Migration - The Story Of Three To One & Raja

                                 INFORMATION HERE IS CURRENTLY BEING REVISED - STAY TUNED FOR THE UPDATED ARTICLE

Three to One's short but influential run began in Vancouver during late 1966. The band consisted of Brian Russell (guitar/vocals), Claudette Skrypnyk (drums), Derek "Derry" Norris (bass/vocals), and John Renton (guitar/keyboards/vocals). Brian, Claudette, and Derek were established members of the Vancouver music scene, while John Renton was a newcomer. Below is the story of how these four musicians came together.

Claudette Skrypnyk (often miscredited as 'Scritnik') was a singer/drummer born in Saskatchewan before moving to British Columbia, where her first band was the Kelowna-to-Vancouver R&B band The Shadracks, a quintet that also featured Craig McCaw (later of Poppy Family fame). Claudette set herself apart both by being the only female drummer on the scene and by drumming barefoot, the latter garnering quite the fan base. The Shadracks began in 1962 with a different lineup: Glenn Chilow (rhythm guitar), Craig McCaw (guitar,) Rick Mussellam (vocals), Warren Dunnaway (drums), and Bob Verge (bass). Drummer Joe Stolz replaced Warren Dunnaway for a few gigs before Claudette joined. The Shadracks toured British Columbia and managed to secure a recording contract with Toronto's ARC Records. Their lone single, "Call Up The Man/Midnight Blues," was released during August of 1966. "Call Up The Man" received modest chart success around British Columbia and Toronto and eventually made it onto the Rob Frith/Neptoon Records compilation called The History Of Vancouver Rock And Roll Volume 2.

John "Bernard" Renton was a singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist born in India. John's family moved to England early on in his childhood, where he fell in love with music. During his teen years, John played in multiple English bands and befriended a pre-fame Jeff Beck. According to John, the pair briefly played in a band together [NAME UNKNOWN] before the Renton family moved to Vancouver. "Jeff Beck went on to success with The Yardbirds shortly after I left England, but we kept in touch and got together for meals when his band came to town," says John. Upon arrival in Canada, John used his previous education in England to secure a job in the Vancouver Technologies space, computers specifically. Although he took a brief break from music, it wasn't long before he met Derek Norris, who helped draw him back in. John and Derek began living together in an apartment off Broadview in Vancouver. Just down an alleyway by their place was a little recording studio called Vancouver Recording Services, operated by legendary producer Robin Spurgin. John and Derek began doing sessions at the studio, and these activities led to meeting Tom Baird, keyboardist/arranger of The Classics, who was also producing the Vancouver leg of CBC's Let's Go television show. Tom then hired John Renton to make solo singing appearances on the Let's Go program, but unfortunately no tapes of these performances are known to exist.

Derek "Derry" Norris was a singer/bassist/guitarist born in British Columbia, where he quickly became enamored with music before moving to Vancouver's thriving downtown area in his teenage years. Derek got involved in the music scene early as both a singer and musician. During 1963, Derek (as bassist) co-founded his first band, The Roving Three, alongside guitarist Mike Buckley (older brother of The Villains/Spring multi-instrumentalist Bob Buckley) and guitarist Steve Miller (not that one). The Roving Three performed on the Vancouver folk circuit during 1963 and 1964 before adding female vocalist/percussionist Phyllis Surges and morphing into The New Wave Singers in early 1965. Derek, dissatisfied with the band's new direction, decided to leave, and Vancouver bass legend Rick Enns took his place. He decided to focus on promoting at a local coffeehouse [NAME UNKNOWN], where he managed to book big acts like Sonny Terry, Jose Feliciano, Brownie McGhee, and others throughout 1965. Derek Norris met and befriended John Renton along the way, and the pair began jamming and living together at John's Broadview apartment in Vancouver. Derek and John then began doing musical sessions at Robin Spurgin's nearby studio.

Brian "Winston" Russell was a singer/guitarist born in Calcutta, India. He came from a musical family, with his sister Gillian Russell also pursuing music in her teenage years. Brian shared a similar early story with John Renton as the Russell family traveled to England from India in Brian's youth. During his mid-teens, Brian and his family moved from England to the Okanogan Valley region of central British Columbia. And by 1959, the family had relocated to Vancouver. Brian Russell was a founding member of The Classics (later The Collectors and eventually Chilliwack) in 1961, alongside Howie Vickers (vocals), Claire Lawrence (sax), Glenn Miller (bass), Tom Baird (piano), and Gary Taylor (drums). The group also performed under the alias C.F.U.N. Classics as part of a promotional deal with a local Vancouver radio station, CFUN-AM. Tom Baird composed the majority of The Classics' four singles (three of which charted locally) between 1963 and 1966. Brian was guitarist and backing vocalist on all of them. The Classics were the house band for the Vancouver leg of CBC's Let's Go musical variety program (1964-1966). After two seasons of the grueling television recording schedule, The Classics quit the show and split up. Some members wanted to continue doing the show, so they joined the replacement band Probably Us for the third season. 

