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. 

If You Try And Imagine - The Story Of Carol Lipson

    Throughout the 20th century, Canada has seen no shortage of fantastic singer-songwriters. It's vast, beautiful landscape and deep history of folk and country music have lent themselves heavily to young songwriters over the decades. A handful have become nationally or internationally recognized and respected, but many have been obscured by the passage of time. Obscurity's a cruel fate to befall any artist, especially for those with a story to tell. Today's spotlighted artist is Toronto singer-songwriter Carol Lipson. Her lone commercial release, "Carol," is a wholly original outing put together in her late teens. Though not a commercial success upon release, "Carol" represents a high watermark of quality on the Audat label as well as a great example of original female folk/psych in general. Here is her story:

    Carol Debra Lipszyc was born in Toronto on August 28th, 1955. Both her parents were adolescent Holocaust survivors of Poland and Belarus who settled in Toronto during 1952. During her youth, Carol attended McMurrich Public School. She didn't come from a musical family but found her love of singing early on, listening to various show tunes. It wasn't long before she was singing in youth choirs, both in English and Hebrew. Carol also began studying piano around the age of eight.

    The Lipszyc family moved to a house on Bathurst St. around the fall of 1965. Carol then attended Dufferin Heights Junior High. While studying at the school, she began singing solo in front of a group. Between the ages of ten and thirteen, she sang acapella at luncheon celebrations (bar-mitzvahs).

Carol's professional singing start came at the ripe young age of thirteen, when she made her debut on CBC Radio. The show in question was the Bruce Marsh hosted "What's New," which she performed on for a few weeks. This netted her a guest role at fifteen on another CBC Radio show, "9:15 Alarm Clock." This show (produced by Eithne Black) featured Alan Thicke, Brent Titcomb, Maribeth Solomon, Mickey Erbe, Brian Russell, and Brenda Gordon [Russell], among others. "They produced it in the old CBC building on Jarvis," says Carol. I became a regular and would sometimes skip class to do the show." She also appeared a number of times as a guest vocalist alongside Juliette and Alex Trebek, who co-hosted a CBC radio show at the Colonnade Theatre; the show was called “The Afternoon Show.”    

    "9:15 Alarm Clock" was an important learning experience for Carol as the youngest amongst the cast. She found mentorship amongst the cast as well, which really helped for comfortability as a singer and musician. "On the show, I looked up to Maribeth Solomon in particular," says Carol. "She was about seven years older than me; she wrote songs and played piano and flute." The Alarm Clock show also represented a shift in Carol's musical approach, moving from show tunes toward pop music. 

    Throughout the early 1970's, Carol continued to develop as a singer but also began devoting more time to the piano and songwriting. By early 1973, Carol’s talents were undeniable. She caught the attention of Audat Records. An old friend and gigmate of hers, Vern Kennedy had co-founded the label with Bob Stone and was acting as the A&R man. He insisted that she should record an album of her original songs. With little convincing, Carol was on her way to Halifax with Vern to record at famed Audio Atlantic Studios. This was the place where many “Boot Records” were recorded, as well as most music on the Audat label.

    Audat was an Oshawa-based Country & Folk label with a focus on the Maritimes. This was an extension of label owner Bob Stone's previous label concepts, Stone and Now Records. Though the main focus was on country, folk, and fiddle music, Audat did manage to release quite a few compelling rock/psych/funk projects during its day, mostly Maritimes acts, with many of these releases fetching three-figure sums today due to their rarity and quality: bands like Borealis, Gord Tracey & The Constellations, Brothers & One, The Neighbors Kids, Wes Mackey & The Brotherhood, etc. 

    Carol was set up with top studio players by Audat Records, including Eric Robertson on keyboards. Vern Kennedy handled the arrangements for all of her songs, and Al Feeney handled the mix. The album represents a very talented young lady with a lot to say. All songs were written by the then seventeen-year-old Carol Lipson. The songs convey a (mostly) sunny, orchestrated, acoustic-pop vibe, with vocals comparable to Joni Mitchell or Beverly Copeland. One of the gems of the album is “Ballad Of The Old Man.” The song is lyrically and musically a standout, creating a longing, nostalgic mood and painting a bittersweet story of growing old alone.

