Cool Fool: Blues Rockin' the Hammer

Gettin' The Blues In 1963

COOL FOOL, BLUES ROCKIN' IN THE HAMMER

Gettin' The Blues In 1963: Something's Gotta' Hold On Me!

I'd been thinking about it for awhile the early days of blues rock and early electric bands in general in Hamilton starting with my own experience growing up in Hamilton in love with black rock 'n roll & rockabilly & electric blues & then playing with Son Richard (Richard Newell aka King Biscuit Boy) & the Chessmen from 1963 to 1965...and then I went to the Canal Bank Shuffle blues festival in Thorold, Ontario back in October and ended up seeing Harrison Kennedy backed by an old friend, Keith Lindsay on various keyboards who put me in touch with Russ Carter, the guitar player for The Bishops with which Harry had been front man at one time...and Russ has pictures & stories...& I was in band back then to & one thing leads to another so here I go...

If anyone reads this & has access to or know where there are photos, documents & especially music, tapes, 8mm or super* film or better etc. (at the moment I'm looking for material from the late '50s
to the mid-60's, pre-psychedelia but that will be another chapter & then the next era & so forth...)
I'd love to get in touch and talk about adding the material to a "history of Hamilton bands" aspect
of this blog...some bands contemporary with The Bishops and the Chessmen I remember: 
Freddy & the Goldtones, Doug Holland, The Prophets, The Bucks (I have vinyl by the Bucks! they practiced in a basement on East 26th Street a couple of blocks over from my house ), Frank Rondell,
Nicky Moore & The Sceptres...but there were lots more...

To give you an idea where I'm comin' from here are some early band photos I somehow still have...and a couple of the tunes from a tape Richard made in 1963 at the Sportsmen's Bowling Alley & lounge on the side of the escarpment in central Hamilton off Wentworth Street south...Richard, vocals & harp, Ron Copple, steel guitar, Rick Golka, lead guitar, Russell Carter guitar (understudying Rick on lead to take over at the next gig as Rick was leaving to play full time on the Ontario bar circuit with Frank Rondell with whom he eventually cut a few 45's), Richie Hodgson, drums, Paul Cronkwright piano and myself on bass...playin' the blues for me starts in 1963.

We played all over the city, there were dances everywhere...we rehearsed in a Fish 'n Chip Shop run by Ron Copple's parents at Brucedale & East 13th right to next to a fav teen hangout, The Rocket, a combo variety store soda shop with a great juke box...let the joint jump, let the good times roll!

 

clockwise from the top: The Chessmen on East 25th Street, clockwise from top right Steve Caskenette, Richard Newell, vocals & blues harp, Doug Carter. bass, Ron Copple,, steel guitar, Richie Hodgson, drums; The Chessmen, clockwise from upper right,Richard Newell, Andy Torkelson, guitar, Ritchie Hodgson, Ron Copple, Doug Carter; Rick Golka, guitar; Seersucker Suits, from left to right, Richard Newell, Doug Carter, Babe Myles, , drums,Steve Caskenette.

The Bishops

The Bishops

To my mind & the cats in the band, the Bishops were the band playin' the best music in town & when we started in 1963 they'd already been around a few years playing a mix of blues ala Jimmy Reed, James Brown, Bobby Blue Bland, Bo Diddley etc. and adding the lastest rythmn & blues hits as they came out...with a little jazz thrown in...I loved when Reggie was playing and they did "Blues In the Closet", I don't know who did the version they were playin' but I've since found a version by Thelonious Monk...one of the  Bishops first regular gigs was the Dundas Teen Town dance upstairs at the old Dundas city hall...

They soon graduated to the back then jumpin' & jivin' Hamilton city core to become the regular opening band weekends at the Downstairs Club on the east side of McNab Street just south of King ...at the time I met them, the band consisted of Russ Carter, guitar, Bobby Washington, bass, Nelson Flowers, drums & Harrison Kennedy, vocals & sometimes Reggie Washington would come along and play keyboards...then one day it was Russ & Bobby with Ron Knappet on drums & Nelson was fronting the group...the grapevine at the time had Harrison & Nelson in a fight to the end to see who would front the Bishops...true? false?...it's a great story...I had the privilege several times to fill in for Bobby during the bands first set at the Downstairs Club when Bobby was workin' shifts at Stelco & was on the afternoon shift...and when the Chessmen needed a lead player we'd call on Russ...

