Grant Smith (Vocals) all line ups

Val Stevens (B-3 Organ) line up ABCDEHI

Jim Pauley (Guitar) line up AB

Mike Harrison (Bass) line up ABCDE

Wayne “Stoney” Stone (Drums) line up ABCDEF

Charlie Miller (Drums) line up A

Ralph Miller (Trumpet) line up ABCDEFGH

Brian “Otis” Ayres (Saxophone) all line ups

Jon Palma (Guitar) line up CD

Steve Kennedy (Saxophone, Harmonica) line up DEF

Kenny Marco (Guitar) line up EF

William “Smitty” Smith (Organ) line up F

Sonnie “Jiggs” Bernardi (Drums) line up GHI

Gord Baxter (Guitar) – line up GH

Rick Berkett (Bass) – line up GH

Wulf Stelling (B-3 Organ) – line up G

Ted Stack (Trumpet) – line up GH

Bert Hermiston (Saxophone/flute) – line up GHI

Josef Chirowski (Keyboards)

Frank De Felice (Drums)

Joe Agnello (Bass)

Terry Aubertin (Guitar)

Pedro Cortez (Keyboards)

Pierre Galipeau (Trumpet)

Former Weepers member Val Stevens together with Mike Harrison and the Miller Brothers had been playing with Toronto band Eddie Spencer & The Power when a decision was made on 1 January 1967 to shake up the band.

New lead singer (and former drummer with The Missing Links) Ellis Grant Smith (b. London, Ontario), together with guitarist Jim Pauley from his previous band, E G Smith & The Express and sax player Brian Ayres, who’d previously played bass guitar with Brantford, Ontario groups, The Galaxies, The Marque-Royals and The Beau Keys were brought in.

Two weeks later, another former Express member and second drummer, Wayne Stone joined. Stone had also previously played with London, Ontario band The Sticks and Stones with bass player Jim Laramie before the pair joined Grant Smith in E G Smith & The Express with Jim Pauley and keyboard player Vernon Pickell, who went on to briefly record with the mid-1967 version of The Mynah Birds at Motown before reuniting with Laramie in Natural Gas (with former Mandala singer George Olliver).

The first line-up remained together until mid-1967 and initially gigged as E G Smith and The Power before adopting the better known, Grant Smith & The Power.

Canadian music publication RPM Music Weekly featured a short article and photo of the group in its 10 June 1967 issue on the front page. The article notes the group first started playing at the In Crowd in Toronto’s Yorkville Village.

After Charlie Miller’s departure in June, the group went to the United States, now working with only one drummer, and played on the Atlantic Seaboard, including playing at the Number 3 Lounge in Boston.

After returning to Canada, Jim Pauley quit and was replaced by Jon Palma in September. Palma had previously played in The Weepers alongside Val Stevens and Charlie Miller.

The band’s debut 45, a soul version of The Spencer Davis Group’s ‘Keep on Running’ coupled with Smith and Stevens’s ‘Her Own Life’, came out in January 1968 and featured line up C.

Both singles were recorded (with Steve Kennedy on the sessions) at Toronto music mogul, Art Snider’s Sound Canada studios in Toronto. Kennedy, a former member of Diane Brooks, Eric Mercury and The Soul Searchers, joined the group as its musical director in January 1968.

RPM Music Weekly’s 20 January issue notes that the group opened their second US tour in Revere, Massachusetts on 15 January, with follow up appearances in Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Chicago. The first half of the tour was due to end on 9 March and then they returned to Toronto.

While in New York in May 1968, Palma left to join Mary Ann Brown & The Good Things and guitarist Kenny Marco, who had played alongside Brian Ayres in The Galaxies, The Marque-Royals and The Beau Keys joined.

With Marco on-board the group recorded their second single, ‘Thinkin’ About You’ c/w ‘You Got What You Want’ at Art Snider’s Sound Canada studios in Toronto. The tracks were picked up by  MGM and released that autumn. (Ed. Stone thinks Jon Palma was the guitarist on these two tracks and not Marco).

In October 1968, Harrison left to join McKenna Mendelson Mainline.

Stevens also left at this point and William Smith, who’d previously worked with The Soul Searchers came in, covering bass on Hammond organ.

Line up F was responsible for recording the bulk of the group’s album on Boo in November 1968, which also included the band’s debut single and a few tracks recorded by earlier line ups.

However, Marco, Kennedy, Smith and Stone weren’t happy with the recording and its reliance on cover material and left in mid-January 1969 to form Motherlode.