    Excitement around the release of Carol’s debut was growing. There was genuine faith in the songs and their ability to reach a larger audience. In an attempt at cross-pollination, Audat had label mates Johnny Cowell and The Oak Island Treasury Department record a pair of her songs. Johnny covered "Pickin Plums" on his 1973 album "Hot Brass," and Oak Island covered "Bring It Down" on their 1973 self-titled album. 

    But unfortunately, it was not to be. Other than pockets in Halifax and Toronto, the album really didn’t perform well due to a lack of meaningful promotion. This left Carol in a tough spot. But one thing she was known for and would become more known for in her later years was perseverance.

    After Carol's debut album failed to find any meaningful success, she'd continue on as a songwriter and performer. She appeared on countless television and radio shows (with hosts like June Callwood, Martin Short, and Peter Gzowski); she did stints in Toronto piano bars; sang and played with many local and visiting jazz luminaries (including the late Paul Grosney, which opened her mind and ears to a deeper level of music study); and generally just tried her hand at breaking into the business in whichever manner she saw fit. Her time playing in piano bars and with jazz musicians was integral to her growth as a musician and songwriter. It highlighted for her the importance of melody line, especially in relation to starker arrangements. “You were compelled to sing well-constructed songs where possible,” says Carol.You were compelled to sing well-constructed songs where possible, says Carol. 

    Her twenties were a time of risk-taking and evolving disillusionment with the music industry. She drifted along, taking whatever music-related work she could while focusing on her craft as a songwriter. Her songwriting continued to improve, and this compelled her to re-enter the recording studio, most often with Jack Lenz as producer, cutting a number of demos throughout the 1980’s. She adopted the stage name Carol Palmer and released her debut singleDown On The Street Corner/In Slow Motion" during 1983 through Rich Dodson's (of Stampeder's fame) Marigold Records label. Apart from a short stint on the Adult Contemporary Billboard Pop charts with "(Down On The) Street Corner" (a song she penned with the late Danny Deardorff), none of the songs managed to gain any traction. Carol, undeterred, continued on in the music industry until her mid-thirties, upon which time she re-entered university to train to teach ESL.

    Carol embarked upon a journey to re-educate herself, acquiring Masters and Doctoral degrees in Education at OISE, University of Toronto, while teaching diverse student populations and often integrating music as a teacher. A literacy/ESl Reader, “People Express” (published by Oxford University Press in the late 1990's), included her self-penned chants and songs as a teaching strategy to help new immigrants with little education.

    Her children’s CD, If You Try and Imagine, orchestrated and engineered by Donald Quan, was conceived of during her teaching certification training in St. Catharines; she believed in the power of integrating curriculum with songs and chants to address multiple intelligences.

    Eventually armed with her doctorate in education, Carol found a tenure-track position at an upstate SUNY College where she taught English teacher education and creative writing until retirement. During that fruitful and fulfilling period, she published across genres, including a book of lyrical poetry, Singing Me Home (Inanna 2010); a book of short stories on children in the Holocaust, The Saviour Shoes and Other Stories (Inanna, 2014); an anthology of poems on the heart, The Heart is Improvisational (Guernica, 2017); and a chapbook, In the Absence of Sons (Kelsay Books, 2020), as well as arts-based educational articles in international journals.

    Carol represents a woman of true courage and tenacity. She's a person who believed in her art and her ability as a songwriter. Whenever Carol was beaten down by the industry, she got back up and fought harder. After her journey of re-education in the 1990's, she attacked the arts world with a new purpose: teaching others, especially children. She’s a multi-talented, warm-hearted person who deserves further recognition for her works. I especially think her 1973 album deserved further inspection. It represents a very talented young lady on the cusp of her creative breakthrough, whose voice is equally at home with the likes of Joni Mitchell and Beverly Copeland. 

                             THANKS TO CAROL LIPSON FOR HER HELP WITH THIS AND ALLOWING ME TO SHARE HER MUSIC ON YOUTUBE

Who Is Suzanne - Birchmount Records Mystery

    The story of Suzanne is intrinsically linked to the story of Birchmount Records. Despite the popularity and availability of Birchmount Records' releases in Toronto (and Canada at large), the story of Suzanne had more or less been lost to time. This all changed, however, when two Canadian music historians began researching the early history of the Birchmount label. Though unaware of each other's work at the time, these two historians collectively unearthed the story of Suzanne. "Who is Suzanne?" you may be asking... The below article aims to answer this question: 

   

    Suzanne [Susie] Filion was born in London, Ontario, on July 7th, 1949. During her youth, the Filion family relocated to Toronto for work opportunities. Suzanne began attending Rosedale Public School in September of 1955. Early on, she showed a talent for singing. This didn’t come as a surprise to her family, however, as they had listened to her belting out tunes since before she could walk. The irony is, other than her grandfather, John Tindal, who was an opera singer around Ontario during the 1940’s, the Filion family wasn’t really musically inclined. That is, unless you count the regular and unabashed shower time a cappella sessions, practiced individually and embraced collectively.

