Blackie and the Rodeo Kings
Encyclopedia
Blackie and the Rodeo Kings are a Canadian
folk rock
/alternative country
band with blues
and country
influences. The band was formed in 1996, in Hamilton, Ontario
, by Tom Wilson
, Stephen Fearing
, and Colin Linden
.
(former lead singer of Junkhouse
), solo artist Stephen Fearing
, and guitarist/ producer Colin Linden
, first started Blackie and the Rodeo Kings as a tribute to one of their favorite Canadian folk artists, singer-songwriter Willie P. Bennett
. Their name was taken from Bennett’s 1978 album Blackie and the Rodeo King
. What started as a side project soon turned into a full fledged band after their first album High or Hurtin’: The Songs of Willie P. Bennett was a critical success and popular with both fans of Bennett’s as well as each individual artist. Blackie and the Rodeo Kings have five full length studio albums and many awards and nominations under their belt. In 1999, the band recorded Kings of Love which received a Juno Award for Best Roots & Traditional Album - Group
in 2000.
The band originally played shows at such venues as The Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield, Quebec
.
, Fred Eaglesmith
and David Wiffen
. In 2005, the band was included in a list published by the New York Times of songs found on President George W. Bush
's iPod
. In 2006, the band recorded Let's Frolic!, consisting of all-original material.
In 2009, the compilation album Swinging from the Chains of Love was released, which included the previously unreleased "Caves of Jericho" and a cover of Johnny Cash's
"Folsom Prison Blues
".
Winner of the 7th annual Independent Music Awards
Vox Pop vote for best Band Venue Poster done by Michael Wrycraft.
: Former lead singer of the 1990s rock group Junkhouse
, currently a member of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings and LeE HARVeY OsMOND
. He has had vast success with these groups as well as in his solo career. Wilson has been in the music industry for over three decades. He started his career in music with the band The Florida Razors recording “Beat Music” in 1986 as his first full length album. Today Wilson has worked some of the best in the industry. He collaborated with Bob Lanois for their 1995 album “The Shack Recording, Vol.1” and worked with everyone from Gary Tallent (of The E Street Band) to David Roe
(bassist for Johnny Cash
). His solo albums include Planet Love (2001) and Dog Years (2006).
Stephen Fearing
: Solo artist Stephen Fearing has been in the music business for over 20 years, born in Vancouver
he spent most of this childhood in Dublin, Ireland
. He has worked with such legendary producers as Clive Gregson
(for his album Blue Line, 1989), and Steve Berlin
of Los Lobos
(for The Assassin’s Apprentice from 1994 which also featured fellow Canadian Sarah McLachlan
). Fearing has recorded 8 solo albums and has won many awards for his efforts including a West Coast Music Award for Best Folk music recording as well as many Juno
nominations.
Colin Linden
: Guitarist/ Producer for Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. This solo artist has found great success in his projects that range from Colin James
to The Band
. Like the rest of his Blackie and the Rodeo Kings bandmates Linden also has worked with Bruce Cockburn
. Linden has also tried his luck at acting, making his debut in the Coen Brothers
' film Intolerable Cruelty
as “Father Scott”. Linden has won countless Junos
, East Coast Music Awards and other great accolades for his achievements.
, The Wilkinsons
, K.D. Lang
, Bruce Cockburn
and more.
Gary Craig: Drummer/ Percussionist for Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. Craig has performed with just about everyone in Canadian music from Anne Murray
to Jann Arden
.
Richard Bell
: (b. March 5, 1946, Toronto
- d. June 15, 2007, Toronto
) pianist for Janis Joplin
, worked with Blackie and the Rodeo Kings as their keyboardist for a number of years before his death in 2007.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
/alternative country
Alternative country
Alternative country is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music...
band with blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
influences. The band was formed in 1996, in Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, by Tom Wilson
Tom Wilson (musician)
Tom Wilson is a Canadian rock musician from Hamilton, Ontario.A veteran of the Canadian music scene, Wilson has been a writer and performer for many years. Wilson's eclectic musical style has ranged from the psychobilly sound of the Florida Razors, to the western/roots style of Blackie and the...
, Stephen Fearing
Stephen Fearing
Stephen Fearing is a Canadian folk singer-songwriter.Fearing was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and raised in Dublin, Ireland. He returned to Canada in 1981 and began pursuing a career in music. In addition to his solo career, Fearing was one of the founding members of Blackie and the Rodeo...
, and Colin Linden
Colin Linden
Colin Linden is a Canadian musician, songwriter and record producer. He has worked with a wide variety of artists including Bruce Cockburn, Lucinda Williams, T-Bone Burnett, Colin James, Leon Redbone, Rita Chiarelli, Chris Thomas King and The Band.Linden is primarily a electric blues guitarist,...
