Crowbar (Canadian band)

Crowbar was a Canadian rock band based in Hamilton, Ontario, best known for their 1971 hit "Oh, What a Feeling".

History

From 1969 to 1970, most of the members of the group had been a backup band for Ronnie Hawkins under the name "And Many Others". However, in early 1970, he fired them, saying "You guys are so crazy that you could fuck up a crowbar in three seconds!" They recorded their first album in 1970, called Official Music, as King Biscuit Boy and Crowbar. King Biscuit Boy left the band later in 1970, but continued to appear off and on, as a guest performer.^[1]

In 1971, the band recorded a performance at Massey Hall, in Toronto, which was released as a double album, Larger than Life (And Live'r than You've Ever Been). The concert, billed as "An Evening of Love With Daffodil Records" was co-produced by concert promoter Martin Onrot and Toronto radio station CHUM-FM. A number of guests appeared with Crowbar at Massey Hall, including members of Lighthouse, Dr. Music and Everyday People. King Biscuit Boy also returned to perform with his former bandmates. The recording and release of the album is significant as being the first time a Canadian band had recorded and released a "live in concert" album.^[2]

Crowbar disbanded in 1975, but was revived in 1977, minus Jozef Chirowski, who had joined Alice Cooper's band. The band performed intermittently during the 1980s.^[1]

Recently, Crowbar has played shows around Hamilton, Ontario, including a performance at their induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011.^[3]

The band has planned a tour of Southern Ontario in November, 2013.

Members

The band consisted of a variety of players in various combinations over its lifetime including:

• King Biscuit Boy (Richard Newell) on harmonica^[4]
• Roly Greenway on bass guitar
• Kelly Jay (Blake Fordham) on harmonica, vocals and piano
  • Jay was the subject of an episode of Hoarding: Buried Alive that originally aired April 10th, 2013.
• John Rutter on vocals (1970)
• Ed Charron on guitar (1973–1976)
• Richard Bell on keyboards (1970)
• Jozef Chirowski on keyboards
• Larry Atamanuik on drums (1970)
• Tim Nantais on bass guitar
• Sonnie Bernardi on drums
• Rheal Lanthier on guitar
• John Gibbard on guitar and slide guitar
• Sonny Del-Rio on saxophone
• Ray Harrison on keyboard, B3 hammond organ
• John Dickie on vocals (2000)
• Russell Foreman on guitar
• Tim Thompson on drums [1978]
• Rick Waites (aka Rock Watts) on Bass
• Terry Branagh on guitar (1980s-present)

Discography

Albums

• Official Music (as King Biscuit Boy and Crowbar) (1970, Daffodil; 1996, Stony Plain)
• Bad Manors (1970, Daffodil SBA-16004)
• Larger than Life (And Live'r than You've Ever Been) (1971, Daffodil 2-SBA-16007) (recorded in concert at Massey Hall, Toronto)
• Heavy Duty (1972, Daffodil SBA-16013)
• KE-32746 (Epic KE-32746) (circa 1973)
• Million Dollar Weekend (1974 Epic)
• Crowbar Classics: Memories Are Made of This (1975, Daffodil SBA-16030)^[4]

Singles

• 1970 Corrina, Corrina (Daffodil) (as King Biscuit Boy and Crowbar)
• 1970 Uncle Pen/Roberta (London) 17385
• 1971 Oh What A Feeling (Daffodil)
• 1971 Happy People (Daffodil)
• 1972 Too True Mama (Daffodil)
• 1972 Dreams (Daffodil)
• 1972 Fly Away (Daffodil)
• 1972 Hey Baby (Daffodil)
• 1973 Million Dollar Weekend (Epic)
• 1974 Million Dollar Weekend (Daffodil)
• 1974 All The Living Things (Epic)
• 1977 Run, Run Rudolph (Puck)

References

External links

• Entry at Canadian Pop Encyclopedia