    With the encouragement of her parents, Suzanne began singing in the children's choir at her school before the age of ten. Early on, they had the opportunity to play Toronto's legendary Massey Hall, which was a joy for the young vocalist. Suzanne loved singing, and it came easily to her from a young age. She began playing violin in her pre-teens, giving it up after a few years. This was replaced with an occasional interest in guitar. 

    After graduating from Rosedale Public School, Suzanne attended Jarvis Collegiate. Here, she made many musical friends and eventually put together an a cappella girl group with some schoolmates called “The Four Notes.” Though they didn’t record, they had a blast performing around Toronto. The highlight of this time together was a handful of Sunday night gigs they performed at The Blue Note club on Yonge Street.

    During 1967, after graduating high school, Suzanne began waiting tables part-time at the famous Riverboat Coffeehouse, located in Toronto’s bustling Yorkville district. The music venue was located in a basement. The Riverboat's decor was modeled after the interior of a boat, featuring porthole windows, wood paneled walls, and intimate booths. The burgeoning folk-rock scene in Toronto gravitated toward The Riverboat and venues like it. The intimacy they provided trained an artist’s dynamic ability while simultaneously inspiring their songwriting. A number of famous songs by influential folk artists of the time were rumored to have been written at The Riverboat (Gordon Lightfoot's "Steel Rail Blues," Joni Mitchell's "Night in the City," Neil Young's "Ambulance Blues," and Phil Ochs' "Changes.".

    Working at the Riverboat Coffeehouse, Suzanne saw and heard nothing but the highest tier of both local and visiting folk and blues talent, night after night. On top of this hotbed of creativity spurning on her singing, Suzanne had numerous opportunities to meet and spend time with the musicians who performed at the venue. Her biggest influence at this time was, without a doubt, Joni Mitchell. The two became casual friends over Suzanne’s time working at The Riverboat.

    In an attempt to pay for her tuition at the University of Toronto, Suzanne began looking for other jobs around town in 1968. She eventually answered an ad in the Toronto Star newspaper looking for an assistant/secretary. The ad was placed by local musician and producer Greg Hambleton, who had just founded his “Tuesday Music Production” company and was looking for employees. 

 

    Greg Hambleton was the eldest of five siblings, many of whom were musically gifted. At the time, Greg was developing quite the resume. After a few years performing and writing songs in Toronto’s Yorkville district, he grew interested in production and publishing in 1967. He began work as an independent recording engineer at Sound Canada and RCA Studios in Toronto, recording legendary singles by The Midnight Angels, The Boodly-Hoo, The Fringe, A Passing Fancy, The Humble Sponge, and The Eighth Day, among others.

 

Greg's “Tuesday Music Production” was housed in an office at 9 Sultan Street, across from The Windsor Arms Hotel. Suzanne enjoyed working with and for Greg. Early on in her employment, there was talk around the office of Greg getting hired as a producer and talent scout by a new local label known as Birchmount Records.

A sub-label of Toronto’s Quality Records, Birchmount Records was a budget label that was born out of a want of their parent label to offload some of their deleted or out-of-print vinyl records. Though this may have been the initial intention, about half of the first eighty releases were unique Canadian content, exclusive to the label. Instrumental to these homegrown musical beginnings was Greg Hambelton. In tune with the local scene and its various happenings, they tasked Greg with finding local talent to record. Who was the first person on his list? Suzanne Filion.

Suzanne was never known for writing original songs, but Greg was. So with that in mind, four of the ten tracks that were rehearsed and recorded for Suzanne's album were songs written by Greg (“Weather (later popularized by Gloria Kaye),” “Shendah,” “You Try,” and “Island”). Notably, "You Try" is a vocal version of what appears as an instrumental track on the Tuesday's Children later album on Birchmount Records (BM-508). Additionally, Greg's younger brother Fergus contributed a song to the session ("Without You").

