Crowbar (Canadian band)
Encyclopedia
Crowbar was a Canadian rock
band based in Hamilton, Ontario
, probably best known for their 1971 hit "Oh, What a Feeling".
under the name "And Many Others". However, in early 1970, he fired them, saying "You guys are so crazy that you could fuck up a crowbar
in three seconds!" They recorded their first album in 1970 (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.
Crowbar's rock, blues and boogie mix made it one of Canada's most popular touring bands of the early 1970s. The band toured in the United Kingdom but, otherwise, made little impact outside of Canada.
Crowbar disbanded in 1975, but was revived in 1977; (minus Jozef Chirowski, who had joined Alice Cooper's band) for a tour of eastern Canada with Kelly Jay and others intermittently during the 1980s with club work in southern Ontario.
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 based 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...
, probably 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 HawkinsRonnie Hawkins
Ronald "Ronnie" Hawkins is a Juno Award-winning rockabilly musician whose career has spanned more than half a century. Though his career began in Arkansas, USA, where he'd been born and raised, it was in Ontario, Canada where he found success and settled for most of his life...
under the name "And Many Others". However, in early 1970, he fired them, saying "You guys are so crazy that you could fuck up a crowbar
Crowbar (tool)
A crowbar, a wrecking bar, pry bar, or prybar, or sometimes a prise bar or prisebar, and more informally a jimmy, jimmy bar, jemmy or gooseneck is a tool consisting of a metal bar with a single curved end and flattened points, often with a small fissure on one or both ends for removing nails...
in three seconds!" They recorded their first album in 1970 (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.
Crowbar's rock, blues and boogie mix made it one of Canada's most popular touring bands of the early 1970s. The band toured in the United Kingdom but, otherwise, made little impact outside of Canada.
Crowbar disbanded in 1975, but was revived in 1977; (minus Jozef Chirowski, who had joined Alice Cooper's band) for a tour of eastern Canada with Kelly Jay and others intermittently during the 1980s with club work in southern Ontario.
Members
The band consisted of a variety of players in various combinations over its lifetime including:- King Biscuit BoyKing Biscuit BoyKing Biscuit Boy was the stage name of Richard Alfred Newell a Canadian blues musician. He was the first Canadian blues artist to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.....
(Richard Newell) on harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes... - Roly Greenway on bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Kelly Jay (Blake Fordham) on harmonica, vocals and pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
- John Rutter on vocals (1970)
- Ed Charron on guitar (1973–1976)
- Richard Bell on keyboards (1970)
- Jozef Chirowski on keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- Larry Atamanuik on drums (1970)
- Tim Nantais on bass guitar
- Sonnie Bernardi on drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Rheal Lanthier on guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
- John Gibbard on guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and slide guitarSlide guitarSlide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles... - Sonny Del-Rio on saxophone
- Ray Harrison on keyboard, B3 hammond organ
- John Dickie on vocals (2000)
- Russell Foreman on guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Tim ThompsonTim ThompsonCharles Lemoine Thompson was a catcher in Major League Baseball. He played from 1954-1958 with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Kansas City Athletics and Detroit Tigers.He was a coach for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1981....
on drums [1978]
Albums
- Official Music (as King Biscuit Boy and Crowbar) (1970, Daffodil; 1996, Stony Plain)
- Bad Manors (1970, Daffodil SBA-16004)
- Larger than Life (And Live'r than You've Ever Been) (1971, Daffodil 2-SBA-16007) (recorded in concert at Massey HallMassey HallMassey Hall is a venerable performing arts theatre in the Garden District of downtown Toronto. The theatre originally was designed to seat 3,500 patrons but, after extensive renovations in the 1940s, now seats up to 2,765....
, Toronto) - Heavy Duty (1972, Daffodil SBA-16013)
- KE-32746 (Epic KE-32746) (circa 1973)
- Million Dollar Weekend (1974 Epic)
- Crowbar Classics: Memories Are Made of This (1975, Daffodil SBA-16030)
Singles
- 1970 Corrina, Corrina (Daffodil) (as King Biscuit Boy and Crowbar)
- 1970 Uncle Pen/Roberta (London) 17385
- 1971 Oh What A Feeling (Toyota)
- 1971 Happy People (Daffodil)
- 1972 Too True Mama (Daffodil)
- 1972 Dreams (Daffodil)
- 1972 Fly Away (Daffodil)
- 1972 Hey Baby (Daffodil)
- 1973 Million Dollar Weekend (Epic)
- 1974 Million Dollar Weekend (Daffodil)
- 1974 All The Living Things (Epic)