The Bishops greatest gig & for which they must've got the most publicity ever was the Marathon at Lakeland Pool in July 1964...an attempt to break the non-stop playing record of 80 hours set up and promoted by the hottest disc jockey around at the time, Dave Mickey of radio station CHIQ...which they did!!! 

I asked Russ Carter the other day if he knew of any tape recordings of the band from back then unfortunately there seems to be nothing...too bad it would be great to hear them again...thanks Russ for making available the photos and articles...but is there more out there?

                                                 

Do You Wanna' Dance

Do You Wanna Dance...

Russ Carter kindly sent this article along.  Before I was a player I loved going to the many 'dances' that sprang up around the city in the late 50's ...sometimes the dances featured d.j.s spinning the hits and their personal best dance tunes...my favourite was Norman B. out in Westdale in a church hall somewhere because he played a lot of Jimmy Reed and other blues hits of the time...other 'dances' had live bands such as featured in the accompanying article, Cal-Jay & the Vermonts and the Five Pieces of Eight...Jack Carter, vocalist  & Russ McCallister, guitar  of the Vermonts went on to start & front their own bands... in the early '60's the best venue for dancing was the 'the Alex', the Royal Alexander Roller Rink on James Street South at Bold which was where you could go & see top bands such as Ronnie Hawkins & the (original) Hawks...and of course most high school dances, of which there were several a year back in the early 60's, featured live music.

The Downstairs Club

The Downstairs Club

the Downstairs Club  was located on the east side of McNab Street just south of King Street...and around the corner from the Grange (south side of King Street mid-block) which was the 'A' room in town and on the major Ontario bar circuit where cats like Ronnie Hawkins & Billy & Lilly & the Thunderbirds played ...and just down McNab Street on the west side was the Flamingo, the 'B' room or maybe 'C+' where cats like Ray Smith the Sun Records rockabilly guy who followed Ronnie Hawkins to southern Ontario & settled in Burlington or Oakville or somewhere, played ...back then the bars closed at 1 am Monday to Friday and 12 midnight on Saturdays & on Sundays they were closed...

Saturday nights after midnight the current band at one of these joints, if they played the right sort of music, would go on to the Downstairs Club, basically a blues & R 'n B joint (John Lee Hooker played there as did Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry (several times) among other blues acts and later on the Toronto soul bands would play there too, bands like Jay (Eugene Smith) & the Majestics & Jon Lee & the Checkmates...with the occasional jazz act like Peter Appleyard tossed in...and they'd play into the Sunday morning...most of these gigs the Bishops opened the night from 9 pm until midnight for whoever and if they had a better paying gig the Chessmen would fill in & on down the line..

next is my 1970/71 memoir of the club...

The Downstairs Club.  Actually downstairs.  Amen brother!  Righteous marble stairs.  Iron railings painted turquoise blue.  Stairs twist at bottom left to right.  Through wallpaper walls.  But look close at the wallpaper.  Great groovy outta' site Folkways Records album cover wallpaper!  I want it!  Now having turned right through a door past the ticket taker  where you'd have to buy a membership if you didn't have one and then pay an entrance fee unless you're a musician or perhaps a friend of the Shermans (the operators & music fans) or paid your dues or bought suits regular at Jerry's Man's Wear, the Sherman's clothing store, which most of the bands in town and on the road in Ontario, who could afford stage suits did, you got in free...you found yourself in a little red room.  8' x 8' and dig the red leather coming halfway up the walls.  Plush.  Elegant.  Wooooooo!  And a wall pay phone.  A cigarette machine that rarely worked but took your money anyway (talk to Jerry eh!)  To your left a cloak room that was rarely used for coats but mostly for bands to change in and possibly have a drink or two and whatever between sets (alcoholic mind you, this was an unlicensed club back in the early 60's that stayed open into the dawn..and there it is straight ahead.  Waiting.  The main room.  THE CLUB!