The rest of the Suzanne album were cover songs chosen from pop hits of the current era. Suzanne sings “Traces,” “I Love How You Love Me,” “(Do You Know The Way To) San Jose,” “This Girl’s In Love,” and “Anyone Who Had A Heart” in her own distinct style. The latter three cover choices are all Burt Bacharach/Hal David compositions. "Burt Bacharach and Hal David were probably my favorite songwriting duo at the time," says Suzanne. "Greg and I chose what were, in our opinion, the duos' three best songs." 

    The recordings took place at Art Snider's Sound Canada Studios in Toronto over a two-week span, during the summer of 1969. "We recorded the songs late at night as the studio's high demand meant this was the only available time slot," says Suzanne. Greg Hambleton brought in local psych-rockers The Magic Cycle (soon to be Cycle) to record the bed tracks for drums (Kevin Barry; brother of Paul Clinch), guitar (Stan Theriault & Paul Clinch), piano/organ (Peter Goodale), and bass (Joey Rome). It’s unknown who plays trombone on Fergus Hambleton’s “Without You,” but a likely guess is Larry Crawford.

 

    Greg used the band that backed Suzanne to record a number of other projects he did for Birchmount, including Candy Rock Fountain, Tuesday’s Children, and The Sultan Street Nine (which I suspect Greg sang uncredited on). He later used some of the same musicians as session players when he started his own record label. Sessions include Fergus Hambleton, Gary & Dave, etc. 

 

    With the songs recorded, the album was ready for release. During September 1969, the announcement came down in RPM's weekly magazine and a few other music publications that Quality Records was launching their new label, "Birchmount Records." Suzanne's album (simply called "Suzanne") was released simultaneously with twenty-one other Birchmount releases before October. The Suzanne album bears the “BM-501” catalog number and was the first album released by the label, receiving minor local buzz due to its inclusion in the initial announcement of Birchmount’s founding in RPM and other publications. The album was released locally and stayed that way. Unfortunately, it was the first in a long line of causalities on the label. As a budget label, Birchmount did minimal promotion for its albums, making it very hard for any of these artists to get picked up or receive airplay. 

 

    Shortly after Suzanne’s album was released, she gave copies to friends and family as Christmas gifts. Suzanne soon noticed that she gave away all the copies she owned. Upon the realization of her mistake, Suzanne went to Sam The Record Man on Yonge Street to buy a copy. “The look on the salesman’s face was priceless when he realized I was the gal on the back cover who had to buy her own album. I had to eat crow that day,” says Suzanne.

    After the album debacle was over, Suzanne retired from music all together. She quit working at The Riverboat in 1972. Afterwards, she worked at the infamous Julies on Jarvis Street in the Bombay Bicycle Club for seven years as a bartender and waitress. She stayed in the city as a legal assistant until around 1980. "By that point, I had had my fill of Toronto and was looking for something new," says Suzanne. She relocated to British Columbia during 1980-1981, where she got a job working in the office of the B.C. Attorney General. She remained there until her retirement, which she is currently enjoying in the golden British Columbia sun. 

 

    With that, you have the definitive "closing of the book" moment on one of Canadian pop/psych music's early cult figures. Recorded during summer midnight slots in the nook of one of Toronto's busiest recording studios, Suzanne and Greg Hambleton were able to cook up something special—a Bubble-Gum-Psych-tinged snapshot into the beginnings of one of Canada's most frustrating (but vital) music labels. The Suzanne album has found fans all over Canada, the United States, and spots in Europe. Wherever there are budget bins and music buyers willing to take a chance on an intriguing cover, that's where Suzanne and many artists like her can find their niche. 

                                            THANK YOU TO SUZANNE AND GREG HAMBLETON FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS   

Dianne Heatherington - Part I: The Winnipeg Years

    When one thinks of female Canadian rock stars, a few names immediately come to mind: Lee Aaron, Carole Pope, Holly Woods, and next up should be Dianne Heatherington. Described as "the undisputed First Lady of Winnipeg rock 'n' roll," Dianne had a distinctive voice, a long career, and is something of a local legend in Winnipeg. Unfortunately, history hasn't been as kind to miss Heatherington nationally over the decades as it has to the aforementioned three. I'd be remiss, however, if I didn't mention the memorial shows that took place in Winnipeg and Toronto during 2008 to mark the tenth anniversary of her passing. Those aside, it feels as though Dianne Heatherington has been largely overlooked. I aim to change that. 

