Whoops! We're digging back into the 1960's with today's single, a pair of great country songs from Lenny Siebert, one of the three Calgarian siblings that made up the Siebert Brothers.
We haven't been able to locate any episodes/clips of the TV show referenced above... but at least we've got the download!
Get 'em here!
We're going to blast thru the rest of the Heart Records singles that are laying around the CCPS offices... this first batch are all (kind of) name-checked in the article below, and seem to be out-of-town (Vancouver!) artists.
Today's stack of singles is from country singer/keyboardist Rick Morgenstern. Two are on his own Meadow-Morgen Records (named in part for his hometown of Meadowlake, Saskatchewan) and the other three are on Heart Records. These are all polished little slabs of vinyl (not literally - as you've probably noticed by now, some of our records are in TERRIBLE condition), which is probably why Morgenstern piqued the interest of Heart founder Ron Mahonin:
At last sighting Morgenstern was still active, living in Edmonton and playing with the legendary Emeralds.
Get these singles here!
So, here's that other Highwood single - from the legendary Ian Tyson! We had to go back a revisit the timeline of his career to figure out how he ended up releasing this piece of vinyl (along with another) on such a small label. The duo of Ian & Sylvia called it quits in 1975, around the same time The Ian Tyson Show - and in 1980 Tyson signed on with a new manager that helped to reinvigorate his career.
In that interim period between 1975 and 1980, he put out a few recordings on smaller labels (Gary Buck's Broadland imprint, the Hitchner's Highwood, and Stompin' Tom's Boot Records). We've got a selection of singles (mostly) from that era of his career, including three singles that are Alberta-themed. Oh, and two of which are the same song. That second, major-label version of "Alberta's Child" is in here also because it was mixed by Richard Harrow in his Living Room Studios.
Today's seven singles come to us via siblings James Lee Hitchner and Keith Hitchner, and (mostly) the Highwood label. James got his start in music in the early 60's, playing in a country/pop outfit called the Cavaliers before going full country. We suspect that the Highwood label - which most of these singles are on - was a family business, as all the label seems to have put out are records by the brothers Hitchner. With one big exception, which we'll get to tomorrow. But for now, you can enjoy this ripper of a review of an early James Lee Hitchner show:
Ouch! Suffice to say, these singles are far more polished.
Calgary’s answer to the Eagles came into existence in the early seventies with the formation of Fosterchild. Initially a quartet performing music that was categorized as rock with country influences, Fosterchild became regulars at the Scotch and Sirloin. Seeking a wider audience, Fosterchild’s initial lineup comprised of Jim Foster on guitar and vocals, Gordon Mar on lead guitar, Dwight Thompson on bass and Bob “Mickey” Mathews on drums travelled to Edmonton to record a demo tape. Wes Dakus’ Sundown Recorders studio filled the bill with Gaye Delorme mastering a demo of Foster’s song “Let Me Down Easy”. The result generated interest by CBS Records in the song and ultimately a record contract. In an interesting development, the label fired the entire band, bringing in bassist Dwight Thompson and Jorn Anderson on drums to finish the recording session.
The band went on to record three LPs and put out a bunch of singles before they split; afterwards, Jim Foster joined Edmonton's One Horse Blue before embarking on a solo career.
We're bouncing around a bit, but/and we're really trying to make it through all the 7" singles we've amassed here at the CCPS. This batch of four records today comes to us from (the) Drylanders, an easy-listening/country outfit that was active from the late 1960's... all the way into the 1980's, it appears. We name-checked the Drylanders earlier this year when we posted a single by the Kunkel Brothers - the Drylanders are made up of a whole bunch of Kunkels. AND Ron Barge (aka Buckshot) likely plays keyboards on "I Feel It Everyday."
