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Goldy McJohn memorial courtesy of Nick Warburton Ambitious, charismatic and dripping in raw talent, Ricky James Matthews (b. James Ambrose Johnson, 1 February, 1948, Buffalo, NY, US; d. 6 August, 2004) didn’t take long to capitalise on his sharp looks, soulful voice and US navy uniform after he landed in Toronto in August 1964. Within …
Nancy Nash was born and raised in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, growing up singing in churches and at dances. She moved to Edmonton as a teen and soon became one of Alberta’s fastest rising stars in the early 1970s, often appearing at talent shows and other lower profile gigs. Her first recording experience was when Holger …
Taking his stage name from a murderous butler in a 1926 Laurel & Hardy movie (Do Detectives Think?), singer/songwriter/musician Jeff Plewman made his auspicious debut in 1975. He wrote and performed the soundtrack to ‘Un Chien Andalou’ at Toronto’s Roxy Theatre on March 17 – a 15 minute feature before the Rolling Stones’ feature ‘Gimme …
Born in Troy, Nova Scotia, Natalie MacMaster grew up with music in her home, with both her parents playing in local bands and the niece of Cape Breton fiddle legend Billy MacMaster. By the age of nine she was taking formal lessons with her cousin and future fellow fiddle master Ashley MacIsaac, with whom she …
One of the first goth/rock bands to achieve mainstream success, National Velvet was formed in 1985 in Toronto. Taking their name from a 1944 Elizabeth Taylor movie of the same name, the band originally consisted of Maria Del Mar (not the actress of the same name), guitarist Mark Crossley, Mark Storm (real name Mark Erickson) …
A native of Montreal, Neil Ship’s foray into the entertainment industry began as a teen, when in 1960 he scored a recording deal with Columbia in their New York office. Under the stage name of Neil Sheppard, he recorded the single “Beyond the Shadow of a Doubt,” and although it failed to go anywhere, he …
One of the most storied and prolific histories in modern music began when Neil Young moved from Toronto to Winnipeg as a teen. He grew up in the 50’s listening to the hits of the day. He formed the local group The Squires in 1962 and they were soon emulating their idols playing the coffeehouses …
Born on December 2, 1978 to Portuguese parents (Maria Manuela and António José Furtado, both late 1960s immigrants from the Azore Islands), Nelly Furtado was named after Soviet gymnast Nellie Kim. She grew up in Victoria, BC and at age four began performing and singing in Portuguese, with her first public performance being a duet …
Originally called The Colonials, The Halifax Three centred around highschool friends and guitarists Denny Doherty and Richard Byrne, and drummer Pat LaCroix. Gary McDonall succumbed to cancer in 2010. With notes from Dave Hutton, Dwayne Osepchuk BODY ELECTRIC The More Things Change Stop The Music Judy’s In Her Room Living Two Lives Midnight Madness Somewhere …
The culmination as so many prairie bands always are, Saskatoon highschool friends Bryan Potvin and Jay Semko bounced around in a number of bands including Seventeen Envelope, The Idols and Doris Daye. By 1984 they settled on naming themselves after a fish (closely resembling a jackfish) and added Meryl Bryck on guitars with Potvin. Drummer …