One of the leading folk groups to call Montreal ‘home’ at the dawn of the 1970s, Tapestry was the brainchild of Jack Winters, Along with Judy Harmon and Heather Woodburn, the trio worked their way into a deal with Polydor, releasing their self-titled debut album, and the single, “Love Me Brother”. Produced by The Bells‘ Cliff Edwards, it got enough attention to land on the now highly regarded compilation, the first in the “Maple Music” series. Recpetion was good and trying to expand musically, Winters stepped in as producer, and the follow-up “Country Music” got decent airplay, they rode the wave of some of the biggest festivals, including the Maple Music Junket. The follow-up single “The Music Doesn’t Seem To Be Going Anywhere” followed and they even landed a gig at Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Club before the end of the year. But by the spring of ’73 Harmon left, leaving Winters and Woodburn (who’d by now gotten married) to carry on with session players for their first full album, DOWN BY THE MAPLE RIVER. Recorded at Quebec Sound Studios in Montreal and released that summer, Winters again produced, and “Everything Is Bringin’ Me Down” was pushed prior to the lp’s light of day. High hopes disappointed, and the title track didn’t really do much better. Musically, critics said the album was too polished, despite some listenable moments in “Oldtimer” and “Cowboy Song.”. Polydor released one more single, “California” but other sounds were taking over and the duo called it quits. The label released “I Need Your Lovin'” under the name ‘Winters’ before the end of the year. Engineered by Leon Aaronson (who’d been working on the last few years’ worth of recordings, and Ron Capone handling strings arrangement, it featured both long and short versions, but went nowhere.” Winters continued to work for Polydor, teaming with Aaronson again for Sonora’s “See Me Run” in ’75. Winters also did some jingles and dabbled in other projects over the years, including studio work with Solstice in 2010. That same year, Tapestry’s only album was re-released, with “California” added as a bonus. With notes from Leon Aaronson, Jaimie Vernon
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