    Dianne Heatherington was born in Fort Rouge, Winnipeg, on May 14th, 1948. Throughout her youth, Dianne dreamt of being a famous singer. This was inspired by Blues and early Rock & Roll artists, which she would hear on radio. With the encouragement of her family, friends, and her church pastor, it wasn't long before Dianne picked up a microphone and began her journey. 

During her adolescence, Dianne worked tirelessly to hone her voice. She took vocal lessons, played music with friends, and spent countless hours solo, working on her voice in private. Throughout high school, Dianne sang in a handful of small bands. Though no information regarding genre preference or line-up is available at this time, we have the names Interfaith Harmony Theatre, The Starlight Combo, and The Electric Banana. If any readers saw these groups live or could enlighten me on line-ups, please comment below. 

The early bands that Dianne sang in were the perfect place to work on her voice, allowing her to become ready for the professional world of singing. She auditioned for CBC Let's Go in 1965, getting the part. This allowed her to also audition and perform on other local CBC TV and radio productions over the years. 

Dianne put together her first professional group, "Merry Go Round," during 1967. Merry Go Round consisted of Dianne Heatherington (vocals), Rob Langdon (guitar), Melvyn Ksionzek (bass), Hermann Frühm (keyboard), and Steve Banman (drums). They quickly became regulars on the Winnipeg bar/club scene, and Dianne's unique and powerful voice/stage presence was sure to make them stars. 

    Dianne's powerhouse vocals opened up The Merry Go Round to so many different cover opportunities. Her abilities allowed her to emulate both male and female singers; she could jump from Janis Joplin to Led Zeppelin at the drop of a hat. Check out this clip from the Tommy Hunter show for an example of her abilities at the time: https://youtu.be/JQ7SuggxxTw?si=3Com31SYyjLQkjGt

    During May of 1969, The Merry Go Round were invited to play the Niverville "Rock/Mud" Festival. This was a fund-raiser thought up by members of Winnipeg Rock group Brother and their Niverville friend Harold Wiebe (who was instrumental in securing the land for the event) for the recent highly publicized and tragic, preventable death of Winnipeg teenager Lynne Derksen. The goal was to raise $30,000 for the Winnipeg General Hospital in what was known as the "Oxygenator Fund.". 

 

Many local Winnipeg bands were invited to perform, including big names such as Sugar & Spice, Justin Tyme, Chopping Block, The Fifth, etc. Some lesser-known local acts were also invited to perform, such as The Pig Iron Blues Band. The eclectic roster also boasted the Chicken Flat Mountain Boys, Billy Graham’s Jazz Group, and folksinger Jim Donahue. Festival organizers Brother also did a headlining set. Interestingly, this event would be their last public appearance due to guitarist Kurt Winter accepting an invite to join the Guess Who as Randy Bachman's replacement (along with another local guitarist, Greg Leskiw of Wild Rice). 

 

The event succeeded both musically and in attendance. Although the organizers didn't reach the $30,000 goal because many attendees did not pay, a donation received shortly afterward brought them closer to that target. The Merry Go Round and Brother stood out as two of the most talked-about bands from the event. This experience boosted Dianne and the band's confidence, leading to a steady stream of well-paying gigs for the remainder of the year. This event helped bolster Dianne and the band's confidence and provided them with a steady diet of good-paying gigs for the rest of the year. 

    August of 1970 provided The Merry Go Round with their biggest gig to date, The Man Pop Festival. Held in Winnipeg on August 29th, Man Pop featured three visiting American groups (The Youngbloods, The Ides of March, Iron Butterfly), a bunch of local Winnipeg groups (Sugar 'N Spice, The Mongrels, Euphoria, Haymarket Riot, The Fifth, Chopping Block, Justin Tyme), and a visiting Vancouver group (Chilliwack). The big draw however was UK band Led Zeppelin, who were set to co-headline with Iron Butterfly. 

