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Downchild Blues Band Albums
The Downchild Blues Band is a Canadian blues band, described by one reviewer as "the premier blues band in Canada". The band is still commonly known as the Downchild Blues Band, though the actual band name was shortened to "Downchild" in the early 1980s. The Blues Brothers band was heavily influenced by Downchild Blues Band. History Early history: 1969-1982 "(Donnie) Walsh has been called the 'father of Canadian blues' and with good reason. He is a blues pioneer on the Canadian scene. It was Walsh who paid the highest dues so that later Canadian blues acts, such as the Jeff Healey Band, the Colin James Band, the Powder Blues, Sue Foley, The Sidemen and The Highliners could also enjoy their success. The Canadian blues scene, which has blossomed nicely in the last few years, was relatively barren in the late 1960s when The Downchild Blues Band first started out.'" :David Dicaire, ''More Blues Singers: Biographies of 50 Artists from the Later 20th Century'' ( McFarland, 2002 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Blasters
The Blasters are an American rock band formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin (vocals and guitar) and Dave Alvin (guitar), with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman. Their self-described " American Music" is a blend of rockabilly, early rock and roll, punk rock, mountain music, and rhythm and blues and country. Band history Origins and heyday (1979–1985) The Alvin brothers grew up in a household filled with music and parents who exposed their sons to different kinds of American music. They made friends with Bazz and Bateman, and together the boys were brave enough to go into Los Angeles blues clubs to watch their musical idols. They learned firsthand from the likes of Joe Turner and T-Bone Walker. Phil Alvin recalled how his mother would drive the boys anywhere, and around 1965 or 1966, she took Phil to see Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. At Phil's request, Big Joe Williams introduced him to Terry, and Phil wound up taking a number ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeff Healey
Norman Jeffrey Healey (March 25, 1966 – March 2, 2008) was a Canadian blues, rock and jazz singer, guitarist, and songwriter who attained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. He reached No. 5 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart with " Angel Eyes" and reached the Top 10 in Canada with the songs "I Think I Love You Too Much" and "How Long Can a Man Be Strong". Early life Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Healey was raised in the city's west end. He was adopted as an infant; his adoptive father was a firefighter. When he was almost one year old, Healey lost his sight due to retinoblastoma, a rare cancer of the eyes. His eyes had to be surgically removed, and he was given ocular prostheses. Early career and success Healey began playing guitar when he was three, developing his unique style of playing the instrument flat on his lap. At nine years old, his musical talents were showcased in an interview on the TVOntario children's programme ''Cucumber''. When he was 15, Healey ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Fonfara
Michael Fonfara (11 August 1946 – 8 January 2021) was a Canadian keyboard player who was most notable for his work as a member of The Electric Flag and Rhinoceros in the 1960s, Rough Trade and Lou Reed's backing band in the 1970s and The Downchild Blues Band, from 1990 to the present. He studied classical piano at The Royal Conservatory of Music. He is a multiple Maple Blues Award winner as Piano/Keyboardist of the year and a Juno Award winner with the Downchild Blues Band. His distinguished musical career was so honoured by the Maple Blues Awards as early as 2000 and a Juno Award in 2014. Biography Fonfara's career as a professional musician commenced in 1963, when he started playing in the Toronto band, Lee Jackson & The Checkmates, which evolved into Jon and Lee & The Checkmates soon afterwards. Members of Jon and Lee & The Checkmates ultimately formed the nucleus of the later bands Rhinoceros and Blackstone, plus contributed significantly to the work of Lou Reed in the 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike McKenna (musician)
Mike McKenna (born April 15, 1946) is a professional Canadian rock / blues guitarist noted primarily for his electric slide playing. History Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, McKenna began playing professionally in the early 1960s in Yorkville where he formed the group Mike's Trio. Luke Gibson saw them and asked to sit in as a singer and Luke and The Apostles were later formed. McKenna got a particularly rich guitar sound by playing through 200 watt Marshall Plexi stacks and using banjo strings on the high end to make note bending easier (a trick he supposedly learned from Robbie Robertson - then playing with The Hawks and backing Ronnie Hawkins). Luke and the Apostles were asked to open for Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead by Bill Graham (of Fillmore East / Filmore West fame) for a week-long stint at Toronto's O'Keefe Centre in 1967. Graham realized that a strong local band was necessary to attract a Toronto audience since at that time, the San Francisco soun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gene Taylor (pianist)
