Crowbar
Also known asKing Biscuit Boy with Crowbar
OriginHamilton, Ontario, Canada
GenresRock
Years active1970 (1970)–1975 (1975)
LabelsDaffodil Records
Epic Records
Stony Plain Records
Past membersKing Biscuit Boy
Roly Greenway
Kelly Jay
John Rutter
Ed Charron
Richard Bell
Jozef Chirowski
Larry Atamanuik
Tim Nantais
Sonnie Bernardi
Rheal Lanthier
John Gibbard
Sonny Del-Rio
Ray Harrison
John Dickie
Russell Foreman
Tim Thompson

Crowbar was a Canadian rock band based in Hamilton, Ontario, best known for their 1971 hit "Oh, What a Feeling".[1]

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."[2] They recorded their first album in 1970, called Official Music, as "King Biscuit Boy with Crowbar". King Biscuit Boy left the band later in 1970 but continued to appear off and on as a guest performer.[3]

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.[4] It was also the first time that a live concert was broadcast simultaneous on CHUM-FM.

Also in 1971, the band performed a concert in the Lord Beaverbrook Grand Ballroom in New Brunswick and entertained at the anniversary celebrations in Hamilton, Ontario.[5]

Due largely to Margaret Trudeau's enthusiasm for the band, Crowbar was featured as the opening act of Pierre Trudeau's 1972 re-election campaign rallies, including a notable stop at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens. This association enhanced the band's reputation in Canada and garnered international interest from agencies such as A&M Records and figures such as Clive Davis. Despite this momentum, their second album did not capture the energy of their first and the band faltered.[6]

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.[3]

More recently, Crowbar played shows around Hamilton, Ontario, including a performance at their induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011.[7]

Members

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

  • King Biscuit Boy (Richard Newell) – vocals, harmonica, guitars[8]
  • Roly Greenway – bass, vocals, percussion, guitars
  • Kelly Jay (Blake Fordham) (December 1, 1941 – June 21, 2019)[9] – piano, vocals, harmonica, bass. Jay was the subject of an episode of Hoarding: Buried Alive, originally aired on April 10, 2013. He also featured on the cover of Rush's 1981 Moving Pictures (Rush Album) album [10]
  • John Rutter – vocals (1970)
  • Ed Charron – guitar (1973–1974)
  • Richard Bell – keyboards (1970)
  • Jozef Chirowski – organ, vocals, piano, flute, vibes, percussion
  • Larry Atamanuik – drums (1970)
  • Tim Nantais – bass
  • Sonnie Bernardi – drums, vocals
  • Paul Nicholls – guitars
  • Rheal Lanthier – guitars, vocals
  • John Gibbard – guitars, vocals
  • Sonny Del-Rio – saxophone
  • Ray Harrison – piano, Hammond B3 organ
  • John Dickie – vocals (2000)
  • Russell Foreman – guitars
  • Tim Thompson – drums (1978)
  • Rick Waites (aka Rock Watts) – bass
  • Terry Branagh – guitars

Discography

Albums

Official Music (as King Biscuit Boy with 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

Bad Manors (1971, 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

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
Personnel

Heavy Duty (1972, Daffodil SBA-16013)

Track listing
Side one
  1. "Trilby" – (Kelly Jay) – 2:41
  2. "Listen Sister (A Mutual Liberation Ballad)" – (Kelly Jay) – 2:07
  3. "Hey Baby" – (Bruce Channel) – 2:55
  4. "Dreams" – (Josef Chirowski, John Gibbard) – 2:49
  5. "Where Were You" – (Kelly Jay) – 3:56
Side two
  1. "Dead Head Out Of St. John's" – (Kelly Jay) – 3:45
  2. "The Beaver And The Eagle" – (Kelly Jay) – 3:07
  3. "Cluckie's Escape" – (Roly Greenway) – 3:10
  4. "Snakes And Ladders" – (Kelly Jay) – 2:50
  5. "Lay One Down" – (Roly Greenway, LOVE) 4:28
Personnel

KE32746 (1973, Epic KE-32746)

Track listing
Side one
  1. "Million Dollar Weekend" – 3:04
  2. "Something Happened Yesterday" – 4:20
  3. "Trumpet Rose" – 3:25
  4. "All The Living Things" – 3:11
  5. "Go For The Throat" – 4:42
Side two
  1. "Kilroy" – 2:23
  2. "Rocky Mountain Tragedy" – 5:52
  3. "The Killing Time Trilogy" – 7:06
    1. "Killing Time
    2. "It Really Doesn't Matter
    3. "Hard On You
    4. "Killing Time – Reprise
  4. "Nothing Lasts Forever" – 3:27

Crowbar Classics: Memories Are Made of This (1975, Daffodil SBA-16030)[8]

Singles

  • 1970 "Corrina, Corrina" (Daffodil) (as King Biscuit Boy with 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 "All the Living Things" (Epic), #81 CAN
  • 1977 "Run, Run Rudolph" (Puck)

References

  1. ↑ Graham Rockingham. "Branding Hamilton as a music city". Hamilton Spectator, November 9, 2016.
  2. ↑ Ronnie Hawkins: Last of the Good Ol' Boys. Ronnie Hawkins and Peter Goddard. Stoddart Publishing, Toronto (1989), p. 200.
  3. 1 2 "Crowbar". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  4. ↑ Billboard. October 9, 1971. Retrieved December 1, 2014 – via Google Books.
  5. ↑ Ritchie York (July 17, 1971). "From the Music Capitals of the World". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 47–. ISSN 0006-2510.
  6. ↑ "CANOE -- JAM! Music – Pop Encyclopedia – Crowbar". May 29, 2015. Archived from the original on May 29, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame" (PDF). Cansong.ca. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  8. 1 2 "King Biscuit Boy". Encyclopedia of Music in Canada. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Kelly Jay Fordham, founding member of Crowbar, dead at 77". Calgary Herald. June 21, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Kelly Jay was on the cover of Rush's Moving Pictures: he never listened to it". loudersound.com. March 8, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Larger Than Life (And Live'r Than You've Ever Been!) – Crowbar – Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
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