree for the clippingnews item from Jan. 13, 1969 RPM Weekly
A group in Montreal called Les Harmonicos recorded this 45 in 1968 to give away as a souvenir at “Canada Family Day.” There is absolutely no information as to who was in the group or wrote the song on the sleeve and labels. The only info is “Production Son Illimité (de Montreal) Inc.” on the label. Reverse side of the sleeve is blank. I read that the group were air cadets, but as I later found out, that is not correct.
The single was not distributed in stores. “Les Oiseaux Mecaniques” / “The Flying Sound” starts off with a funky drum break and catchy riff, then come the jet sound-effects!
A nod to Canada’s bilingualism, each side has the same backing with vocals sung in French on one side and in English on the other. I think the song sounds better in French.
I found out nothing new about this single until guitarist Serge Verreault wrote to me in February, 2015:
First, let me mention that I was a founding member of the group, and contrary to what it says on the page, we never were air cadets. The group was created by five guys that met in school around 1965. Four members lived in Varennes at the time, and one in Longueuil. They were Pierre Savaria, drummer, Jean-Paul Jodoin, guitar, Marcel Colette, bass guitar, Serge Verreault, guitar and Gerard Cormier, lead singer.
When we first started, it was just for the fun of hanging around together, but very quickly, we developed a talent to play all sorts of music and started to get hired for weddings, dance halls, or various other fund raising activities. Before long, we had over 250 songs or instrumentals that we could play.
In 1967, we got hired to play at Expo 67, in front of crowds of over 15,000 people. In 1968, United Aircraft was having a Family Day for all its employees, and being one of them, I was asked to write a song, French and English, and to record it on a 45 RPM to be handed out to all the visitors.
So within a week, I wrote the music, and some lyrics in both languages, rehearsed it with the group and recorded it. At the last minute, the lyrics were changed by someone from the company, who thought my lyrics were not specific enough to the company. So we had to use those new lyrics for the recording, and since our singer could not speak a word of English, and he did not have time to learn them phonetically, I had to sing the English version.
a picture of the final version of the groupLater, the group had some modifications, due to various reasons, mainly to adjust to work constraints by different members. So the final version of the group added a new bass player (Jean Savaria), a new keyboard player (Jean Racine), and a new singer and leader of the group (me).
Our group recorded an LP of instrumental dance music in late 1969. We had signed for a three record contract, but since the producer never delivered his part, we closed the deal and it was the end of our recording career. And judging from the results of the recording, we all tried to forget we ever got to record it.
Our activities lasted until 1971, when we all decided to put an end to it and went our different ways.
Le District Ouest, l-r: Michel Meunier, Jacques Meunier, Yvon Delisle (seated), Robert Trépanier and Andre Latour
Here’s a Canadian 45 I can’t get enough of …
From Montreal in 1967, shops supposedly pulled this 45 from the racks because the flip “Le Cardinal” insulted the Cardinal Paul-Emile Leger.
One of my favorite French Canadian records, “Je suis ton copain” translates as “I am your buddy.” Band members were Robert Trépanier vocals, Yvon Delisle lead guitar, Jacques Miller bass guitar, Michel Miller organ, and Andre Latour drums.
The Disques Soleil label was owned by Jacques Desrosiers and André Fontaine, Fontaine produced this 45. Both songs were written by Yvon Dilisle and Michel Meunier, with lyrics on Le Cardinal by Stephane Kerbus.
The band had a second 45 in ‘69 under the name “Le District” on the Vedette label: “L’histoire d’Aladin” / “Soldat de plomb” that I haven’t heard yet. They made an appearance on the TV program “Jeunesse d’aujourd’hui”, and broke up in 1970.
Yvon Delisle recently sent me the photographs you see here. He informs me that Michel Meunier and Andre Latour have passed away. I hope to have more information on the band in the near future.
On “Jeunesse d’aujourd’hui”, Le District Ouest are on the far left side of the stage.l-r: Jacques Meunier, Michel Meunier, Andre Latour, Robert Trépanier and Yvon Delisle.
