Chilliwack (band)
Encyclopedia
Chilliwack are a Canadian
rock
band that had their heyday during the 1970s and 1980s. Although they are a Canadian band, the members were all born in, as well as reside in, the United States of America. They are perhaps best remembered for their five biggest songs "My Girl (Gone Gone Gone)", "I Believe", "Whatcha Gonna Do", "Fly At Night" and "Lonesome Mary". In 2010, their single "The Bootleg Pick Up" became the number one played song on radio stations. "The band's lineup has changed numerous times, though Bill Henderson has constantly remained a fixture, and Chilliwack continues to tour across Canada.
, British Columbia
, but later changed the name to The Collectors (1966). Their psychedelic self-titled debut album yielded the minor hit "Lydia Purple". A second album was based on the musical score written by the band for a stage play by Canadian playwright George Ryga
, Grass and Wild Strawberries.
Chilliwack effectively began with the departure of vocalist Howie Vickers from the Collectors in 1969; however, the band didn't change its name until 1970, to Chilliwack
, a Salish
term meaning "going back up" and the name of a city east of Vancouver in the Fraser River
valley. With lead guitarist Bill Henderson now providing most of the vocals and doing most of the composing, the band released several records that were moderately successful in Canada. Hit singles in Canada included "Lonesome Mary", "Crazy Talk" "The drunk Giraffe" and "Fly at Night". The album track "Rain-o", a blues-based composition that appeared in different versions on the Chilliwack debut album and the later "Dreams, Dreams, Dreams", was a well-known concert favourite.
In 1978, Brian MacLeod
(guitar, drums, keyboards) and Ab Bryant (bass) joined the band. Chilliwack enjoyed its greatest success with this new lineup. The singles "My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone)" (1981), "I Believe" (1982), and "Whatcha Gonna Do (When I'm Gone)" (1982) were popular both in Canada and in the U.S. Rolling Stone Magazine wrote:
Henderson and MacLeod received a Best Producer Juno Award
in 1982 for Opus X. MacLeod left the band soon after, and Chilliwack's last new recording was released in 1984. Henderson continued to tour with other players until December 1988. In 1989 Henderson went on to form the band UHF
.
2005 saw Chilliwack play Voyageur Days Festival in Mattawa
, Ontario
, Canada
(near North Bay
) with other Canadian bands Moxy
, Toronto
, Trooper
, Goddo
, Killer Dwarfs and Ray Lyell for the thirtieth anniversary for release of the debut album by Moxy.
Bass player Ab Bryant's son Matt Bryant is the singer/songwriter and founding member of Canadian roots/folk band Headwater
.
, and then Darby Mills
as lead vocalist.
Chilliwack
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...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band that had their heyday during the 1970s and 1980s. Although they are a Canadian band, the members were all born in, as well as reside in, the United States of America. They are perhaps best remembered for their five biggest songs "My Girl (Gone Gone Gone)", "I Believe", "Whatcha Gonna Do", "Fly At Night" and "Lonesome Mary". In 2010, their single "The Bootleg Pick Up" became the number one played song on radio stations. "The band's lineup has changed numerous times, though Bill Henderson has constantly remained a fixture, and Chilliwack continues to tour across Canada.
History
The band initially formed as the Classics (1964) in 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...
, but later changed the name to The Collectors (1966). Their psychedelic self-titled debut album yielded the minor hit "Lydia Purple". A second album was based on the musical score written by the band for a stage play by Canadian playwright George Ryga
George Ryga
George Ryga was a Canadian playwright and novelist.Ryga was born in Deep Creek near Athabasca, Alberta to poor Ukrainian immigrant parents. Unable to continue his schooling past grade six, he worked at a variety of jobs, including radio copywriter...
, Grass and Wild Strawberries.
Chilliwack effectively began with the departure of vocalist Howie Vickers from the Collectors in 1969; however, the band didn't change its name until 1970, to Chilliwack
Chilliwack, British Columbia
Chilliwack is a Canadian city in the Province of British Columbia. It is a predominantly agricultural community with an estimated population of 80,000 people. Chilliwack is the second largest city in the Fraser Valley Regional District after Abbotsford. The city is surrounded by mountains and...
, a Salish
Salishan languages
The Salishan languages are a group of languages of the Pacific Northwest...
term meaning "going back up" and the name of a city east of Vancouver in the Fraser River
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
valley. With lead guitarist Bill Henderson now providing most of the vocals and doing most of the composing, the band released several records that were moderately successful in Canada. Hit singles in Canada included "Lonesome Mary", "Crazy Talk" "The drunk Giraffe" and "Fly at Night". The album track "Rain-o", a blues-based composition that appeared in different versions on the Chilliwack debut album and the later "Dreams, Dreams, Dreams", was a well-known concert favourite.