Four members of Franklin Sheppard & The Good Sheppards took their place. Gordon Baxter had started out with Kitchener, Ontario group The Counts Royale.

In mid-1966, however, Wulf Stelling, who had played alongside Brian Ayres in The Marque-Royals in the early 1960s, invited the guitarist to join a new band he was forming in Brantford, Ontario that also featured former Jay’s Rayders members Rick Berkett (aka Ric Barker) and sax player Glen Higgins.

After rehearsing for several months with another singer (Larry Lewellan), Stelling’s group was picked up by Franklin Sheppard in October; Sheppard had broken up the original Sheppards following dates in Vancouver the previous month. In August 1967 Sonnie Bernardi joined from Mary Ann Brown & The Good Things and The Sheppards toured the US before splitting in mid-1968.

Baxter had started to put together a new R&B group in Kitchener when Stelling called him to join Grant Smith in January 1969 alongside Bernardi and Berkett. At the same time, Smith added two more horn players, Ted Stack on second trumpet alongside Ralph Miller and Bert Hermiston on second sax and flute.

Following several weeks of rehearsals at the Hawk’s Nest in Toronto and playing some local gigs, line-up G headed to the Boston area in the first week of May 1969.

However, Grant Smith soon clashed with Stelling and Val Stevens was brought back into the group around July.

The revised line-up continued to gig around Boston and the Cape Cod areas before returning to Toronto in August 1969. Smith then briefly disbanded The Power because he wanted a break. Baxter then reunited with Wulf Stelling in The Wulf Pack.

When Smith reformed The Power as a sextet in September 1969, he retained Brian Ayres, Bert Hermiston, Sonnie Bernadi and Val Stevens. However, the line-up remained fluid throughout 1970 and Smith expanded the line-up again to an 11-piece.

Former member Kenny Marco re-joined during this period as well after Motherlode split up and the group played in Las Vegas at Caesar’s Palace.

During 1970 Bernardi left and subsequently worked with Ronnie Hawkins, King Biscuit and then Crowbar. Hermiston did sessions with Heaven and Earth among others while Stevens formed his own trio before travelling to England in late 1970 and played with Clown, Tucky Buzzard and Steve Hillage’s Khan.

Marco subsequently joined former member William Smith in Los Angeles backing David Clayton-Thomas.

At some point (most likely late 1969/early 1970), keyboardist Josef Chirowski, who’d previously played with The Mandala and The Power Project worked with Grant Smith & The Power briefly. Also, another former Franklin Sheppard & The Good Sheppards member Frank De Felice was a brief member before forming Jericho.

Grant Smith continued to front various line-ups of The Power throughout the 1970s and beyond.

Former Leigh Ashford bass player Joe Agnello recalls playing with Grant Smith & The Power around 1971-1972 before he formed Fullerton, Little and Agnello Group (Flag). He says that former Power member Wayne Stone was on drums alongside guitarist Terry Aubertin and organist Pedro Cortez. He also remembers two trumpet players Pierre Galipeau and a guy called Benoit.

Stone subsequently worked with Johnny Otis in Los Angeles in the early 1970s and then returned to Toronto to play with Dr. Music, a band that had previously featured Kenny Marco and also included Steve Kennedy.

In the mid-1970s, former members Kenny Marco, Wayne Stone and Val Stevens (after he had returned from England) returned to play with Grant Smith in a line-up that also featured sax player Leo Sullivan.

Recordings

45 Keep On Running/Her Own Life (BOO 681) 1968

45 Thinkin’ About You/You Got What I Want (MGM 13979) 1968

LP Grant Smith & The Power (BOO 6802) 1968

Selected advertised gigs

5 February 1967 – The Syndicate Club, Toronto, Ontario (formerly Club Isabella) (billed as E G Smith & The Power)

11 February1967 – The Hawk’s Nest, Toronto, Ontario (billed as E G Smith & The Power)

18 February 1967 – Gogue Inn, Toronto, Ontario with Franklin Sheppard & The Good Sheppards and The Wyldfyre (billed as E G Smith & The Power)

4 March 1967 – The Hawk’s Nest, Toronto, Ontario (billed as E G Smith & The Power)

10 March 1967 – Gogue Inn, Toronto, Ontario with The Five Good Reasons, Dana and Sunny & Peter

24 March 1967 – Avenue Road Club, Toronto, Ontario

26 March 1967 – Avenue Road Club, Toronto, Ontario

9 April 1967 – Crang Plaza, Downsview, Ontario with R K & The Associates (billed as E G Smith & The Power)

14 April 1967 – Club 888, Toronto, Ontario (billed as E G Smith & The Power)

29 April 1967 – The Hawk’s Nest, Toronto, Ontario (billed as E G Smith & The Power)

6 May 1967 – Broom and Stone, Scarborough, Ontario with Luv-Lites and The Tiaras and The Syndicate Five (billed as E G Smith & The Power)