The Amen (left to right: Dave Wilson, Nick Scali, Bob Clarke, Tim Ryan and Ed Schryer)
The Amen (or A Men) originated in Sault Ste. Marie in Ontario, Canada. Band members in 1966 were Tim Ryan on vocals, Ed Schryer lead guitar, Nick Scali rhythm guitar, Dave Wilson bass and Bob Clarke drums. At this point they were known for their original songs and also for the 15 minute drum solos of Bob Clarke. A later clipping lists Bob Yukich and Bob Yeomans as well, and omits Ed Schryer. After eight months together, playing at the local Teen Centre, they traveled to Toronto in late 1966 to record their only 45, a fine 60’s pop 45 released on the local Algoma label early in ’67. No songwriting credits are listed on the label, but an article from the Sault Daily Star mentions Tim Ryan as the composer of the a-side, “Carnivals and Cotton Candy”, with the slightly psychedelic “Peter Zeus” being a collaboration between Tim and Bob Clarke. Production was by John Holt.
Amen at the Red Gas RoomThe Amen apparently moved to Toronto at some point in 1967, returning on July 21 to Sault Ste. Marie for a homecoming concert at the Memorial Gardens. (The Memorial Gardens were demolished in May of 2006.) They stayed active until at least late 1967, sharing billing with the Guess Who at the Princess Theatre in September. They certainly had ambition and talent, but for some reason never cut another record.
A Men live on CJIC-TV with the Odds and Ends and the Rogues RPM, October 17, 1966Thank you Jim Witty for letting me know about this group, and special thanks to Bård Hodneland for the cool photo and memorabilia of the Amen, and Ronald T. Robinson, former DJ at Sault Ste. Marie radio CKCY, who sent in the fabulous article “Amen Cut Peter Zeus” from the Sault Daily Star which his wife had saved since high school. Thanks also to Ivan Amirault for the scan from RPM.
Later photo of the Amen with six membersLater photo of the Amen with six membersAbove, the Vandettas (Vendettas?): Bob Yukich, John Derbyshire, Keith McKie, Bob Yeomans, Alex Darou. Bob Yukich and Bob Yeomans would join a later version of the Amen, and Keith McKie went on to Kensington Market.
The Rogues with Debbie Lori Kaye. Photo from the collection of Joe Spina.
Another band from Sault Ste Marie are (Those) Rogues, who have a fine and rare double-sider on Algoma, “Wish I Could See You Again” / “Girl”.
Members were Bryan Primeau organ and vocals, Rick Rogers guitar, Terry Davey on saxophone, Harvey Bell on bass and Mike Jargan on drums. Terry Davey left the group sometime before they recorded their 45.
In 1963 or ’64, the group recorded a whole LP worth of songs in John Holt’s basement. John Holt had about 10 acetate copies without covers made from the tape, some of which were used for promotion. Any copies John Holt had of this were lost in a house fire, and both Bryan and Terry have lost their copies. Does anyone have this lost artifact of Soo rock n’ roll?
(Those) Rogues – left to right: Mike Jargan, Rick Rogers, Bryan Primeau, Harvey BellCJIC-TV Telethon notice with local Soo groups the Odds and Ends, the A Men and The Rogues.Photo as the Rogues, with Debbie Lori Kaye on vocals and Terry Davey on saxophone at right. Photo courtesy of Rose Davey.
Ivan Amirault explained to me: “The Rogues changed their name to (Those) Rogues, because at the time Mandala used to call themselves the Five Rogues.”
The single was recorded at Arc Studios in Toronto on February 26, 1967 (I’m not positive on the year), with Marshall Shapiro engineering the session. The label lists the address as Case Road. As with the Amen’s 45 the producer is John Holt, but no songwriting credits are listed. As Bryan’s son Joel mentions in the comment below, his father was the songwriter for the group for the 45.
At this point the band was regularly playing at the Sundown Room, though I’m not sure if that was in Sault Ste Marie or elsewhere in Ontario.
