Bobby Kris & The Imperials
Encyclopedia
Bobby Kris & The Imperials were a 1960s Toronto
folk-rock band, that had a local hit with Burt Bacharach
and Hal David
's "Walk On By".
, British Columbia
). The other original members comprised guitarist Al Waugh, bass player Brian Sefchek, saxophone players Jerry Shymanski (aka Mann) and John Crone (born February 4, 1945, Toronto
), and drummer Gordon MacBain (born August 5, 1947, Toronto
). During the early part of 1965, the group underwent further changes in personnel, which saw Gene Martynec
(born March 28, 1947, Germany
) replace Waugh and Rick Haynes replace Sefchek.
at the University of Toronto
, joined as lead vocalist. (Originally the band had asked Jay Smith of The Majestics but he declined the offer).
During August, Dave Konvalinka aka Dave Wayne (born July 4, 1944, Gimli, Manitoba) succeeded Haynes on bass and Rick Loth came in on saxophone to replace Crone who left to join The Majestics. Haynes later played with Gordon Lightfoot
. One of the new line up's first shows was the Purple Candle Club, Wasaga Beach in Ontario on August 7, 1965.
The group's debut single, a cover of Burt Bacharach
and Hal David
's "Walk On By" was released in November 1965 and reached #8 on Canada’s RPM chart early the following year. The follow-up 45 was a Bob Dylan
cover but was not as successful. The group also did an orange juice commercial, which was never released, around this time.
In early 1966, the group opened for Wilson Pickett
at Toronto’s Masonic Temple (when Jimi Hendrix
was his guitarist) and supported The Beach Boys
in Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay).
Bobby Kris & The Imperials were chosen as opening act for The Lovin' Spoonful
at Toronto’s Massey Hall on May 8, 1966. Shortly afterwards, Wayne Davis
(born April 28, 1946 in Toronto) from The Just Us
replaced Dave Wayne who left to join The Majestics. Loth and Shymanski also left at this point. Loth then later joined the Silhouettes led by Doug Reilly (Dr. Music).
The new line-up continued to play extensively in the Toronto
area, although no other singles
appeared. They were one of 14 local groups to play at a 14-hour pop show at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on September 24, 1966. The following month, former member Jerry Shymanski joined Eddie Spencer & The Power, which evolved into Grant Smith & The Power
.
Bobby Kris & The Imperials supported Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs at the Club Kingsway in Toronto on October 22, 1966 alongside The Ugly Ducklings
and The Ardels.
in May and was replaced by former Majestics keyboard player Jimmy Oskirko. The new lineup started to experiment more and played regularly at the Concord Tavern where the band performed a cover of The Beatles
’ "A Day in the Life
". This version of the group also opened for Jose Feliciano
at Massey Hall.
By September, however, it was all over. Fisher and MacBain left to join Bruce Cockburn’s Flying Circus
. Kris replaced Jimmy Livingston in Livingston's Journey in late October while Davis subsequently joined 3's a Crowd in December.
guitarist Larry Leishman (born April 4, 1947, Dunfermline, Scotland
). One of the reconstituted band's first dates was at the Night Owl on June 13–14, 1968. The new look group played for another year but after appearing at the Night Owl on June 19–21, 1969, the band finally imploded.
Leishman subsequently played with Rhinoceros
while MacBain joined Peter Quaife's post-Kinks band, Mapleoak in England
.
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...
folk-rock band, that had a local hit with Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
and Hal David
Hal David
Harold Lane "Hal" David is an American lyricist. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York. David is best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach.-Career:...
's "Walk On By".
Origins
This musically interesting band was originally called J.S & The Imperials and was led by singer Jim Snowdon and featured pianist Pat Riccio Jr, who was replaced in 1964 by Marty Fisher (born December 26, 1945, VancouverVancouver
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,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
). The other original members comprised guitarist Al Waugh, bass player Brian Sefchek, saxophone players Jerry Shymanski (aka Mann) and John Crone (born February 4, 1945, 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...
), and drummer Gordon MacBain (born August 5, 1947, 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...
). During the early part of 1965, the group underwent further changes in personnel, which saw Gene Martynec
Gene Martynec
Canadian musician/composer Eugene Martynec first came to prominence as a guitarist in Toronto group Bobby Kris & The Imperials in August 1965...
(born March 28, 1947, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) replace Waugh and Rick Haynes replace Sefchek.
Band becomes Bobby Kris & The Imperials
Around May 1965, the group changed name when Bobby Kris (real name: Bob Burrows), who was studying philosophyPhilosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, joined as lead vocalist. (Originally the band had asked Jay Smith of The Majestics but he declined the offer).
During August, Dave Konvalinka aka Dave Wayne (born July 4, 1944, Gimli, Manitoba) succeeded Haynes on bass and Rick Loth came in on saxophone to replace Crone who left to join The Majestics. Haynes later played with Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr. is a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music, and has been credited for helping define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s...
. One of the new line up's first shows was the Purple Candle Club, Wasaga Beach in Ontario on August 7, 1965.
The group's debut single, a cover of Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
and Hal David
Hal David
Harold Lane "Hal" David is an American lyricist. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York. David is best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach.-Career:...
's "Walk On By" was released in November 1965 and reached #8 on Canada’s RPM chart early the following year. The follow-up 45 was a Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
cover but was not as successful. The group also did an orange juice commercial, which was never released, around this time.