After Brian Russell's departure from The Classics in the summer of 1966, he began jamming with Derek Norris and John Renton. "During the process of finding a drummer, Claudette's name came up," says John Renton. "We all knew who she was, and when we auditioned her, she blew us away!" As a result, the original trio became a quartet. An early observation by a friend regarding the gender dynamics of the band yielded their band name, 'Three To One.'

From the onset, Three To One knew they had something special, and with Brian's connections from CBC's Let's Go program, they quickly found a manager in Burt Napier. Burt saw the potential that Three To One possessed, both musically and from a unique marketing standpoint. The consensus among the band and management was that Vancouver was not where they needed to be. Although each of Canada's main cities had thriving music scenes at the time, the crown of opportunity unequivocally rested with Toronto.

Three To One settled on Jameson Avenue in Toronto, with Brian, John, and Derek rooming together in the unit of one apartment building, while Claudette found a room with female roommates at a building further down the street. The group proceeded to rent a rehearsal space at Yonge & Bloor, "right above the subway station," says John. "The room next door to us was rented out by Ian & Sylvia, and the room next to that was rented by a brother and sister musical act who had a dance show on CTV. It may have been Shawne & Jay Jackson, but I can't remember." In addition to the star-studded musical neighbors, another tenant on the floor did photography [John—Aryss last name unknown], and the band hired them to be their regular photographer.

After taking some promo photos, Three To One began gigging around Toronto, becoming regulars at Le Coq d'Or, The Hawk's Nest, Broom & Stone, and The Brown Derby, among other local venues. "We made friends with a few bands around town, but we were closest with Bobby Kris & The Imperials," says John. From their first show, the racial/gender dynamic of Three To One was apparent. It was jarring for some and enthralling for others, simply because very few (if any) bands on the local/national music scenes of the day had female drummers, and fewer still had South Asian frontmen and a band who wholly embraced those cultural themes musically and in dress. 

A big early gig for Three To One was as part of an outdoor showcase at Scarborough Arena Gardens. The event took place on June 10th and featured Roy Kenner & The Associates, The Magic Circus, Eddie Spencer & The Mission, The Jackdaws, Lords Of London, The Counts, Bobby Kris & The Imperials, The Tripp, and Grant Smith & The Power. 

The Scarborough Arena show for Three To One was well received. Roy Kenner & The Associates approached Burt Napier, asking if Three To One could open for them on two of their late June dates. They agreed, and the next show was at Scarborough's Broom & Stone club on June 20th alongside The Associates and The Symbol. The Associates then embarked on a road gig to Bramalea, Ontario, at Bramalea Arena on June 23rd.

Three To One declined to go with Roy Kenner & The Associates on their July/August northern Ontario tour, opting to return to Toronto. This decision proved wise, as The Associates imploded near the end of the tour in August, with singer Roy Kenner and keyboardist Henry Babraj joining Mandala to replace their recently departed singer George Olliver and keyboardist Joey Chriwoski.

The remainder of the summer was busy for Three to One. They performed local shows at clubs like The Hawks Nest, Club 888, El Patio, and The Flick, among others. They rubbed shoulders with local bands and began making a reputation for themselves. In addition to this, they played around the GTA (greater Toronto area) and even traveled to Orillia to play at The Pavilion's famous Teen Club.

ARC Records came calling during July of 1967, specifically producer Tony DiMaria, who was managing the roster of ARC publishing arm Canint. Tony signed the band to a two-single deal, with the condition that the A-side of their first would be a cover of Pink Floyd's recent June 16th release, "See Emily Play," and the flip could be whatever the band wanted. Three To One entered ARC's home recording space, Bay Studios, during July/August of 1967 with producer Tony DiMaria and engineer Gary Starr. What started as filling a single turned into nearly an album's worth of mostly original material written by John and Brian, with occasional writing contributions from Derek.

"See Emily Play/Give Me Love" was released in early September of 1967 on the ARC Records label. The B-side is a band original written by John Renton and Brian Russell, featuring a strong lead fuzz guitar. Though the A-side was long considered the 'first ever' cover of "See Emily Play," recent discoveries show that is not the case. It turns out there was some trickery afoot. In typical ARC Records fashion, the label purchased the bed track for the song from England, where Ben Cash and The Cashtons had recently recorded what is widely considered to be the ACTUAL first cover version. As a means to differentiate their version from the UK version, ARC had Three To One's John Renton put his vocals on the track and then added some remix elements like children's dialogue and space sound effects. 

Though the single was poised for success, Three To One's cover of "See Emily Play" only met with minor regional interest upon release. The group did manage to perform on CBC's Let's Go program in late 1967 as well as CTV's After Four program, but tapes/footage from either program have yet to surface. It's likely that both sides of "See Emily Play/Give Me Love" were performed. Three To One's version of "See Emily Play" also saw a 1968 reissue on ARC's subsidiary Yorkville Records. This was as part of a compilation album called "CTV's After Four," which featured a selection of ARC and Yorkville Records releases. 