.
Early Period: 1990s
Tom WilsonTom Wilson (musician)
Tom Wilson is a Canadian rock musician from Hamilton, Ontario.A veteran of the Canadian music scene, Wilson has been a writer and performer for many years. Wilson's eclectic musical style has ranged from the psychobilly sound of the Florida Razors, to the western/roots style of Blackie and the...
(former lead singer of Junkhouse
Junkhouse
-History:Formed in 1989 in Hamilton, Ontario, the band consisted of vocalist and guitarist Tom Wilson, guitarist Dan Achen, bassist Russ Wilson and drummer Ray Farrugia....
), solo artist Stephen Fearing
Stephen Fearing
Stephen Fearing is a Canadian folk singer-songwriter.Fearing was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and raised in Dublin, Ireland. He returned to Canada in 1981 and began pursuing a career in music. In addition to his solo career, Fearing was one of the founding members of Blackie and the Rodeo...
, and guitarist/ producer Colin Linden
Colin Linden
Colin Linden is a Canadian musician, songwriter and record producer. He has worked with a wide variety of artists including Bruce Cockburn, Lucinda Williams, T-Bone Burnett, Colin James, Leon Redbone, Rita Chiarelli, Chris Thomas King and The Band.Linden is primarily a electric blues guitarist,...
, first started Blackie and the Rodeo Kings as a tribute to one of their favorite Canadian folk artists, singer-songwriter Willie P. Bennett
Willie P. Bennett
Willie P. Bennett was a Canadian folk-music singer and song writer.-Life and career:Born William Patrick Bennett in Toronto, Ontario, Bennett was part of the 1970s folk music scene in Canada, alongside such figures as Bruce Cockburn, Stan Rogers and David Wiffen...
. Their name was taken from Bennett’s 1978 album Blackie and the Rodeo King
Blackie and the Rodeo King
Blackie and the Rodeo King was the third album released by Canadian singer-songwriter Willie P. Bennett and was released as an LP album by Woodshed Records in 1979 ....
. What started as a side project soon turned into a full fledged band after their first album High or Hurtin’: The Songs of Willie P. Bennett was a critical success and popular with both fans of Bennett’s as well as each individual artist. Blackie and the Rodeo Kings have five full length studio albums and many awards and nominations under their belt. In 1999, the band recorded Kings of Love which received a Juno Award for Best Roots & Traditional Album - Group
Juno Award for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year - Group
The Juno Award for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year - Group is presented annually at Canada's Juno Awards to honour the best album of the year in the roots and/or traditional music genres...
in 2000.
The band originally played shows at such venues as The Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield, Quebec
Wakefield, Quebec
Wakefield is a village on the western shore of the Gatineau River, at the confluence of the La Pêche River in the Outaouais region of Quebec. The village, named after the town of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, is now the southern edge of the municipality of La Pêche, and was founded in 1830...
.
2000s
In 2003, the band recorded Bark. Kings of Love and Bark still had cover versions of Bennett's songs, but they also included some original material by the band members and cover versions of songs by Bruce CockburnBruce Cockburn
Bruce Douglas Cockburn OC is a Canadian folk/rock guitarist and singer-songwriter. His most recent album was released in March 2011. He has written songs in styles ranging from folk to jazz-influenced rock to rock and roll.-Biography:...
, Fred Eaglesmith
Fred Eaglesmith
Frederick John Elgersma , known by the stage name Fred Eaglesmith, is a Canadian alternative country singer-songwriter, one of nine children raised by a farming family in rural Southern Ontario. As a teenager Eaglesmith hopped a freight train out to Western Canada, and began writing songs and...
and David Wiffen
David Wiffen
David Wiffen is a Canadian folk music singer-songwriter. Two of his songs, "Driving Wheel" and "More Often Than Not", have become cover standards.- Career :...
. In 2005, the band was included in a list published by the New York Times of songs found on President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
. In 2006, the band recorded Let's Frolic!, consisting of all-original material.
In 2009, the compilation album Swinging from the Chains of Love was released, which included the previously unreleased "Caves of Jericho" and a cover of Johnny Cash's
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
"Folsom Prison Blues
Folsom Prison Blues
"Folsom Prison Blues" is the title of a song written and recorded by American country music artist Johnny Cash. The song combines elements from two popular folk genres, the train song and the prison song, both of which Cash would continue to use for the rest of his career...
".
Winner of the 7th annual Independent Music Awards
The Independent Music Awards
The Independent Music Awards is an international program that honors top-ranked independent artists and releases in more than 50 Album, Song, Music Video and Design categories....
Vox Pop vote for best Band Venue Poster done by Michael Wrycraft.