13 May 1967 – Whitby Arena, Whitby, Ontario with Shawne Jackson, Jay Jackson & The Majestics, Bobby Kris & The Imperials, The Last Words, Jack Hardin & The Silhouettes, The Tripp, The Ugly Ducklings, Roy Kenner & The Associates and others (billed as E G Smith & The Power)

2 June 1967 – The Hawk’s Nest, Toronto, Ontario

2 June 1967 – Annadale Country Club, Pickering, Ontario (billed as E G Smith & The Power)

9 June 1967 – Don Mills Curling Club, Toronto, Ontario with The One Eyed Jacks

16 June 1967 – Whitby Arena, Whitby, Ontario with James and Bobby Purify, Shawne Jackson, Jay Jackson & The Majestics, Jack Hardin and Stitch In Tyme (billed as E G Smith & The Power)

27 June 1967 – Broom and Stone, Scarborough, Ontario with The One Eyed Jacks and Who & The Blazers

The band travelled to the United States for the summer

6 September 1967 – The Hawk’s Nest, Toronto, Ontario

23 September 1967 – Club 42, Stratford, Ontario (billed as E G Smith & The Power)

29 September 1967 – Jubilee Auditorium, Oshawa, Ontario (billed as E G Smith & The Power)

30 September 1967 – Broom and Stone, Scarborough, Ontario (billed as E G Smith & The Power)

14 October 1967 – The Hawk’s Nest, Toronto, Ontario

21 October 1967 – York University, Toronto, Ontario (billed as E G Smith & The Power)

22 October 1967 – Teddy Bear Club, Toronto, Ontario

10 November 1967 – Club Boogaloo, Chandelier, near Wentworth, Hamilton, Ontario (Hamilton Spectator)

11 November 1967 – Broom and Stone, Scarborough, Ontario with The Taxi

17 November 1967 – Club Shade Blue, Hamilton, Ontario (Hamilton Spectator)

18 November 1967 – The Hawk’s Nest, Toronto, Ontario

1 December 1967 – Club Shade Blue, Hamilton, Ontario (Hamilton Spectator)

8 December 1967 – Jubilee Auditorium, Oshawa, Ontario (billed as E G Smith & The Power)

15 December 1967 – Club Trocadero, Toronto, Ontario

22 December 1967 – Club Boogaloo, Chandelier, near Wentworth, Hamilton, Ontario (Hamilton Spectator)

23 December 1967 – Bunny Bin, Toronto, Ontario with Christopher Edward Campaign and The Village Stop

26 December 1967 – Hidden Valley, Huntsville, Ontario

31 December 1967 – The Hawk’s Nest, Toronto, Ontario

6 January 1968 – The Hawk’s Nest, Toronto, Ontario

12 January 1968 – Jubilee Auditorium, Oshawa, Ontario

The band’s second US tour begins on 15 January and concludes on 9 March, according to RPM Music Weekly’s 20 January issue. It also says they will record most of their Boo LP from 11-23 March.

22-26 January 1968 – Buttercup Hill Club, Lunenburg, Massachusetts (Fitchburg Sentinel)

28 January 1968 – Buttercup Hill Club, Lunenburg, Massachusetts (Fitchburg Sentinel)

29 January-2 February 1968 – Buttercup Hill Club, Lunenburg, Massachusetts (Fitchburg Sentinel)

4 February 1968 – Buttercup Hill Club, Lunenburg, Massachusetts (Fitchburg Sentinel)

8 March 1968 – Jubilee Auditorium, Oshawa, Ontario (may not have happened if US dates correct above)

10 March 1968 – Teddy Bear Club, Toronto, Ontario (billed as E G Smith & The Power)

17 March 1968 – O’Keefe Centre, Toronto, Ontario with The Hollies and Spanky & The Gang (billed as E G Smith & The Power)

19 March 1968 – Club Riviera, Norval, Ontario with Stitch In Tyme and The Lords of London

20 March 1968 – Civic Centre Auditorium, Brantford, Ontario (The Expositor) Advert says they are leaving for Los Angeles next week but this seems unlikely

23 March 1968 – London Arena, London, Ontario with The Entertainer

24 March 1968 – The Hawk’s Nest, Toronto, Ontario

29 March 1968 – Jubilee Auditorium, Oshawa, Ontario

30 March 1968 – Neil McNeil Student Council, Toronto, Ontario (billed as E G Smith & The Power)

31 March 1968 – Intersection, Windsor, Ontario with The Amboy Dukes (Windsor Star)

RPM Music Weekly’s 20 January 1968 issue says the second half of their second US tour starts on 25 March and ends on 15 June. It looks like the start date may have been pushed back though to early April. 