 

Man Pop was scheduled to take place at Winnipeg Stadium, outdoors. A particularly rough thunderstorm rolled through, which tore down the awning protecting the stage, soaking the PA system and amps. The organizers moved to the nearby indoor Winnipeg Arena. This was a shortsighted measure that cost roughly 800 ticket buyers to be denied entry due to a smaller capacity. Riots ensued, and due to the weather, Led Zeppelin were not going to perform (pursuant to a clause in their contract), which would have turned a bad situation into a horrible one. Sensing this, Dianne Heatherington took to the TV and radio waves, trying to convince Led Zeppelin to perform. When this didn't work, she managed to schedule a meeting with them in person, where she both shamed and pleaded with them to take the stage. They ultimately agreed to perform, which saved the event. They used gear borrowed from other bands on the bill, as their equipment had not arrived in Winnipeg. The Guess Who’s Randy Bachman lent Jimmy Page his Les Paul for the show. The whole debacle effectively turned Dianne into a local legend overnight, bolstering The Merry Go Round's success.

During the latter half of 1970, The Merry Go Round was as hot as ever! Thanks to Dianne's on and off stage actions plus the stellar musicianship of herself and the band, they had managed to garner some top-tier live gigs and the attention of the CBC. Producer Rob Cantor courted Dianne to do a 13-week Winnipeg CBC TV show, but she quit after only 6 weeks due to the direction the production was taking. According to Dianne, "They didn't want to use Merry Go Round, and I really felt like a part of that unit then." This unfortunately was a problem for the CBC brass, hence the cancellation after 6 weeks. 

 

Early 1971 brought a lineup change for Merry Go Round. Drummer Steve Banman quit the group and was quickly replaced by former The Fifth and Brother drummer Vance Masters. Vance brought with him exceptional showmanship, as well as a bunch of songs from the Brother era to add to the group's repertoire. During this period, the group setlists contained a massively varied array of material. Ranging from the top 40 to more underground artists like Frank Zappa to their own original works (including the new Brother tunes), fans of Merry Go Round never knew what to expect.

 

The CBC came calling Dianne Heatherington again during early May of 1971. This time, Merry Go Round would be backing Dianne, alongside the Dave Shaw Orchestra. Simply to be titled "Dianne," the CBC wanted to shoot eleven, one-hour musical variety episodes in a "coast to coast, province by province" manner. The group signed on and quickly began rehearsals over the next few weeks while still performing regularly on the local club circuit. 

 

The tapings for "Dianne" began on June 3rd and 4th of 1971 with producer Rob Cantor. They were shot before a live studio audience, and the episodes included a wide array of local and national talent: Brave Belt, Chilliwack, Next, North, Tom Northcott, Sweet Honey Mead, and Wild Rice, among others. The "Dianne" show was a hit across Canada, which effectively helped make Dianne Heatherington a national star overnight. The show ran weekly from July 5th to September 13th, 1971.

 

By October of 1971, Merry Go Round were riding high off their successes, but some of the members decided to leave due to fatigue or moved out of instrumental roles into more "behind the scenes" roles. Guitarist Rob Langdon quit, was replaced by Duncan Wilson, and Melvyn Ksionzek moved into the sound tech role. He ended up being replaced by formed Brother bassist Bill Wallace. After a few weeks of rehearsals, Merry Go Round went out on the road for a small tour.

   After one particular gig at Top Of The Inn, located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Merry Go Round caught the attention of a particular visiting music superstar. By chance, Kenny Rogers was in town for a one-nighter. He and his entourage showed up at the club after their performance and caught the final set of Dianne Heatherington and the Merry Go Round. Impressed by the musicians’ abilities and original material, he approached the band to offer them an appearance on his TV show, Rollin' On the River, in addition to a record deal. Arrangements were made to meet Kenny in Las Vegas and then travel together to Los Angeles to record the album, with all expenses being covered by Mr. Rogers. Merry Go Round excitedly packed a pair of vans with their gear and necessities before hitting the road, setting out on the roughly 1800-mile journey from Winnipeg to Las Vegas—in the middle of winter, mind you. 

 

The journey went mostly smooth until they reached North Dakota. Bill Wallace, Dianne Heatherington, and Vance Masters were traveling in the second van, a few kilometers behind the other van, containing the rest of the group. After an unexpected accident left them in the ditch, with their vehicle totaled but thankfully unharmed, they managed to flag down a truck driver to help them make the rest of the journey. 

 

Merry Go Round soon made it to Las Vegas and then eventually to Los Angeles, where they spent 2 weeks during January of 1972 laying down tracks for half of their planned album. They returned to Winnipeg to finish off some scheduled dates and, while at home, received the recording contracts from Kenny Rogers' management team. They were expected to take on a new name, "Catweazel," and the distribution of royalties was skewed heavily in favor of Rogers. The band declined the contract, and as a result, the songs from the sessions are just rough mixes, with the final mixes never being completed.