Zoom.  Slide inside the door...lookout for that.  Listen to it, the ROAR.  From the crowd.  Can't you tell they're wowed.  By the band?  No!  BY THEMSELVES!

The ceiling of this joint is pipes.  Water pipes.  Heat pipes.  Peace pipes.  Pipes, pipes, pipes.  Painted black.  The Men's Washroom is absolutely inhuman.  Everytime.  Year after year.  Best find an alley to take your piss in or wear an oxygen mask!  No dumping allowed if you've got any sense or else absolutely you know what faced...

The main room was littered with square tables and the tradional after hours / beatnik club red and white checked tablecloths probably pinched from the local Italian restaurant's laundry.

The Stage.  Nothing but a large wooden platform with a beat out upright piano...one night when the Chessmen were fillin' in for the Bishops for the early part of the night...Richard ripped the entire keyboard out pretending to play piano like Jerry Lee Lewis in the middle of one of our tunes.

Hung on the walls were fake Victorian gas lamps and in between, painted in Hamilton original modern art. In the south-east corner, right next to the 'Men's' was the kitchen, home of some weird cola for 50 cents a glass that tasted, year after year, like banana popsicles. But you could also get a 'vanilla' coke which was cola laced with vanilla flavouring which you could buy at any grocery store even though it contained an amazing amount of alcohol.  The corned beef on rye was mighty good if it was late enough!  And the music, can't get enought!

There you have it, the Downstairs Club.  Hope you had one too!  Everyone should!  And never  mind the rounders in their expensive shiny suits sittin' around waitin' to pound something out should you get out of hand!  To a pulp!  Gulp!

...came across this set list from when I joined the Chessmen in early 1961...my friend Richard Newell had suddenly joined The Baron's, an all instrumental band that practised at Brucedale Fish 'n Chips at East 13th, as a vocalist & harmonica player...shortly thereafter I was encouraged to buy a bass & amp & join the band...the Baron's featured Ronnie Copple on steel guitar...remember Santo & Johnny?...Richard, Ron & myself were all avid collectors of blues, r' n b and black rock 'n roll...
we listened to John R and the "Hossman" out of WLAC-AM Nashville and George "Hound Dog" Lorenzo on WINE-AM Buffalo to hear the latest blues & r 'n b hits...and to find new songs to add to our set lists...

House Rockin' Boogie (Howlin' Wolf)
Sweet Home Chicago (Little Junior Parker)
Money (Barret Strong)
Dust My Blues (Elmore James)
Dizzy Miss Lizzy (Larry Williams)
I Won't Go On (Muddy Waters)
I Can't Hold Out (Elmore James)
You're So Fine (The Falcons)
Ooh Poo Pah Do (Jesse Hill)
Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go (Hank Ballard)
Green Onions (Booker T & the MG's)
Last Night (The Markeys)
My Babe (Little Walter)
Baby What You Want Me To Do (Jimmy Reed)
Aw Baby (Little Walter)
Blues With A Feeling (Little Walter)
Mathilda (Cookie & the Cupcakes)
Key To The Highway (Little Walter)
Goodbye Baby (Elmore James)
Hoochie Cootchie Man (Muddy Waters)
Sea Of Love (Phill Phillips)
Unseeing Eye (Sonny Boy Williamson)
Messin' With The Kid (Jr. Wells)
Sugar Bee (Cleveland Crochet)
Christina (Brownie McGhee)
Sugar Coated Love (Lazy Lester)
Yonders Wall (Elmore James)
You Know I Love You (Lonesome Sundown)
I'm A King Bee (Slim Harpo)
Late, Late In The Evening (Lazy Lester)
I'm In Love Again (Fats Domino)
San-Ho-Zay (Freddy King)
Ain't That Lovin' You Baby (Jimmy Reed)
Sun Is Shining (Elmore James)
Don't Go (Lonsome Sundown)
They Call Me Lazy (Lazy Lester)
Gonna' Stick To You Baby (Lonsome Sundown)                            
Wild Cherry (Leroy Washington)
Got You On Mind (Cookie & the Cupcakes)
That's Alright (Jimmy Rodgers)
Walkin' By Myself (Jimmy Rodgers)
Sexy Ways (Hank Ballard)
Close Up The Backdoor (Cookie & the Cupcakes)
Ooh-Wee (Muddy Waters)

...we were not the typical rock 'n roll dance band of the day...check the right sidebar for two more tunes from the Sportsmens Bowling Alley tape..."Look On Yonders Wall" & "Ooh-Wee"...

