Laughing Coyote’s Blog

If you read the last entry in Music, Jimmy has replaced Steve Kennedy on tenor sax. Shortly there-after Kay leaves as well as Fred.
Dave Lewis replaces Fred on drums.

(back row)
Brian Massey, James Ardnt

(front row)
Dave Lewis, Tom Goodings, Bob Andrews

Tom has left for L.A. and Dave leaves to be replaced by Wayne. I’m beginning to wonder, is it me, is it something I’ve said? Nah! what’s there not to like about me?

(back row)
Brian Massey, Jack Arsenault, Bob Andrews

(front row)
Wayne Harmond, James Ardnt, Barry Lloyd of Ritchie Knight fame

 Barry comes on board with his Hammond and B3, Jack with his Strat. We pull through another winter without having a wipe-out.
Draggin trailers is a drag. Pardon the pun.

The Spring of 63,…….Tom’s back from LA.

Wanting to start up a new band and needing a bass player he gives me a call. I’m looking for something more challenging and take the offer. The Regents go on to record under the name Dunc and Judy and the Regents, their hit recording “Me And You”.

The Big Town Boys…….

(back row)
Mike Lewis, Tom Graham, John Henderson

(front row)
Josh Collins, James Ardnt, Brian Massey
 

So where did they get their name?

Rumour has it that Shirley Mathews, while singing at The Club Blue Note was scooped up by Bob Crewe and flown to New York to record her first hit “Someday You’re Going To Be A Big Town Boy”.

Hey! who could resist the temptation? If it fits, wear it.

Bigland Agency handled all the acts from East to West about the same time John Bassett Jr. started a teen show for CFTO called After 4.  At that time records were lip sync’d but when the March ratings indicated good response the station decided to use live music.
The show’s new directer Johnny Johnson called the agency asking for some of their acts to audition. The Big Town Boys were one of the acts sent over. Luck had it they suited what Johnny had in mind.
It was they who stole the show at the Gardens in Toronto when the Dave Clark 5 appeared. Johnny Bassett Jr. signed them to play behind the show’s weekly guests.

 Sometime later Mike Doyle of RCA started to move to get the band on label. Their first recording “Put You Down” / “Forget About You” would be released south of the border.
In the midst of apparent success of the RCA Victor release of the Big Town Boys single, comes the speculation that the session was cut in New York or Los Angeles. If this were so, this would be one of the biggest hoaxes of the Canadian music industry, and rest assured RCA Victor is going to play it straight. It was recorded and produced by Stan Klees at Hallmark Studios.

May 1965 The Big Town Boys are now on the Capitol of Canada label with their hot release “I Love Her So”.

What a Great 2 Weeks

They always say, “If you remember the 60’s you were’nt there. So I ask you all to be patient as I fry,oops! already did that. I mean try my brain for info as close to correct as I can get it. 09/05/65I’ve made it to the Garden’s stage again, this time backing up Sonny and Cher who are one of the opening acts for the Beach Boys. Also on that lineup is Little Ceasar and the Consuls, and J.B. and the Playboys fresh out of Montreal. Brian Wilson was in bed for that gig so Glen Campbell filled in for him. That was a cool show alround.I’d post a picture but from where it was taken it’s hard to tell one dot from another.I digress….what’s with the word Boy?   Big Town Boy, Beach Boy,  Playboy, I think that Consuls maybe latin for Boy. Little Ceasar and the Boys? Nah!…anyway, where were we?Oh yeh, now dig the price of the tickets for this show. $4.50, $3.50, $2.50. In those days it was whatever you could afford. No wonder I never made any large sums of money.09/13/65This was the week that most of Toronto came out to view their new City Hall. 

 Andy Warhol said that each person in the world will have 15 min. of fame. I think that I have taken more than my share.

The year is 1956 and Elvis has hit the scene with his devil music and I get my first guitar, a acoustic Harmony F hole for Christmas. The local radio station, CHUM, has a disc jockey by the name of Josh King. I join his fan club “Soup Bean Snappers and Gravy Soppers Association”.