From February through July of 1972, Merry Go Round continued to tour across middle Canada, playing six nights a week from Alberta to Ontario. Unfortunately, several events occurred over the months following the Kenny Rogers episode that caused the band to fold in the fall of 1972. The first and most disastrous was an incident in which Dianne Heatherington damaged her vocal cords, forcing the band to go on hiatus for nearly a year. Even if they wanted to continue without her Merry Go Round then lost bassist Bill Wallace, who accepted an invite to replace recently fired Guess Who bassist Jim Kale (who went on to form Scrubbaloe Cane), effectively reuniting him with his other former Brother bandmate Kurt Winter. 

 

    During Dianne's recouping process, she briefly moved out of Winnipeg to get her mind off of singing, which prompted The Guess Who's Bill Wallace and Kurt Winter to write "Bye Bye Babe." The song saw release in January of 1973 as a single and was also released that same month on their eighth studio album, Artificial Paradise. 

 

Upon Dianne's return to music and Winnipeg in late 1973, she was left without a band. Her reputation was maintaining well, however, thanks to the release of "Bye Bye Babe" in her absence. This allowed her to quickly throw together a new group of top musicians, which was given the name Sunny Lemmatina. Though short-lived, Sunny Lemmatina had the historical distinction of performing music for the Manitoba Theatre production of Godspell during 1974 (February 15th–March 10th). 

 

     

 

Sunny Lemmatina broke up by the summer of 1974 due to Dianne wanting to head in a more "stripped down" jazzy direction. She opted to work with a solo piano player and for a few months worked smaller Winnipeg jazz clubs with pianist Mark Rutherford. 

 

This again brought Dianne to the attention of the CBC, which in late-1974 contracted her to record a couple songs for their LM-400 series of compilation records. Usually focused on specific places or genres, the LM-400 series was instrumental in promoting Canadian artists from outside the conventional Rock & Roll musical sphere. This was perfect for Dianne, who in her new form was able to cover a wide spread of different musical genres. 

CBC LM-421 was released in January of 1975 (after Dianne moved to Toronto) and represents a spread of mostly Winnipeg-based artists and composers. Alongside Dianne Heatherington, Winnipeg pianist Mark Rutherford had some songs released, and Winnipeg Folk/World quintet Pego (arranged by Dave Shaw) had some songs released. Here's a link to my recently posted video of Dianne's songs from this compilation, featuring around 40 photos: https://youtu.be/j1o8_YOqqJ4

    Dianne's performances on CBC LM-421 featured a new band of (mostly Winnipeg) supporting musicians: Ed Philp (alto saxophone), Mark Freed (guitar), Herman Fruehm, formerly of Merry Go Round (synthesizer), Mark Rutherford (piano), and Don Thompson (viola). The songs are also written by a spread of Winnipeg writers: 

 

"Queen Jealousy"—Greg" Leskiw (of Wild Rice, Mood Jga Jga, and The Guess Who) writes the lead track. This song was originally recorded by Mood Jga Jga on their 1974 self-titled debut album. Dianne's version is a Funky-Rock track with cool synths and horns.

"Check It"Out"—David Carbert (of The Orphans [Orfans] and Fellowship) writes the second track. This song is something of a proto-theatrical song with rock sounds that hint towards the subtleties of some 1980's rock.

"Lovin' You's So"Easy"—Dianne Heatherington and guitarist Mark Freed (of Chopping Block, Logan Avenue Comfort Station, etc.) write the third track. A "misty morning" kind of languid Jazzy-Pop track featuring great vibraphone flourishes from Toronto vibraphonist Don Thompson.

"My Old"Man"—David Carbert and bandmate Bill Merritt (of The Orphans [Orfans] and Fellowship) write the fourth and final track. A big band, jazzy, up-tempo number, with great sax solos by Ed Philip.

 

Dianne Heatherington's contributions on CBC LM-421 are the perfect closing testament to her Winnipeg years and how much those years meant to her. She made memories, made friends, and made history as one of Winnipeg's most dynamic singers and one of Canada's greatest female recording artists. She was charismatic, passionate, temperamental, and brave. The songs on CBC LM-421 are something of a love letter to her contemporaries of Winnipeg; her friends; her history. 

                                                                                     STAY TUNED FOR PART II: The Toronto Years!