Going To England

Going To England

By 1964 things were changing big time in the music business...the Beatles were it...who wanted to hear Slim Harpo, Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf , Little Walter or Elmore James
anymore, never mind Cookie & the Cupcakes or Carl Perkins (we always had a strong rockabilly streak),...gigs for rockin' blues bands were getting scarce when Rich's cousin from London, England came to live with Rich & his family for a year...he thought the Chessmen would go over big in England...so we put together a press kit...band photo, band resume and a tape recording we had the  'radio doctor', Bob Moody, who had a great radio repair shop and the hippest selection of jazz & folk vinyl in the city at that time, make for us and make duplicates of...there weren't many
'recording' studios or even tape recorders, if any, in the Hammer at that time and Bob had really good quality portable taping equipment that he would take out to gigs & record bands live... & we found the addresses of booking agents working out of London in the back of the New Musical Express which was available downtown at the centre of the Hammer universe back then, King & James...and off went 30 press kits & back came a dozen responses but the most positive was from a cat named Peter Rood, an American based out of Western Germany...guaranteeing work...so we changed the name of the band to the Good'uns after the Otis Rush tunes we so loved...there was already a "Chessmen" group out of England working Europe with a record contract...raised our fare to England & off we went by boat (so that we could take our equipment with us)...in those days you could actually take the train to your boat at the docks in Montreal from the CNR Station on James Street North...all our families came to see us off...we were off to meet Rood in Amsterdam via Liverpool...a 6 to 8 day trip back then, depending on the weather!London the summer of "65...the funky pop jazz of Georgie Fame & his B3 ruled the underground London dance club scene...but on the Pop Charts "Mod" and "My Generation".

was ready to rule & in the streets the Elvis loving "Teds" didn't like it...the music was changing...again, already...we got to see lots of good bands including Clapton with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers & at an outdoor music festival in some big park outside London , Long John Baldry's Steam Packet which featured Rod "the Mod" Stewart on soul vocals and Reg Dwight on keyboards.
We hooked up with Rood in Amsterdam & then back to England & a couple of 'showcase' gigs in London, including what turned out to be the highlight of the trip in hindsight, playing in Soho at the Marque Club of "Blow-Up" the movie & many now famous bands fame...then it was off to Germany & before we knew it we were playing 6 hour, & 8 on the weekends, gigs in clubs near American &
Canadian armed forces bases...this was still occupied Germany...after awhile & lots of bugging of Rood to get us gigs in England we went back to supposed work & he dumped us...through a record collecting / musicologist friend of Richards, Mike Leadbetter who had some connections in the
London recording / booking scene, we tried to get something going around London but we
didn't have the resources to hang around & after a few weeks the band began to trickle
home.

      

      

from the top
Rich blowin' harp on arrival at Liverpool;
Mersey side at last:
myself & Rich:
Ron Copple who had switched from steel to regular guitar & was now our lead guitarist

After England...

After England...

Back from England but inspired by what we'd seen & heard, in early 1966 Richard, myself, Ron Copple & Babe Myles tried to put something together along the lines of the new music we had heard in Europe, as in "The Yardbirds", "The Small Faces", "The Sorrows" and of course the early "Who" & started working toward writing our own material...we managed to get a Toronto agent & got a once a week regular booking in Yorkville which was becoming a hotspot at that time...we called ourselves "Young Fashion Ways", after a tune by Muddy Waters...but after a few weeks Richard was snatched up by "The Midnights", a Toronto rock 'n roll / r 'n b band, to replace Richie Knight who had had a hit record with "Charlena" and had left the band but there was still a lot of gigs out there at Ontario high schools for "the Charlena" band...and that was that!