Elvis comes to town and Josh King hosts the concert at Maple Leaf Gardens, I go and swear that some day I’ll be on that stage. In the meantime I catch all my favourites during the next few years at the Gardens, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Bo Diddley, Screaming Jay Hawkins, Carl Perkins, Gene Vincent, Buddy Holly, just to name a few, all the while saying to myself, ” I’m going to be on that stage one day.”

1958, my friend Terry’s brother George says he can get me a deal on an electric guitar. A $125.00 later I’m the proud owner of a Supro guitar and a Sear’s amp and I’m on my way to becoming a Rock Star.

Within the year I meet Tommy at Kalua’s music store on the Danforth one Sat. afternoon, he owns a Fender Strat just like Buddy Holly’s and we form a tight bond. Before you know it we’ve got ourselves a singer, Tony. We then go through a number of drummers and settle for Peter, we then pick up a tenor saxman by the name of Steve.  

Steve Kenedy, Tony Serino, Peter Groscelle, Brian Massey, Tommy Goodings  

We Get Invited To A Lot Of Parties.                

OUR FIRST DOWNER……….              Tony drops out,…….. with no singer I guess we go back to the instrumentals. Link Ray, Bill Dogget, The Champs, Henry Mancinni. We’re jammin in the back of the “Golden Mile Cleaners” in Scarboro every Sat. afternoon when one day a youth, he can’t be more than 16, sticks his head in the back door to check out the sounds. Luck would have it, he had a guitar and asks if he can sit in. His guitar is home-made (black) with the words “Bo Diddley” in silver letters across the top. He tells us an amazing story about he and that guitar backing up “Bo” at the Gardens concert.       

In the back of our minds we’re saying, Yeh, Right!        

The kid’s got nerve, he says he can sing too. You’re in Man!!!!, what’s your name?     He replies, Jamie.    Jamie’s favourite song is Brown Eyed Handsome Man.  Jamie then moves on after two gigs and Peter follows shortly afterwards.
Enter Kay, Steve, Fred, Les
Kay Taylor and The Regents” are born. Summer was the best time of the year, we’d be in the Muskokas, Frankie’s in Port Carling, The Lighthouse at Wasaga Beach, Bala, The Purple Candle.We were the closest sounding band to “Frank Motley and his Motley Crew” so we got to back up Jackie “Any Other Way”Shane at most of these gigs. (hope you’re still with us Jackie)

  Bobby Dean and his band the Gems are leaving the Club Blue Note in June, there’s an opening, we audition and get the job.

Al and Jerry Steiner are the hosts of Toronto’s first After-hours Club. In those days Toronto bars closed shop at, I think last call was 11:30 pm. You had a half hour to clear the table. You did’nt have to go home but you could’nt stay here.Toronto was wide open to American entertainers who were used to partayin late into the wee earlies and soon found their way to the Club Blue Note. Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Reed, Johnny Nash…… my mind goes blank here, I’m sure there were more.We’ve got our regular “Show Stoppers”, Cal Briggs, Stan Thomas, Diane Brooks, Paul Pettigrew, Joey Hollingsworth, Jason King, “Kathy Petrie..Qeen of the Twist

Must not forget the Toronto Argo’s Team Players..Cookie Gilcrest, Boyd Carter who were ardent followers. Boyd, should you see this, my sincerest appologies for burning your hankerchief.  Sweet Daddy Siki the wrestler would show up occasionally and I’d approach him doing his famous walk and say, I can take you. He would just sit there and laugh, it was a nervous laugh.We add a new member Bob, he plays trumpet, valve trombone and flugal horn. The band is cooking every weekend from 9:00pm. until 2:00am.
Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks drop in after they finish work down the street. Jamie is playing for the Hawk now but has taken his birthname of Robbie.Remember George, the guy who got me the deal on the Supro? He works down the street from the Blue Note at the Brown Derby playing guitar for Joe King and the Zaniacs. We meet every weekend at “United Deforest Cleaners’ next door to the Derby. All the entertainers in town head there for shoeshines and a pressing before going on stage at clubs up and down Younge St.He always asks if I’d be interested in playing bass for the group and do the Vegas circuit during the winter months. I keep turning him down.