Unfortunately, while the reissue was well-intentioned, Yorkville forgot to check if Three To One was still together at the time (early 1968) and, additionally, mislabeled the entry as "Bob Francis—I’ve Been a Bad, Bad Boy." This comedy of errors was of little consequence to the band during that period. This was because they had already moved on to using another band name and were preparing to record. 

To that end, the remainder of 1967 was uneventful for Three to One. They played Stratford (Club 42), Barrie (The Pavilion) and a few other locales in an attempt to grow their audience. But unfortunately, their lack of success saw Burt Napier bow out of band operations, and he was soon replaced by Ron Scribner, who signed the band to his RSA (Ron Scribner Agency) management company and its stable of artists. By 1968, however, the band would re-emerge as The Raja. They donned South Asian attire (Nehru shirts, etc.) on stage and in promotional photos. The Raja also leaned into the eastern influences of its principal songwriters (John Renton and Brian Russell) through writing and instrumentation. 

The Raja performed extensively around Toronto and the G.T.A. (Greater Toronto Area) throughout the early months of 1968. Additionally, they played another show at Orillia's Pavilion, Sudbury's Club 42, etc. One of the band's career highlights was opening for The Who, The Troggs, and MC5 at CNE Coliseum on April 7th. This was truly a testament to the band's skill, appeal, and managerial connections.

During May of 1968, the Raja were given the opportunity to record for a new record label. ARC Records had just launched Goodgroove Records, a subsidiary label originally for American soul/R&B imports from the M.S. Records label (Louis Curry, The Buena Vistas, and Lonette McKee). Tony DiMaria was put in charge of finding Canadian talent to bolster the roster of Goodgroove. His first choice was Toronto R&B band The Majestics with a pair of tracks from their fourth ARC studio album, Funky Broadway ("Tell Mama/Hey Joe"). Tony's second choice for inclusion was Raja. 

The Raja entered Bay Studios during May/June of 1968 to record their debut single. Technically, the Raja were still under contract with ARC from the Three To One days. This meant that they owed ARC Records a second release. Thankfully, this second release didn't have a mandated material requirement, as their Three To One single did ("See Emily Play").

August of 1968 was a busy month for the Raja. First, their debut single, "Realize/Drifting In The Wind," was released and promoted in RPM Magazine. Both sides were written by Brian Russell. The Raja also had a number of high-profile gigs lined up, which included appearing at the Flick in Yorkville Village (August 19th-21st), The Scene in the North Toronto Memorial Arena, and at the CNE's Time Being festival (August 23rd-29th).

The Time Being festival was a two-week event (August 15th-September 2nd) held at the CNE, which featured a massive assortment of Canadian talent and international artists appearing daily. From the Canadian roster, you had acts like Kensington Market, Magic Cycle, Tyme & A Half, Lords Of London, The Staccattos, Cat (formerly The Spastiks), The Yeomen, and many more. On the international side you had Buddy Guy, Moby Grape, Valentine Kelly Explosion, and others. It was truly a fantastic assortment, and the Raja appeared for seven consecutive days. 

During September, the Raja's single entered the RPM charts, but not the A-side "Realize." The B-side "Drifting In The Wind" began charting around Ontario, and the song managed to climb to #89 on RPM's Hot 100 Singles Chart by September 16th, as well as reaching #8 on the Cancon Top 20 Charts. The band was invited to perform their songs live on CBC television, but the footage has not surfaced since. They were also signed for the CFOX Spectacular to be held at the Dorval Arena in Montreal on August 24th. This was a showcase of Toronto talent, which featured The Raja and The Mandala. 

Though the high-profile gigs were nice, the lack of sustainable chart success and album reco  rding opportunities took its toll on the band's members. By November of 1968, the Raja were no more. They left behind them a short but compelling legacy under both of their chosen names. Though Three To One is immortalized due to "See Emily Play," The Raja were a fascinating Canadian musical footnote that deserves more attention. 

Brian Russell got involved in Toronto session work as well as the production side of things at ARC Records. He recorded many guitar sessions during the 1970s with Heads of Our Time, Anne Murray, Roger Whittaker, J. Vincent Edwards, King Biscuit Boy, and more before heading out on tour with international superstars during the 1980s.

John Renton also got involved with session work in Toronto before briefly replacing Gregory Lee in Yorkville psych/prog band Nucleus. "I gave him my Coral Electric Sitar as a goodwill gesture," says Gregory. John was later replaced by Ronald Corrigan, at which point he got back into session work. John Renton was discovered and signed by Reprise Records in 1974. He then set to work on his debut solo album, Half In, Half Out. 

Claudette Skrypnyk and Derek Norris returned to Vancouver soon after the demise of The Raja, where they reinvolved themselves in the local music scene and session work. Derek joined a cover band called Owl alongside Dave Sinclair, Jimm Taylor, and Frank Ludwig.