The Master Hand. 1966:  Larry Carter, Harrison  Kennedy, Bob Stewart, Jim DeCecca & Russ Carter

Around the same time, 1966, the Bishops broke up too...Russell Carter & Harrison Kennedy formed "The Master Hand" with Russell's brother Larry on drums, Bob Stewart, sax & Jim DeCecca, bass)...Bobby Washington formed "The Soul Society"...one of the first & best of the Hamilton 'Soul' bands.

 

Bobby Washington at The Downstairs Club with possibly Jim Skarret, sax & unknown trumpet

Harrison Kennedy of Master Hand at the Sportsman Bowling Alley & Lounge, 1967

by 1967 Ron Copple had joined Bobby Hebert, bass & Ron Marinelli, guitar, along with a friend of ours, Mike Oddie, vocals & harmonica & Larry Carter who had left the "The Master Hand" in "The Jameson Roberts Revolution" which featured Russ Weil on B3...Hebert & Marinelli used to watch "The Chessmen" practice at the chip store at the corner of Brucedale & East 13th where Ron Copple lived, when they were kids and came to see myself and Ronnie for early music lessons...then Harrison Kennedy went off to Detroit to recording success as a key component of "Chairmen of the Board"...Richard recorded with the Midnights for I think RCA Canada and had a few obscure 45's released...

In early 1967I hooked up with drummer Ron Knappett from "The Bishops" & along with Dave Burt, guitar, from "The Roots of All Evil", guitar & Pat Sullivan, guitar & vocals & instigator of the band, formed "The Incredible Sons of Dr. Funk"...shortly thereafter 'the Sons' hooked up with Fraser Loveman out of St. Catharines who had just left "The British Modbeats" needed a band and had that rare thing for a Canadian at that time, records out on a Canadian record label, "Red Maple" I think, to form "The Fraser Loveman Group" which featured Canada's first liquid light show a'la the 'Frisco Filmore and Sam & Dave along side Big Brother & the Holding Company and Vanilla Fudge plays the Supremes & more...psychedelic & soul music were here..or is that psychedelic soul music...dam'it the music's changing again..time to get a bran' new bag or a psychedelic shack!

 

The Incredible Son's of Dr. Funk:  Dave Burt, Ron Knappet, Pat Sullivan & Doug Carter

The Fraser Loveman Group:  back row Fraser Loveman, Dave, Ron & Doug, front row, John Ord & Pat

 

 

And then a plethora of bands emerged from the basements of our nation & rich kid's houses too!  Check out this poster from ca. 1968 for a "Battle of Bands"...

After being 'Ritchie' for awhile in the Midnights, Richard through an incident at the Grange Tavern, King Street West, in Hamilton  where Ronnie Hawkins & one of his post "Band" Hawks were playing, became the to see Ronnie & the Hawks & on one of their breaks I was talking with the Hawks keyboard player, Richard Bell , who I knew slightly, when he asked about this vocalist / harmonica player from Hamilton that had recently played with "The Midnights" out of Toronto and when I said I knew him he called Ronnie Hawkins over and Ronnie asked me to get hold of Richard & see if he would come down and auditon for the Hawks at their Grange gig the next night...I called Richard the next day and we went down to the Grange that night and Ronnie called Rich to the stage to sit in and after Rich sang & played 'harp' Ronnie called out to the audience "that boy reminds me of the King Biscuit Flower Hour (hosted by Sonny Boy Williamson / Rice Miller) on the radio station that I used to listen to back in Arkansa...that young man is so good on the harmonica he is the "King Biscuit Boy" & the "Biscuit" was born!  And Richard had a new gig.

Ronnie Hawkins, Richard Newell & possibly Jay Smith

Although we stayed in reasonably close touch after his move to the Midnights & on to the Hawkins band I didn't get together with Richard again musically until the Christmas of 1970 at his parents place on Coral Drive on the east mountain...a bunch of our friends, new & old, got together for a jam session with the intent to play & record some old Chessmen tunes we were fond of...Cookie & the Cupcakes' "Mathilda", Muddy's "Tiger In Your Tank", Chuck Berry's "Carol", Smiley Lewis' "I Hear You Knockin' ", a couple of Excello tunes by Lonesome Sundown & Lazy Lester, "Don't Go" & "You Know I Love You", Little Walter's "Everything's Gonna' Be Alright" & Little Richard's "Miss Ann"...newcomer, Mike Oddie, provides a great vocal & harmonica solo on Elmore James' "12 Year Old Boy"... beside myself & Richard, the other players were Babe Myles, drums, Ron Copple & Earl Johnson, guitars & Paul Kronkwright, piano if my old memory serves me right...of course I didn't write the info down at the time...36+ years later..?

