Copperpenny

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Copperpenny
Origin	Kitchener, Ontario
Genre(s)	Rock
Years active	1965-1978
Label(s)	Columbia Records RCA Records Sweet Plum, London Records Capitol Records
Associated acts	Led Zeppelin, Bob Seger, Uriah Heep
Members
Kenny Hollis (vocals) Rich Wamil (keyboards, clavinet) Bill Mononen (guitar) Ron Hiller (bass) Blake Barrett (drums)
Notable instrument(s)
[Clavinet, Bass, Guitar, Drums]

Copperpenny was a Canadian rock band from Kitchener, Ontario. They were formed in 1965 by Kenny Hollis and Rich Wamil, and were originally known as the Penny Farthings. Not long after there formation they adopted Copperpenny as their new moniker.

In 1968, the release of "Nice Girl" on Columbia Records garnered some moderate success. They soon switched to RCA and enjoyed continued success with "Stop (Wait A Minute)". However, it wasn't until their move to Sweet Plum Records, a division of London Records, where they would enjoy their first major success.

"You're Still The One" was the band's first mainstream hit and their follow-up, 1973's "Sitting On A Poor Man's Throne", was recorded in Detroit with Richard Becker.

They continued to record in Detroit as they toured throughout the United States with headlining acts such as; Led Zeppelin, Bob Seger and Uriah Heep.

Their return to Canada in 1975 saw them sign on with Capitol Records, their subsequent records produced by Jack Richardson of Guess Who. They made several appearances on television shows such as "Keith Hampshire's Music Machine" and they even had a short-lived variety show that launched the career of an unknown magician named Doug Henning.

Into the mid-70's their singles shifted to the latest craze, at the time, Disco. During this period, they had continued success with the singles "Disco Queen" and "Good Time Sally".

'Fuse' was their final record and by the time it was released most of the original members had already left and the band. Rich Wamil supported the effort as Rich Wamil & Copperpenny, but the remaining band finally split up, for good, in the late 70's.

Co-founder Kenny Hollis went on to have a successful solo career with the single "Goin' Hollywood". He would later become PR manager at Lulu's Roadhouse in Kitchener, Ontario with several Copperpenny reunion shows throughout the 1980's. Hollis died on July 19, 2002 after suffering a heart attack.

Ron Hiller spent 1979-1981 in a Toronto-based contemporary gospel music band called 'Sonlight'. They did the local Toronto church scene, Kitchener-Waterloo as well as summer gigs in Muskoka.

The other members now have families and took regular day jobs.