In 1978, Brian MacLeod
Brian MacLeod (Canadian musician)
Brian Oliver "Too Loud" MacLeod was a Canadian musician, songwriter and music producer, best known as a member of the bands Chilliwack and Headpins....
(guitar, drums, keyboards) and Ab Bryant (bass) joined the band. Chilliwack enjoyed its greatest success with this new lineup. The singles "My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone)" (1981), "I Believe" (1982), and "Whatcha Gonna Do (When I'm Gone)" (1982) were popular both in Canada and in the U.S. Rolling Stone Magazine wrote:
Henderson and MacLeod received a Best Producer Juno Award
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...
in 1982 for Opus X. MacLeod left the band soon after, and Chilliwack's last new recording was released in 1984. Henderson continued to tour with other players until December 1988. In 1989 Henderson went on to form the band UHF
UHF (band)
UHF is a Canadian folk music supergroup, consisting of singer-songwriters Bill Henderson of Chilliwack fame, Shari Ulrich and Roy Forbes. The band's name comes from the initials of the members' surnames....
.
2005 saw Chilliwack play Voyageur Days Festival in Mattawa
Mattawa, Ontario
Mattawa is a town in northeastern Ontario, Canada, at the confluence of the Mattawa and Ottawa Rivers in Nipissing District. Mattawa means "Meeting of the Waters" in Ojibwa...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
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...
(near North Bay
North Bay, Ontario
North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District, and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing.-History:...
) with other Canadian bands Moxy
Moxy (band)
Moxy was a Canadian hard rock and heavy metal band, formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1974, from previous members of the rock group, Leigh Ashford — which included singer Douglas "Buzz" Shearman Earl Johnson , Bill Wade Moxy was a Canadian hard rock and heavy metal band, formed in Toronto, Ontario in...
, Toronto
Toronto (band)
Toronto was a Canadian rock band from the late seventies and early eighties who have been compared to Heart and Pat Benatar. They were formed in the late 1970s in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, when singer Annie "Holly" Woods met guitarist Brian Allen...
, Trooper
Trooper (band)
Trooper is a Juno Award winning Canadian rock band that developed from a group formed by vocalist Ramon McGuire and guitarist Brian Smith in 1975...
, Goddo
Goddo
Goddo is a Canadian band formed in 1975. Goddo had mixed major label success from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. After reforming in 1989, they revived their career with several new studio and 'best of' packages...
, Killer Dwarfs and Ray Lyell for the thirtieth anniversary for release of the debut album by Moxy.
Bass player Ab Bryant's son Matt Bryant is the singer/songwriter and founding member of Canadian roots/folk band Headwater
Headwater (band)
Headwater is a band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Forming in North Vancouver in with musicians Chris Olson, Jonas Shandel and Matt Bryant, Olson left the group early on due to artistic differences to begin a solo career...
.
Headpins
As a side project MacLeod and the band (minus Henderson) in the early 1980s performed as The Headpins with first Denise McCannDenise McCann
Denise McCann is an American-Canadian singer/songwriter.-Biography:Growing up in a musical family, Denise McCann (born December 16, 1948, in Clinton, Iowa) is an American-Canadian singer/songwriter.-Biography:Growing up in a musical family, Denise McCann (born December 16, 1948, in Clinton, Iowa)...
, and then Darby Mills
Darby Mills
Darby Mills is a Canadian rock vocalist, best known as the lead singer for Headpins. The band's hits included "Don't It Make You Feel", "Celebration", "Just One More Time", and "Line of Fire"...
as lead vocalist.