Members
Tom WilsonTom Wilson (musician)
Tom Wilson is a Canadian rock musician from Hamilton, Ontario.A veteran of the Canadian music scene, Wilson has been a writer and performer for many years. Wilson's eclectic musical style has ranged from the psychobilly sound of the Florida Razors, to the western/roots style of Blackie and the...
: Former lead singer of the 1990s rock group Junkhouse
Junkhouse
-History:Formed in 1989 in Hamilton, Ontario, the band consisted of vocalist and guitarist Tom Wilson, guitarist Dan Achen, bassist Russ Wilson and drummer Ray Farrugia....
, currently a member of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings and LeE HARVeY OsMOND
Lee Harvey Osmond
Lee Harvey Osmond, stylized as LeE HARVeY OsMOND, is a Canadian "acid folk" band, whose core member is musician Tom Wilson.The band first took shape as a collaboration between Wilson, Michael Timmins of Cowboy Junkies and Josh Finlayson of Skydiggers, who wrote, recorded and released the band's...
. He has had vast success with these groups as well as in his solo career. Wilson has been in the music industry for over three decades. He started his career in music with the band The Florida Razors recording “Beat Music” in 1986 as his first full length album. Today Wilson has worked some of the best in the industry. He collaborated with Bob Lanois for their 1995 album “The Shack Recording, Vol.1” and worked with everyone from Gary Tallent (of The E Street Band) to David Roe
David Roe
David Roe is a former English professional snooker player, and a four-time ranking tournament quarter-finalist.Roe began his professional career for the 1986/1987 season...
(bassist for Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
). His solo albums include Planet Love (2001) and Dog Years (2006).
Stephen Fearing
Stephen Fearing
Stephen Fearing is a Canadian folk singer-songwriter.Fearing was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and raised in Dublin, Ireland. He returned to Canada in 1981 and began pursuing a career in music. In addition to his solo career, Fearing was one of the founding members of Blackie and the Rodeo...
: Solo artist Stephen Fearing has been in the music business for over 20 years, born in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
he spent most of this childhood in Dublin, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. He has worked with such legendary producers as Clive Gregson
Clive Gregson
Clive Gregson is an English singer/songwriter, musician and record producer. He has toured in bands, provided backup for well-known musicians, and written songs that have been covered by Kim Carnes, Norma Waterson and Nanci Griffith.-Solo:At the end of 1984 Gregson released his first solo record,...
(for his album Blue Line, 1989), and Steve Berlin
Steve Berlin
Steve Berlin is an American saxophonist, keyboardist and record producer, best known as a member of the rock group Los Lobos and, before that, Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs, The Blasters, and The Flesh Eaters...
of Los Lobos
Los Lobos
Los Lobos are a multiple Grammy Award–winning American Chicano rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños.-History:The...
(for The Assassin’s Apprentice from 1994 which also featured fellow Canadian Sarah McLachlan
Sarah McLachlan
Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range, as of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four...
). Fearing has recorded 8 solo albums and has won many awards for his efforts including a West Coast Music Award for Best Folk music recording as well as many Juno
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
nominations.
Colin Linden
Colin Linden
Colin Linden is a Canadian musician, songwriter and record producer. He has worked with a wide variety of artists including Bruce Cockburn, Lucinda Williams, T-Bone Burnett, Colin James, Leon Redbone, Rita Chiarelli, Chris Thomas King and The Band.Linden is primarily a electric blues guitarist,...
: Guitarist/ Producer for Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. This solo artist has found great success in his projects that range from Colin James
Colin James
Colin James is a Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, who plays in the blues, rock, and neo-swing genres. He grew up as a Quaker.-Early years:...
to The Band
The Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
. Like the rest of his Blackie and the Rodeo Kings bandmates Linden also has worked with Bruce Cockburn
Bruce Cockburn
Bruce Douglas Cockburn OC is a Canadian folk/rock guitarist and singer-songwriter. His most recent album was released in March 2011. He has written songs in styles ranging from folk to jazz-influenced rock to rock and roll.-Biography:...
. Linden has also tried his luck at acting, making his debut in the Coen Brothers
Coen Brothers
Joel David Coen and Ethan Jesse Coen known together professionally as the Coen brothers, are American filmmakers...
' film Intolerable Cruelty
Intolerable Cruelty
Intolerable Cruelty is a 2003 romantic comedy film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and starring Academy Award winners George Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Geoffrey Rush and Billy Bob Thornton with Cedric the Entertainer...
as “Father Scott”. Linden has won countless Junos
Junos
Juniper Junos is the software or the network operating system used in Juniper Networks hardware systems. It is an operating system that is used in Juniper's routing, switching and security devices. Juniper offers a Software Development Kit to partners and customers to allow additional customization...