Mid-May 1968 – Trudy Heller’s, New York, USA (Toronto Daily Star)

14 June 1968 – Memorial Centre, Kingston, Ontario with The Varmints and Paper Dream (Kingston Whig-Standard)

16 June 1968 – Broom and Stone, Scarborough, Ontario (billed as E G Smith & The Power and says just back from US tour)

20 June 1968 – Huron Park Recreation Centre, Cooksville, Ontario with The Lords of London, The Five Shy and The Cat (billed as E G Smith & The Power)

21 June 1968 – Jubilee Auditorium, Oshawa, Ontario

22 June 1968 – Club Commodore, Kawarthas, Ontario

23 June 1968 – Summer Garden, Port Dover, Ontario

25 June 1968 – London Arena, London, Ontario with The Entertainer with The Soul Agents and The Grass Company

29 June 1968 – Balm Beach Danceland, Balm Beach, Ontario

2 July 1968 – The Hawk’s Nest, Toronto, Ontario

5 July 1968 – BCI, Brantford, Ontario (billed as EG Smith & The Power) (The Expositor)

6 July 1968 – The Cove, Long Beach, St Catherine’s, Ontario (The Standard)

12-13 July 1968 – Sauble Beach Pavilion, Sauble Beach, Ontario (Sun Times from Owen Sound)

14 July 1968 – Summer Garden, Port Dover, Ontario

29 July 1968-18 August 1968 – Tony Marts Somers Point, Ocean City, New Jersey, US with The Shades and The Shadettes, The Aerodrome and The Pop Explosions (Courier-Post/Press of Atlantic City)

24 August 1968 – The Hawk’s Nest, Toronto, Ontario

25 August 1968 – Summer Garden, Port Dover, Ontario with The Federation (The Expositor)

28 August 1968 – The Glenbriar, Waterloo, Ontario with George Olliver & His Children and The Web & Dover Street (Waterloo Region Record)

1 September 1968 – Hidden Valley, Huntsville, Ontario with The Private Collection

12 September 1968 – Ryerson Gymnasium, Toronto, Ontario (Toronto Daily Star)

22 September 1968 – The Hawk’s Nest, Toronto, Ontario

27 September 1968 – Jubilee Auditorium, Oshawa, Ontario

11 October 1968 – Alligator, Hamilton, Ontario (Hamilton Spectator)

13 October 1968 – Hidden Valley, Huntsville, Ontario with The Staccatos (possibly one of Harrison’s final shows)

19 October 1968 – BCI, Brantford, Ontario (The Expositor)

15 November 1968 – Alligator, Hamilton, Ontario (Hamilton Spectator)

22 November 1968 – Hawk’s Nest, Toronto, Ontario (Toronto Daily Star)

24 November 1968 – Paradise Gardens, Guelph, Ontario

30 November 1968 – Royal York Hotel, Toronto, Ontario with The Stitch In Time

1 December 1968 – Broom and Stone, Scarborough, Ontario

26 December 1968 – Hidden Valley, Huntsville, Ontario with The Taxi

27 December 1968 – Alligator, Hamilton, Ontario (Hamilton Spectator)

28 December 1968 – Summer Garden, Port Dover, Ontario

1 January 1969 – BCI, Brantford, Ontario (The Expositor)

4 January 1969 – Broom and Stone, Scarborough, Ontario (Toronto Daily Star)

15 February 1969 – Broom and Stone, Scarborough, Ontario (Toronto Daily Star)

22 February 1969 – Pillar Square, Hamilton, Ontario (Hamilton Spectator)

20 March 1969 – Masonic Temple, Windsor, Ontario (Windsor Star)

22 March 1969 – Summer Garden, Port Dover, Ontario with Gulliver’s Travels (The Expositor)

4 April 1969 – Bramalea Community Centre, Bramalea, Ontario with Wingate Funk

25 April 1969 – Jubilee Pavilion, Oshawa, Ontario

26 April 1969 – Neil McNeil’s High School, Toronto, Ontario

27 April 1969 – The Hawk’s Nest, Toronto, Ontario

2 May 1969 – Teutonia Club, Windsor, Ontario with Power & The Glory (Windsor Star)

The band headed to the Boston and Cape Cod areas to play at this point. 