Notable in the article below is when Bryan describes the feeling of playing in front of an audience: “It’s like going to an LSD party, without the LSD”!
Joe Spina, program director at Cambrian College in 1966 and 1967 sent me a number of cool photos of the Rogues, some with Debbie Lori Kaye.
Thanks to Ed Nadorozy who sent in scans of the newspaper clipping and the smaller photos, and to Ivan Amirault who interviewed the late John Holt and provided me with info on their acetate and about their name change. Thank you to Joe Spina for photos of the Rogues on stage and with Debbie Lori Kaye.
An early photo of the group
Terry Davey spoke to me about the early days of the group:
The Rogues started their career playing in the Moose Hall in Thessalon in the very early 60’s. The Fireflies gave us a break to fill their spot at the Peppermint Hall in the Soo as they were taking a trip. We played there and then moved across Queen Street to play at the former Knights of Columbus Hall. As I remember we were the last group to play at the Peppermint Hall. The Fireflies had just moved their equipment into the hall when it burned down.
When I was with the Rogues we made an LP with the help of John Holt. John Holt managed the entire thing. I believe it got a little air time at CKCY radio and possibly CJIC, but hey, that was the early 60’s. I had one copy and all the other band members had a copy.
When the Rogues decided to go to Toronto I decided to stick with my job at Algoma Steel. It was a good choice!
That is me on the sax in the photo. I am not that tall. I was standing on the rails of the barstools.
Some years later I also started a group called the Bishops Court Trio with Ed Shire and Jerry Pennet. We played at the Algonquin Hotel and also the Black Knight and other places.
Is Harvey Bell still alive? He was Chief of the Ojibwa tribe for some time.
My son Kevin Davey, formally of the Soo, is making a real name for himself in Canadian music. I had taught him guitar and bass many years ago and now he really makes me proud. He now lives in Vancouver, B.C.
I am currently playing sax, sometimes bass and guitar, in our church’s Prase and Worship group.
Update May 2019: Terrence J. “Terry” Davey passed away on April 5, 2019 in Florida. See comment below for more information on Terry’s life. Thank you to Rose Davey for writing to me with this information and for sending some of the photos seen here. Thanks also to Al McGrath for help with identifying some of the musicians in the photo of the Dimensions.
The Dimensions, from left: John Legacy, Terry Davey, Jerry Pennett, the next two are unidentified. Any help identifying the musicians would be appreciatedTerry Davey’s group in the ’70s, any help identifying the musicians would be appreciated
This site is a work in progress on 1960s garage rock bands. All entries can be updated, corrected and expanded. If you have information on a band featured here, please let me know and I will update the site and credit you accordingly.
I am dedicated to making this site a center for research about '60s music scenes. Please consider donating archival materials such as photos, records, news clippings, scrapbooks or other material from the '60s. Please contact me at rchrisbishop@gmail.com if you can loan or donate original materials
In late 2010, Glen Stephen sent in photos and news clippings on the group. An article from Music Trend in June of ’67 quotes Bill Bryans: “we got to a point where we were out and out tired of the music we were playing. It had served a purpose for a while but … we want to put something into our performances now that we couldn’t do before with top 40 material. So, we’re drifting away from it but not divorcing ourselves altogether. We’ve learned a lot from watching the big name groups on the tours. Now I think we’ve become a little more artistic in our music rather than mechanical.”
I asked Glen Stephen about the Music Trend article, and also about the band’s early days:
The New Wing was a singer by the name of Davy Peters backed by members of a group from Edmonton, Alberta, called the Sons of Adam.
A group in Montreal called Les Harmonicos recorded this 45 in 1968 to give away as a souvenir at “Canada Family Day.” There is absolutely no information as to who was in the group or wrote the song on the sleeve and labels. The only info is “Production Son Illimité (de Montreal) Inc.” on the label. Reverse side of the sleeve is blank. I read that the group were air cadets, but as I later found out, that is not correct.
