| Mercey Brothers | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Hanover, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Country |
| Years active | 1957 – 1989 |
| Labels | Columbia Harmony RCA MBS |
| Website | www.merceybrothers.com |
| Members | |
| Larry Mercey Ray Mercey Lloyd Mercey |
|
The Mercey Brothers was a Canadian country music group active from 1957 to 1989.
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The Mercey family grew up to music in their household at an early age. Brothers Larry, Ray, and Lloyd Mercey formed a country-infused musical group in 1966. Natives of Hanover (which is south of Owen Sound), Ontario, they eventually went on to become four-time Juno Best Country Artists and get inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.
Larry Mercey, the eldest of three, was born on December 12, 1939. Larry became the lead singer and guitarist for the band. Ray Mercey was born on November 21, 1940 and he became a singer and bass guitarist for the band. Lloyd Mercey, the youngest Mercey brother, was born on December 12, 1945 to be a backup singer and drummer for the band. Lloyd joined his brothers Larry and Ray in 1966 when he was twenty years old.
Larry Mercey sang on the radio station CKNX Barn Dance in 1956, in the neighborhood town of Wingham, Ontario. In 1957, Larry and Ray began to seriously pursue a possible career in music, calling themselves ‘the duo of Larry and Ray Mercey’. Inspired by the Everly Brothers, a harmony duo popular in the United States at the time, they patterned their music and their image to resemble them.
Larry and Ray placed second in CBC Television’s Talent Caravan in 1960, and later went on to sign with Chateau Records in 1961. They made their first chart appearance with "Just the Snap of Your Fingers" that same year.
Lloyd Mercey joined the group in 1966 when he was twenty years old, and together they called themselves The Mercey Brothers. After signing with CTL/Columbia Records, they released four RPM chart-topping singles, including "Whistling on the River". In 1968, they released the singles "Uncle Tom", "What’s a Guy to Do?", and "The Great Snowman" under their self-titled album The Mercey Brothers.
Singles such as "Who Drinks My Beer When I’m Gone" and "Ordinary Peeping Tom" came out under albums titled My Song For You (Columbia) and The Mercey Brothers (Harmony) in 1969.
The Mercey Brothers signed with RCA Records in 1970 and had a string of singles hitting the airwaves. At the 1970 Juno Awards, their Canadian peers, winning “Best Country Group or Duo”, honoured them. They went on to win this award for the next four years in a row (1970–1974), and again in 1976.
In 1971, The Mercey Brothers toured England for the first time and made an appearance on BBC television. Columbia Records produced all their hit singles on the album Have Mercey like "Hello Mom", "Who Wrote the Words", and "Old Bill Jones".
Ray Mercey left the band in 1980 to spend more time with his family, instead acting as their manager. To fill in for Ray’s absence, they brought in George Orilgie and Darrell Scott. Over the next few years, artists like Dann Peer, Gord Heins, John Dymond, and Enz Mahar filled in for the band. It wasn’t until 1989 that the Mercey Brothers decided to quit the music industry, and were ironically enough inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame that same year.
In 1973, The Mercey Brothers opened their own recording studio called MBS (Mercey Brothers Sound). This gave them more control over their music and general sound of the band. Their studio was in Elmira, Ontario between 1973 and 1980.
MBS signed on names such as Terry Carisse and Joan Kennedy. The Mercey Brothers didn’t release an album on the label until after Ray left the band in 1980.
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAN Country | CAN | ||
| 1968 | Mercey Brothers | — | — |
| 1969 | My Song for You | — | — |
| Mercey Brothers | — | — | |
| 1970 | Mercey Brothers | — | — |
| Naturally | — | — | |
| 1971 | Have Mercey | — | 68 |
| 1972 | Mercey Brothers Country | — | — |
| 1973 | Mercey Brothers | — | — |
| 1975 | Did You Hear My Song | — | — |
| Best of the Mercey Brothers | — | — | |
| 1976 | Homemade | — | — |
| Mercey Brothers Radio Show | — | — | |
| 1977 | Comin' on Stronger | 4 | — |
| 1980 | Command Performance | — | — |
| 1982 | Mercey Brothers | — | — |
| 1984 | Latest and Greatest Volume 1 | 26 | — |
| 1985 | Love Is the Reason | — | — |
| 1988 | Latest and Greatest Volume 2 | — | — |
| 1990 | 30 Greatest: Their Hits and More | — | — |
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN Country | CAN AC | CAN | ||
| 1966 | "Whistling on the River" | 1 | — | — |
| 1968 | "Absent Minded Me" | 27 | — | — |
| 1969 | "Who Drinks My Beer When I'm Gone" | 1 | — | — |
| "Ordinary Peeping Tom" | 3 | — | — | |
| 1970 | "My Song for You" | 2 | — | — |
| "Goodbye" | — | — | 75 | |
| "Pickin' Up the Pieces" | 4 | — | — | |
| "Old Bill Jones" | 1 | 18 | — | |
| 1971 | "Knocking Down the Hard Times" | 36 | 26 | — |
| "Hello Mom" | 1 | 1 | 36 | |
| "Who Wrote the Words" | 1 | 1 | — | |
| "Day of Love" | 35 | 20 | — | |
| 1972 | "Kentucky Turn Your Back" | 3 | 3 | — |
| "The Day of Love" | 41 | 33 | — | |
| 1973 | "It's So Easy to Please Me" | 4 | — | — |
| "Meant to Be with Me" | 19 | 39 | — | |
| "Our Loving Times" | 6 | — | — | |
| 1974 | "I Heard Bells" | — | 21 | — |
| "California Lady" | — | 25 | 95 | |
| 1975 | "Did You Hear My Song" | 9 | — | — |
| 1976 | "Lovin' You from a Distance" | 12 | 19 | — |
| "Old Loves Never Die" | 20 | 41 | — | |
| "If I Believed in Myself" | 18 | 23 | — | |
| 1977 | "Jamie" | 20 | — | — |
| "You Know It Felt Good" | 23 | — | — | |
| 1978 | "Home Along the Highway" | 31 | — | — |
| "Comin' on Stronger" | 10 | — | — | |
| 1979 | "Stranger" | 9 | — | — |
| "Hell Bent for Mexico" | 13 | — | — | |
| "I Wish You Could Have Turned My Head" | 15 | — | — | |
| 1980 | "Your Eyes Don't Lie to Me" | 27 | — | — |
| "Makin' the Night the Best Part of My Day" | 48 | — | — | |
| 1981 | "Sweet Harmony" | 20 | 22 | — |
| "The Same Eyes That Always Drove Me Crazy" | 24 | — | — | |
| 1982 | "Maybe It's Love This Time" | 8 | — | — |
| "I've Already Left You (In My Mind)" | 12 | — | — | |
| 1983 | "The Day That You Walked In" | 29 | — | — |
| "Anytime Down" | 32 | — | — | |
| 1984 | "Leader of the Band" | 9 | 21 | — |
| "Love at Last Sight" | 8 | — | — | |
| 1985 | "You Lifted Me High Enough" | 10 | — | — |
| "Love Is the Reason" | 7 | 13 | — | |
| 1986 | "Take a Little Chance on Love" | 6 | — | — |
| "Pretty Diamond Ring" | 8 | — | — | |
| 1987 | "Heroes" | 9 | — | — |
| "Raised by the Radio" | 8 | — | — | |
| 1988 | "Straight to Your Heart" | 14 | — | — |