Check out "Tiger In Your Tank" & "I Hear You Knockin' " with Richard on vocals & blues harp & Mike Oddie singing and blowin' harp on "12 Year Old Boy" from the Coral Drive 1970 jam session which can be found on the right sidebar.

Mike Oddie

Gotta' Be A Good'un

Gotta' Be A Good'un

From Richard being scooped up in 1966 and his subsequent Toronto career until early 1972, I attempted to play with a number of bands & front men etc. around the Hammer...but my heart was still in playin' the blues but there wasn't much oppourtunity...when Richard (by now "Biscuit" to everybody) suddenly left Crowbar who had recently  left Ronnie Hawkins & recorded an album of their own & one with Richard, "Official Music", on Daffidol Records & came back to the Hammer thinking about putting his own band together

Christmas that year some of the members of "The Chessmen" and & Earl Johnson from the "Messengers", the band I was playing with at the time, & some other musicians we knew got together for a jam at Richard's parents place on Coral Drive (right around the corner from the home of future Canadian blues guitar hero Jack De Keyser) & jammed old favourites from the early days...out of the jam grew Richard's new, post-Crowbar band, "The Good'un's"...this time named after the title of Richards' second Daffidol release, "Good'uns"...Richard & I had used the name when the Chessmen went to Europe in '65 & after we got there had to have a 'name' change...I remember we were sitting on the train to London going through song titles looking for name when it came up & we both liked it...the band included Babe Myles on drums, Earl Johnson, lead guitar and Garnet Zimmerman on piano.  During the time of the Good'uns Richard played a half set every night of Elmore James tunes featuring himself on slide guitar.  He sounded oh so 'official'.   

We put the band together in fan & music lover Michael O'Briens basement in Westdale...Michael went on to work for Ronnie Hawkins' booking agency, along with Michael Short, upstairs at the Cockdoor Tavern on Young Street & later became a great band leader/vocalist around the Hammer from the mid-70' thru the early '90's & is the father of the Hammer's great young pianist, Jesse O'Brien...Richard at that time had a Toronto manager, a record contract with Paramount Records & gigs...gettin' out of the Hammer again at last...on with the show!

photos from the top, Richard in O'B's basement, ditto Babe Myles & Earl Johnson.

 

check out the right sidebar to hear 2 more tunes from the xmas 1970 'Jam on Coral Drive'
"You Know I Love You" & "Mathilda".

63 Years Ago

63 Years Ago Today, March 9

Doin' The Boogie Walk. 1972

Richard Newell aka King Biscuit Boy would have been 63 today,
March 9.  In his memory everybody get out a tune & boogie
walk, I know he’d dig it & that big smile would light up his
face again at the thought…

…here’s a couple of one track historical documents to help
youdo the boogie walk, the 19 year old Richard singin’
Ray Charles’ “What’d I Say” back in the winter of 63/64
at the Sportsmen Bowling Alley located on the side of the
escarpment between Wentworth & Victoria…dig the scream
at the end…back sided by our version of Muddy Water's
“I Won’t Go On”                                  

...of course if you have your own personal copy of
“Biscuit’s Boogie” on CD, LP or 45…you know what to do
…get it on & get doin’ it!

"What'd I Say"

"I Won't Go On"

On the Road

Popeye's Alive & Well & Living In The Maritimes
(On The Road With "King Biscuit Boy & the Real Good'uns)

So the band got put together & signed contracts with Rich's
representation, Celebration Music, who booked us showcase
gigs around Toronto & into southern Ontario high school gigs ..
high schools payed bands big bucks back then...& we had the
$10,000 plus sound system from the recently closed Toronto  version of
the musical 'Jesus Christ Superstar' on the road with us which gave us plenty
of volume fill those gymnasiums.

