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; as he later told a friend, "Those boys could fuck up a crowbar in fifteen seconds."^[1] 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.^[2]

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. Numerous 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 are significant as being the first time a Canadian band had recorded and released a "live in concert" album.^[3]

Crowbar disbanded in 1975 but was revived in 1977, without Jozef Chirowski, who had joined Alice Cooper's band. The band performed intermittently during the 1980s.^[2]

More recently, Crowbar played shows around Hamilton, Ontario, including a performance at their induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011.^[4]

Members

The band consisted of numerous players in various combinations over its lifetime, including:

• King Biscuit Boy (Richard Newell) on harmonica^[5]
• 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, originally aired on April 10, 2013.
• John Rutter on vocals (1970)
• Ed Charron on guitar (1973–1974)
• Richard Bell on keyboards (1970)
• Jozef Chirowski on keyboards
• Larry Atamanuik on drums (1970)
• Tim Nantais on bass guitar
• Sonnie Bernardi on drums
• Paul Nicholls on guitar
• Rheal Lanthier on guitar
• John Gibbard on guitar and slide guitar
• Sonny Del-Rio on saxophone
• Ray Harrison on keyboard, Hammond B3 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

Discography

Albums

Official Music (as King Biscuit Boy and Crowbar) (1970, Daffodil; 1996, Stony Plain)

Track Listing

1. "Highway 61" - 2:47
2. "Don't Go No Further" - 3:38
3. "Unseen Eye" - 2:54
4. "I'm Just A Lonely Guy" - 2:29
5. "Key To The Highway" - 3:15
6. "Corrina, Corrina" - 4:18
7. "Biscuit's Boogie" - 9:26
8. "Hoy Hoy Hoy" - 5:20
9. "Badly Bent" - 2:05
10. "Cookin' Little Baby" - 2:25
11. "Shout Bama Lama" - 2:25

Personnel

• King Biscuit Boy - vocals, harmonica, acoustic (1) and slide (4) guitars
• John "Greyhound" Gibbard - electric and slide guitars
• Rheal "Ray" Lantier - electric guitars
• Kelly J. - piano, percussion
• Roly Greenway - bass
• Larry Atamanuik - drums
• John R. - percussion^[6]

Bad Manors (1970, Daffodil SBA-16004)

Track listing

1. "Frenchman's Filler #1" - 1:13
2. "Too True Mama" - 2:52
3. "Let The Four Winds Blow" - 2:20
4. "The House Of Blue Lights" - 2:44
5. "Train Keep Rollin'" - 2:49
6. "Baby Let's Play House" - 3:02
7. "Oh What A Feeling" - 4:18
8. "Frenchman's Filler #2" - 0:32
9. "Frenchman's Filler #3" - 0:35
10. "Murder In The First Degree" - 5:10
11. "In The Dancing Hold" - 3:48
12. "Mountain Fire" - 3:56
13. "Prince Of Peace" - 4:07
14. "Frenchman's Filler #1" - 0:45

Personnel

• John "The Ghetto" Gibbard - lead and slide guitars, vocals
• Rheal Lanthier - lead guitar, vocals
• Jozef Chirowski - organ, vocals, piano
• Kelly Jay - piano, vocals
• Roly Greenway - bass, vocals, percussion
• Sonnie Bernardi - drums, vocals, percussion^[7]

Larger than Life (and Live'r than You've Ever Been) (1971, Daffodil 2-SBA-16007), recorded in concert at Massey Hall, Toronto

Track Listing

1. "Introduction" - 0:33
2. "Prince Of Peace" - 3:37
3. "Murder In The First Degree" - 3:36
4. "Newspaper Song" - 2:36
5. "Corinna Corinna" - 4:40
6. "Fly Away" - 3:41
7. "Tits Up On The Pavement" - 7:47
8. "Mummy And Daddy" - 1:39
9. "Ask Me No Questions" - 5:46
10. "Over The Mountain" - 5:18
11. "Cane On The Brazos" - 5:15
12. "Rock Around The Clock / Shake, Rattle And Roll" - 2:05
13. "In The Dancing Hold" - 3:45
14. "Oh What A Feeling" - 8:50 ^[8]

Personnel

• John "Ghetto" Gibbard - electric guitar, vocals
• Rheal Lanthier - electric guitar, vocals
• Josef Chirowski - organ, vocals, piano, harmonica
• Kelly Jay - piano, vocals, harmonica, bass
• Roland "Roly" Greenway - bass, vocals, acoustic guitar
• Sonnie Bernardi - drums, vocals, percussion ^[9]

Singles

• 1970 "Corrina, Corrina" (Daffodil) (as King Biscuit Boy and Crowbar), #29 CAN
• 1970 "Uncle Pen" / "Roberta" (London 17385)
• 1971 "Oh What a Feeling" (Daffodil), #10 CAN
• 1971 "Happy People" (Daffodil)
• 1972 "Too True Mama" (Daffodil), #60 CAN
• 1972 "Dreams" (Daffodil)
• 1972 "Fly Away" (Daffodil), #48 CAN
• 1972 "Hey Baby" (Daffodil), #59 CAN
• 1973 "Million Dollar Weekend" (Epic), #22 CAN
• 1974 "Million Dollar Weekend" (Daffodil)
• 1974 "All the Living Things" (Epic), #81 CAN
• 1977 "Run, Run Rudolph" (Puck)

References

External links

• Entry at Canadian Pop Encyclopedia