Early May 1969 – Beacon Club, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

19-31 May 1969 – Buttercup Hill Club, Lunenburg, Massachusetts, USA (Fitchburg Sentinel) Two weeks 

16-29 June 1969 – Lucifer, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

30 June- 6 July 1969 – Mill Hill Club, West Yarmouth, Massachusetts, USA (they also played the Dunes in East Sandwich around this time)

August 1969 – Grange Tavern, Hamilton, Ontario (two weeks) (Hamilton Spectator)

22 August 1969 – Summer Garden, Port Dover, Ontario with Tote Family (Hamilton Spectator)

12-13 September 1969 – Village Inn’s Lamplighter Room and Alminta Dawson, Gaslight Room, Sarnia, Ontario (Times Herald)

28 September 1969 – Summer Garden, Port Dover, Ontario (The Expositor)

12 October 1969 – Summer Garden, Port Dover, Ontario (The Expositor)

13-18 October 1969 – Lakeview Manor Hotel, Kingston, Ontario (Kington Whig-Standard) Advert says the band is a sextet

19 October 1969 – Kingston Memorial Centre, Kingston, Ontario (Kingston Whig-Standard)

22-24 October 1969 – Club Aquarius, Hillcrest Tavern, Hamilton, Ontario (The Expositor)

3 November 1969 – Town & Country Palace, Toronto, Ontario (Toronto Daily Star) Picture suggests six piece band; looks like week-long residency

5 December 1969 – Jubilee Auditorium, Oshawa, Ontario

December 1969 – Grange Tavern, Hamilton, Ontario (three weeks) (Hamilton Spectator)

10 January 1970 – Pillar Square, Hamilton, Ontario (Hamilton Spectator)

Early February 1970 – Lakeview Manor Hotel, Centennial Room, Kingston, Ontario (Kingston Whig-Standard) Week-long residency; advert says it’s a six-piece

13 February 1970 – Jubilee Auditorium, Oshawa, Ontario

3 April 1970 – Town & Country Palace, Toronto, Ontario (Toronto Daily Star)

13 April 1970 – Town & Country Palace, Toronto, Ontario (Toronto Daily Star) Advert suggests longer residency. Last Canadian appearance before opening at Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas

30 May 1970 – Grange Tavern, Hamilton, Ontario (Hamilton Spectator) Advert suggests long residency

6 June 1970 – Grange Tavern, Hamilton, Ontario (Hamilton Spectator) Advert suggests long residency

13 June 1970 – Grange Tavern, Hamilton, Ontario (Hamilton Spectator) Advert suggests long residency

22 June 1970 – Town & Country Palace, Toronto, Ontario (Toronto Daily Star)

25 June 1970 – Town & Country Palace, Toronto, Ontario (Toronto Daily Star) Advert says it’s an 11-piece

3 August 1970 – Hawk’s Room, Toronto, Ontario

Mid-August 1970 – Lakeview Manor Hotel, Centennial Room, Kingston, Ontario (Kingston Whig-Standard) Week-long residency

14 September 1970 – Grange Tavern, Hamilton, Ontario (Hamilton Spectator) Advert suggests longer residency

21 September 1970 – Grange Tavern, Hamilton, Ontario (Hamilton Spectator) Advert suggests longer residency

23 October 1970 – Town & Country Palace, Toronto, Ontario (Toronto Daily Star)

Early November 1970 – Choo Choo Stop, Guelph, Ontario (Waterloo Region Record)

21 December 1970 – Grange Tavern, Hamilton, Ontario (Hamilton Spectator) According to article in Hamilton Spectator, 22 December, p36, this is the start of three-week stand

Thanks to Carny Corbett, Mike Harrison, Sonnie Bernardi, Craig Webb, Gordon Baxter, Joe Agnello, Wayne Stone and Grant Smith for their help. Thanks to Grant for some band photos and gig posters. 

The source for most of the live dates listed here was the “After Four” section, published in the Toronto Telegram and RPM Music Weekly unless otherwise noted. RPM images courtesy of Ivan Amirault. I’d also like to credit John Mars’s article on Kenny Marco in Blitz magazine, published in 1982.

Copyright © Nick Warburton. All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted in any from or by any means, without prior permission from the author.