Earl, Doug, Rich live at Oakville High

Then our manager / agent / financial adviser, Wayne (the Pear) Thomas,
who'd we signed our souls to for the rest of our creative lives
announced we'd been booked to 'tour ' eastern Canada...
it was early April...spring might of been starting to shyly
show in southern Ontario but what about more northerly
Quebec and and the friggin' nasty weather eastern provinces
gets annually stickin' out in the Atlantic like they do...
Off we went...first destination an overnight stop in a hotel
in old Quebec City...a tour of the old townbefore it got dark
& then a night in a pub drinkin' quarts of Molson's & then on
to New Brunswick & more high school gigs!...and then off to
an arena somewhere outside Halifax...look out for Pop-Eye..
he's everywhere

Garnett, Rich, Earl, Babe & Doug On The P.E.I. Ferry

...a Halifax club gig & then on the ferry to P.E.I & a gig in
Summerside at their hockey arena...& outside least 6 feet
of snow drifts everywhere & this in late April...it's spring in
Ontario what am I doing here on the road playin' the
Maritime 'blues'.

Back in Toronto we played the Colonial Tavern on Yonge Street...what a thrill, what a chill...check the lineup for that time period on the image below...legends!

The Good'uns in America

The Good'uns In America

After the east coast of Canada it was off to central Michigan playing gigs with Cub Koda, at that time a fantastic guitar player and musicologist who'd recently had a pop hit with "Smokin' In The Boys Room".  He was out of the Detroit / Michigan proto-punk rock scene of the Stooges & the MC5. And then Florida, fly me down to Miami Beach & put me up in a beach front hotel...book me into an arena show with featured act Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels...go for it!...and the fly me up to Ottawa for gig we have to be at...go cats go!

Can't All Be The Best (just try to be a good'un}

During this time Richard & I worked up a number of original tunes & between gigs rehearsed them with the rest of the band for our upcoming recording session and then suddenly it was time to go to New York City to record and to play a 'showcase' at Max's Kansas City...wow! bar of choice for the likes of Andy Wharhol, Lou Reed, celebrities of many stripes & all that shit!...like I said WOW! & then over to Long Island Sound out on the island to record for Paramount Records...a studio whose claim to fame was recording James Brown's "It's A Man's World" ...these were the days of the new emerging multi-track recording technology and the guys recording us were hooked on it even though Richard preferred a more traditional sound...check out the mix on "Smoke Stack Lighting" from that session or the fun they had with Earl's guitar leads.

Boom, Boom Out Go The Lights

The album never got released...Paramount Records despite some success with its first signings like Commander Cody & the Lost Planet Airmen, turned out to be a shell company for a bigger media conglomerate...when they needed to write it off for tax points or whatever they did so & just closed the label down & it happened just before the release of the album we'd recorded & that was the end of that & within weeks the end of the Good'uns.   Four songs from that recording sesssion have been released on "Badly Bent: The Best of King Biscuit Boy" Unidisc AGEK 2164, "Caledonia River", "Steel Town Blues", "Blues For Duffy's Tavern" & "Gotta' Be A Good'un". Check out the right side bar to hear 2 unreleased original songs written by myself & Richard from the Long Island Sound sessions...you can't always be the best but you gotta' start somewhere!  The songs are "Deaf, Dumb, Crippled & Blind" & "T.H.& B.Railway".  Also recorded at that session & not released were Howlin' Wolf's "Smoke Stack Lightning", Jr. Well's "Messin' With The Kid", the New Orleans classic "Junker Blues" & "Goin' To Kansas City (looking for that good girl they call Lucille)".

I wouldn't play with Richard again until the mid-Eighties. I was playing with Guitar Mikey & the Real Thing at that time when a mini-tour of southern Ontario was arranged with 'Biscuit', who was on by then one of his many getting his shit back together efforts behind a recently recorded & released album...but I did get to play Ottawa's famous & justifiably so, & with always great audiences, the Rainbow Grill, for the third time...the first was with the Fraser Loveman Group in 1968 & the second time was with Richard in 1972 with "The Real Good'uns".