Albums
Pre-Chilliwack| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 1967 | The Collectors |
| 1968 | Grass & Wild Strawberries |
Chilliwack
| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 1970 | Chilliwack Chilliwack (1970 album) Chilliwack is the first album by the Canadian rock band Chilliwack, released in 1970. Chilliwack was a continuation of the psychedelic-progressive group The Collectors, except without lead singer Howie Vickers.-Tracks:... |
| 1971 | Chilliwack Chilliwack (1971 album) Chilliwack is a double album by the Canadian rock band Chilliwack, released in 1971. It was their second album, and their second to be entitled Chilliwack. It included the top-10 hit "Lonesome Mary".... |
| 1972 | All Over You |
| 1974 | Riding High Riding High (Chilliwack album) Riding High is the fourth album by the Canadian rock band Chilliwack, released in 1974. It contained the top-10 hit "Crazy Talk", which was co-produced by Terry Jacks of Poppy Family fame.... |
| 1975 | Rockerbox |
| 1977 | Dreams, Dreams, Dreams |
| 1978 | Lights from the Valley |
| 1979 | Breakdown in Paradise |
| 1981 | Wanna Be a Star |
| 1982 | Opus X |
| 1983 | Segue (compilation) |
| 1984 | Look In Look Out |
| Greatest Hits Greatest Hits (Chilliwack album) Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album by the Canadian rock band Chilliwack originally released in 1994. The album’s thirteen tracks, arranged in a backwards-chronological sequence, include the group’s most notable releases between the years 1969 and 1984... |
|
| 2003 | There and Back - Live There and Back - Live There And Back - Live is an album by the Canadian rock band Chilliwack released on December 30, 2003.-Track listing:# "Fly At Night" # "Lonesome Mary" # "I Believe"... |
Singles
| Year | Song | CAN Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
CHUM CHUM Chart The CHUM Chart was a ranking of top 30 songs on Toronto, Ontario radio station CHUM 1050 AM, from 1957 to 1986, and was the longest-running Top 40 chart in the world produced by an individual radio station... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US Main Mainstream rock Mainstream rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada.-Format background:... |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | "Looking at a Baby" as The Collectors | — | 4 | — | — |
| 1968 | "Lydia Purple" as The Collectors | 55 | — | — | — |
| 1969 | "Early Morning" as The Collectors | 84 | — | — | — |
| 1970 | "I Must Have Been Blind" as The Collectors | 56 | 20 | — | — |
| "Sometimes We're Up" as The Collectors | 63 | — | — | — | |
| "Chain Train" | 67 | — | — | — | |
| 1971 | "Rain-O" | 70 | — | — | — |
| 1972 | "Sundown" | 54 | — | — | — |
| 1973 | "Lonesome Mary" | 9 | — | 75 | — |
| 1974 | "Groundhog" | 41 | — | — | — |
| "Crazy Talk" | 10 | 13 | 98 | — | |
| 1975 | "There's Something I Like About That" | 85 | — | — | — |
| 1975 | "Last Day Of December" | — | — | 109 | — |
| 1976 | "Come on Over" | 54 | 12 | — | — |
| 1977 | "California Girl" | 19 | — | — | — |
| "Fly at Night" | 7 | 16 | 75 | — | |
| 1978 | "Something Better" | 56 | — | — | — |
| "Baby Blue" | 78 | — | 110 | — | |
| "Arms of Mary Arms of Mary "Arms of Mary" is a 1976 hit single by the Sutherland Brothers and Quiver; group member Iain Sutherland wrote this mid-tempo ballad whose singer reminisces about the girl with whom he had his first intimate encounter.... " |
32 | — | 67 | — | |
| 1979 | "Never the Same" | 59 | — | — | — |
| 1980 | "Communication Breakdown" | 86 | — | — | — |
| 1981 | "My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone)" | 1 | 6 | 22 | 16 |
| 1982 | "I Believe" | 7 | 11 | 33 | — |
| "Whatcha Gonna Do (When I'm Gone)" | 9 | 10 | 41 | 29 | |
| "Don't it Make You Feel Good" | — | — | — | 48 | |
| 1983 | "Don't Stop" | 46 | — | — | — |
| 1983 | "Secret Information" | — | — | 110 | — |
| Singles | CAN Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
CHUM CHUM Chart The CHUM Chart was a ranking of top 30 songs on Toronto, Ontario radio station CHUM 1050 AM, from 1957 to 1986, and was the longest-running Top 40 chart in the world produced by an individual radio station... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Hits | 23 | 8 | 7 |
| Top 40 Hits | 8 | 8 | 2 |
See also
- Canadian rockCanadian rockCanadian rock describes a wide and diverse variety of music produced by Canadians, beginning with American style rock 'n' roll in the mid-20th century. Since then Canada has had a considerable impact on the development of the modern popular music called rock...
- Music of CanadaMusic of CanadaThe music of Canada has influences that have shaped the country. Aboriginals, the British, and the French have all made unique contributions to the musical heritage of Canada. The music has subsequently been heavily influenced by American culture because of its proximity and migration between...
- Music of VancouverMusic of VancouverVancouver, a city in British Columbia, is one of the major cultural centres of Canada. The music of Vancouver is diverse, representing the many peoples that live in the city, ranging from classical and modern avant-garde orchestras and composers through a wide range of pop, rock, rap, jazz, world...
- List of bands from British Columbia
- Delbrook Senior Secondary SchoolDelbrook Senior Secondary SchoolDelbrook Senior Secondary was a public high school from 1957 to 1977 in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, part of School District 44 North Vancouver.- History :...
External links
- Bill Henderson's website
- Chilliwack Albums
- Chilliwack page at the Canoe-Jam website
- Chilliwack page at Canadian Encyclopedia