In the early 70's the Drylanders were playing lounges around town, and the band (and Buckshot) was also part of the action as our city ushered in our Olympic year:
This record puzzles us a bit, mostly because someone has written on the label either (a) to clarify and celebrate where the artist is from or (b) to mess with us. We cannot verify that Mr. Will Allen was from Calgary (or of Calgary, as the case may be), which is really a bit of a disappointment. Both sides of this single are pretty decent slices of honky tonk, and all we can find that mentions Allen is this ad:
Since we're filling in all sorts of holes from the 60's we'd best include this single from a band that at least started in Calgary. Thankfully we can crib this story off of Wikipedia, which tells us that the Original Caste was formed in our fair city in 1966 by Bruce Innes, originally as a trio alongside Graham Bruce and Bliss Mackie. Singer Dixie Lee Stone joined the band in 1967, and they decamped to Los Angeles in 1968. Hooking up with writers and producers Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, they hit it big with this single, the pop-folk opus "One Tin Soldier." The Original Caste morphed and shifted over the years, picking up a variety of different members including Richard Harrow.
Our copy of this single is pretty beat (as are sooooo many singles in our collection), but it's on so many comps, we figured you didn't need a pristine copy. Besides, you're probably more inclined to the version by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. Maybe?
The demise of the 49th Parallel resulted in another morph. Dennis Abbott decided to change his personal musical course. The nucleus of Danny Lowe and Alf Cook connected with vocalist Doran Beattie and drummer Paul Burton reformed the band as the Parallel.
As is oft the case when a band experiences a change in its lead vocalist, the sound of the group is altered radically. Wes Dakus, in his capacity as a booking agent, set up a recording session and suggested the band rename itself... Thusly, Painter came into existence with substance. In time, Doran Beattie (lead vocal) and Dan Lowe (guitar) were ultimately joined by Roydon “Wayne” Morice (bass), Barry Allen (rhythm guitar) and Bob Ego (percussion) rounded out this new morph. Painter achieved significant success with their single “West Coast Woman”, which did very well on North American music charts.
Painter, as a successful Alberta rock band, came to an end in the mid-seventies. Elektra Records did not like the direction the band was taking, so after a parting of ways, Painter changed its name to Hammersmith and signed with Mercury Records in 1974. The new iteration of musicians was composed of Doran Beattie (vocals), Danny Lowe (guitar), Jeff Boyne (guitar), Royden Morice (bass) and James Llewellyn (drums). Hammersmith’s new musical persona was hard rock. Their self-titled debut album for Mercury was released in 1975...
From the ashes of Hammersmith emerged the last morph of the legacy of the Shades of Blond – 451 Degrees. In 1978 Danny Lowe, along with vocalist Hal Whitford went to Edmonton to record at Wes Dakus’ Sundown Recorders. To fill out the recording roster, they hired Bob Walker to play bass, Bob Ego to play drums, Norman Durkee on piano and Martin Barre, who played guitar with Jethro Tull. Five tracks were laid. Later a different version of the band was pulled together 451°. The band was now complete with Danny Lowe on guitar, Jim Clench of Bachman Turner Overdrive and April Wine on bass, and Brad Steckel on vocals and guitar. In 1980, 451° produced three singles and an album. None of this great music gained any traction in the music marketplace...
In 1982, Painter guitarist, Danny Lowe experienced what he called "an industrial accident" while placing 14 microphones in a sound studio. In playing back the recording made that day, he discovered he had inadvertently created an auditory illusion that he was surrounded by sound. The effect resembled how the human ear physiologically actually hears.
Over the next eight years, he and electro-technician John Lees worked together to fine tune the system. Q-Sound was patented in 1990 and music artists such as Sting, Madonna, INXS, Pink Floyd, Kate Bush, Paula Abdul, Julian Lennon, Wilson Phillips and Luther Vandross quickly embraced the recording system. Q-Sound is now a global supplier of audio technology for a host of consumer electronics as its proprietary algorithms deliver a fuller, natural and immersive audio experience as demonstrated on the Wilson Phillips song You’re in Love.
Okay, back to Calgary and a celebration of Canada's centennial year. We hope there was a picture sleeve for this 7", but in the absence of anything more detailed, all we can tell you is that this is a compilation of songs performed by children from four Calgary schools...unfortunately, we can't tell if these were original compositions or not. Maybe you went to one of these schools and can fill in the blanks for us?
Until then, you can just grab the record here.