In early 1966, the group opened for Wilson Pickett
Wilson Pickett
Wilson Pickett was an American R&B/Soul singer and songwriter.A major figure in the development of American soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, and frequently crossed over to the US Billboard Hot 100...
at Toronto’s Masonic Temple (when Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
was his guitarist) and supported The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
in Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay).
Working with the ballet
In a surprising coupling, the band appeared at the O'Keefe Centre on April 13, 1966 with the Canadian National Ballet Company, playing in the lobby during the intermission.Bobby Kris & The Imperials were chosen as opening act for The Lovin' Spoonful
The Lovin' Spoonful
The Lovin' Spoonful is an American pop rock band of the 1960s, named to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. When asked about his band, leader John Sebastian said it sounded like a combination of "Mississippi John Hurt and Chuck Berry," prompting his friend, Fritz Richmond, to suggest the name...
at Toronto’s Massey Hall on May 8, 1966. Shortly afterwards, Wayne Davis
Wayne Davis
Wayne Elliot Davis was an American football cornerback in the National Football League for the San Diego Chargers, the Buffalo Bills, and the Washington Redskins...
(born April 28, 1946 in Toronto) from The Just Us
The Just Us
The Just Us were a short-lived Toronto based, R&B band from the mid 1960s, which later morphed into The Tripp and then Livingstone’s Journey. The group’s personnel included Neil Merryweather and Stan Endersby.-Origins:...
replaced Dave Wayne who left to join The Majestics. Loth and Shymanski also left at this point. Loth then later joined the Silhouettes led by Doug Reilly (Dr. Music).
The new line-up continued to play extensively in the 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...
area, although no other singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
appeared. They were one of 14 local groups to play at a 14-hour pop show at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on September 24, 1966. The following month, former member Jerry Shymanski joined Eddie Spencer & The Power, which evolved into Grant Smith & The Power
Grant Smith & The Power
Grant Smith & The Power were a popular Canadian rock-soul outfit from the 1960s that had a hit with a cover of Jackie Edwards' "Keep On Running" and was also a training ground for musicians who went on to the likes of McKenna Mendelson Mainline, Motherlode, Crowbar and Leigh Ashford.- Group...
.
Bobby Kris & The Imperials supported Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs at the Club Kingsway in Toronto on October 22, 1966 alongside The Ugly Ducklings
The Ugly Ducklings
The Ugly Ducklings were a five piece garage rock group based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, most notable during the mid 1960s.They released six singles in 1966 and 1967 on the Yorktown and Yorkville labels, and one album, Somewhere Outside in 1967...
and The Ardels.
The group fragments
In the spring of 1967 the band started to fragment. Martynec left to form Kensington MarketKensington Market
Kensington Market is a distinctive multicultural neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Market is an older neighbourhood and one of the city's most well-known. In November 2006, it was designated a National Historic Site of Canada. Robert Fulford wrote in 1999 that "Kensington...
in May and was replaced by former Majestics keyboard player Jimmy Oskirko. The new lineup started to experiment more and played regularly at the Concord Tavern where the band performed a cover of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
’ "A Day in the Life
A Day in the Life
"A Day in the Life" is a song by The Beatles, the final track on the group's 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Credited to Lennon–McCartney, the song comprises distinct segments written independently by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, with orchestral additions...
". This version of the group also opened for Jose Feliciano
José Feliciano
José Feliciano is a Puerto Rican singer, virtuoso guitarist and composer known for many international hits including the 1970 holiday single "Feliz Navidad".-Childhood:...
at Massey Hall.
By September, however, it was all over. Fisher and MacBain left to join Bruce Cockburn’s Flying Circus
Flying Circus
Flying Circus may mean:In aviation:*Jagdgeschwader 1 , a German World War I fighter wing commanded by Manfred von Richthofen at one point*The American World War II air corps led by Joe Foss...
. Kris replaced Jimmy Livingston in Livingston's Journey in late October while Davis subsequently joined 3's a Crowd in December.
Bobby Kris reformed the band
Bobby Kris reformed the band in mid-1968 with MacBain, Oskirko, Davis and former Jon and Lee & The CheckmatesJon and Lee & The Checkmates
Jon and Lee & The Checkmates are an Canadian music group, best known for containing future members of Elektra band Rhinoceros. Together with Mandala, they spearheaded Toronto's R&B scene during the mid 1960s. As the Jon-Lee Group, the band released a lone single for ABC Records before splitting up...
guitarist Larry Leishman (born April 4, 1947, Dunfermline, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
). One of the reconstituted band's first dates was at the Night Owl on June 13–14, 1968. The new look group played for another year but after appearing at the Night Owl on June 19–21, 1969, the band finally imploded.
Leishman subsequently played with Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros , also known as rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia....
while MacBain joined Peter Quaife's post-Kinks band, Mapleoak in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Discography
- Single:"Walk On By" c/w "Travelling Bag" (Columbia 2672) 1965
- Single:"She Belongs To Me" c/w "A Year From Today" (Columbia 2687) 1966
- EP: "Bobby Kris... Now" (Willow Music December, 1995)
Sources
- Article in the Toronto TelegramToronto TelegramThe Toronto Evening Telegram was a conservative, broadsheet afternoon newspaper published in Toronto from 1876 to 1971. It had a reputation for supporting the Conservative Party at both the federal and provincial level. The paper competed with the liberal Toronto Star...
, January 20, 1966, page 9 - Nick Warburton interview with Marty Fisher, 2004 and Gordon MacBain, 2006
- Rick Loth