, East Coast Music Awards and other great accolades for his achievements.
Alternative Members
John Dymond: Bassist for Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, as well as other well known Canadians artists such as Amanda WilkinsonAmanda Wilkinson
Amanda Nichole Wilkinson was born January 17, 1982, in Belleville, Ontario, Canada and was raised in nearby Trenton, Ontario. She is a Canadian country music singer. She is also a member of country group The Wilkinsons, which includes her father Steve and brother Tyler. She began singing early. Her...
, The Wilkinsons
The Wilkinsons
The Wilkinsons is a country music trio from Trenton, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1997, the group comprises lead singer Amanda Wilkinson, her brother Tyler Wilkinson, and their father, Steve Wilkinson. The Wilkinsons achieved success late in 1998 with the hit single "26 Cents", a Number One on the...
, K.D. Lang
K.D. Lang
Kathryn Dawn Lang, OC , known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress...
, Bruce Cockburn
Bruce Cockburn
Bruce Douglas Cockburn OC is a Canadian folk/rock guitarist and singer-songwriter. His most recent album was released in March 2011. He has written songs in styles ranging from folk to jazz-influenced rock to rock and roll.-Biography:...
and more.
Gary Craig: Drummer/ Percussionist for Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. Craig has performed with just about everyone in Canadian music from Anne Murray
Anne Murray
Morna Anne Murray CC, ONS is a Canadian singer in pop, country and adult contemporary styles whose albums have sold over 54 million copies....
to Jann Arden
Jann Arden
Jann Arden is a Canadian singer-songwriter.-Life and career:Arden was born and raised near Calgary in Springbank, Alberta and attended Springbank Community High School. Her breakthrough came with her critically acclaimed 1993 debut album Time for Mercy and her first single "I Would Die For You"...
.
Richard Bell
Richard Bell (Canadian musician)
Richard Bell was a Canadian musician best known as the pianist for Janis Joplin and her Full Tilt Boogie Band. He was also a keyboardist with The Band during the 1990s.-Early life and career:...
: (b. March 5, 1946, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
- d. June 15, 2007, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
) pianist for Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
, worked with Blackie and the Rodeo Kings as their keyboardist for a number of years before his death in 2007.
Albums
| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 1996 | High or Hurtin': The Songs of Willie P. Bennett |
| 1999 | Kings of Love |
| 2003 | Bark |
| 2006 | Let's Frolic |
| 2007 | Let's Frolic Again |
| 2009 | Swinging from the Chains of Love |
| 2011 | Kings and Queens |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN Country | CAN Rock | |||
| 1996 | "Lace & Pretty Flowers" | 94 | High or Hurtin | |
| 1997 | "White Line" | |||
| 1999 | "The Lucky Ones" | 82 | Kings of Love | |
| "Lean on Your Peers" | 19 | |||
| 2003 | "Swinging from the Chains of Love" | Bark | ||
| "Had Enough of You Today" | ||||
| 2004 | "Water or Gasoline" | |||
| "You're So Easy to Love" | ||||
| 2006 | "That's What I Like" | Let's Frolic | ||
| 2007 | "The Fool Who Can't Forget" | |||
| "Buried in Your Heart" | ||||
| 2011 | "Got You Covered" (with Rosanne Cash Rosanne Cash Rosanne Cash is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of the late country music singer Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Liberto Cash Distin.... ) |
Kings and Queens |
Blackie and the Rodeo Kings music also found on
- Borrowed Tunes II- A Tribute to Neil YoungNeil YoungNeil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
- "Unknown Legend" Cover. All proceeds for this album go to Safe HavenSafe havenSafe haven may refer to:* Safe harbor, a harbor or haven which provides safety from weather or attack, or an analogous situation* Safe Havens, a syndicated comic strip drawn by cartoonist Bill Holbrook...
and The Bridge School - WeirdsvilleWeirdsvilleWeirdsville is a black comedy directed by Allan Moyle and written by Willem Wennekers. The film premiered January 18, 2007 at the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival. The film has also been shown at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, and the Raindance Film...
Soundtrack- Features their song "Stoned" off their album "Bark"(2003) - Johnny's Blues: A Tribute To Johnny CashJohnny's Blues: A Tribute To Johnny CashJohnny's Blues: A Tribute To Johnny Cash is a 2003 compilation album, released by Northern Blues Music, of blues-oriented songs made popular by Johnny Cash, sung by various Canadian and American performers.- Track listing :...
(Northern Blues, 2003). Contains cover of "Folsom Prison BluesFolsom Prison Blues"Folsom Prison Blues" is the title of a song written and recorded by American country music artist Johnny Cash. The song combines elements from two popular folk genres, the train song and the prison song, both of which Cash would continue to use for the rest of his career...
".