Gene Taylor (July 2, 1952 – February 20, 2021) was an American pianist best known for his boogie woogie style. Over a career spanning more than 50 years he accompanied many great musicians, produced several solo albums and was briefly part of Canned Heat. Early life Taylor began his musical training as a drummer at age eight but two years later he had picked up both the guitar and his initial piano skills from boogie-woogie pianist-neighbours. By the age of 16 he was an orphan and was essentially forced to fund himself - his receding hairline disguising his remarkable youth. He soon found himself working with some of the big names in the West Coast blues scene including Big Joe Turner and T-Bone Walker, aided by the fact that he "was cheap" and had a driver's license and was thus able to not only add piano parts but also make sure that the musicians reached their gigs. Harman and Canned Heat In the mid-seventies he joined the James Harman Band and had a stint as pianist for boo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenny Neal
Kenny Neal (born October 14, 1957), is an American blues guitar player, singer and band member. Neal was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of Raful Neal, and he comes from a musical family. He has often performed with his brothers in his band. Career Neal preserves the blues sound of his native south Louisiana, as befits someone who learned from Slim Harpo, Buddy Guy, and his father, harmonica player Raful Neal. In 1987, Neal cut his debut album for the Florida record producer Bob Greenlee — an updated swamp feast initially marketed on King Snake Records as ''Bio on the Bayou''. Alligator Records picked it up the following year, retitling it ''Big News from Baton Rouge!!'' In 1991, he proved to be a talented actor in the Broadway production of the folk musical ''Mule Bone'' (by Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston), singing numbers written by Taj Mahal. Neal has played with blues stars including Lucky Peterson and Lazy Lester, and was at one time a member of The Dow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy Bryans
William Taylor Bryans (September 15, 1947 – April 23, 2012) was a Canadian percussionist, songwriter, music producer and DJ, known as one of the founders of The Parachute Club, among other accomplishments in music. As a producer, he worked on projects for artists as diverse as Dutch Mason, Raffi, Lillian Allen and the Downchild Blues Band. He was born in Montreal, but spent most of his adult life in Toronto, and was particularly supportive of world music as both a promoter and publicist, focusing on bringing Caribbean, Cuban and Latin American music to a wider audience. Career Bryans' childhood was spent in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, where he was associated with his first professional band, M.G. and The Escorts. This band released three singles, and primarily played in the area bounded by Montreal, Ottawa, Brockville and Kingston, including gigs at Expo 67 and as the opening act at a Montreal concert by The Beach Boys. Bryans was also a high school friend of Jack Layton, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Witmer
John Douglas Witmer (February 1951 – July 3, 2004) was a Canadian blues singer, songwriter and harmonica player, most notable as the lead vocalist for the band Whiskey Howl and the Downchild Blues Band. Biography Described as "one of Toronto's great blues singers from the late '60s to the mid-'80s",Toronto Blues SocietyNotice of Death of John Witmer, "Loose Blues News", September 2004;www.torontobluessociety.com. with "a raspy vocal style", John Witmer co-founded the seminal Canadian blues band, Whiskey Howl in 1969, when he was eighteen years old.Whiskey Howl – The First Year 1969–70 ; www.livinblues.com. The Toronto-based Whiskey Howl, along with the |
Jane Vasey
Jane Elizabeth Vasey (October 16, 1949 – July 7, 1982) was a Canadian blues piano player, best known for her years playing with the Downchild Blues Band. Vasey played with the band from 1973 until her death, from leukemia, on July 6, 1982. Biography Prior to joining the Downchild Blues Band, Vasey earned a Master's degree in Music from the University of Manitoba. She also earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Art. One of the first blues artists she heard was Otis Spann; one of her first recordings with the Downchild Blues Band was Otis Spann's "Must Have Been The Devil".Richard FlohillRemembering Jane Vasey. Toronto Blues Society newsletter, October, 1986, as reprinted by the Toronto Blues Society, 2000; www.torontobluessociety.com. Her song, "Trying To Keep Her 88s Straight" was considered to be a minor Canadian hit in 1980. Vasey played on all of the singles released by the band. One of Vasey's last engagements was in January 1982, supporting Eddie "Cleanhead ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pat Carey (musician)
Patrick Leonard Carey (born 1960) is a Canadian baritone and tenor saxophonist, clarinetist, vocalist and is best known for his longstanding association with the Downchild Blues Band. Early life Pat Carey, originally from The Pas, Manitoba, was born into a musical family. At the age of six he began his early musical learning studying the piano, which lead him to start learning the saxophone by age thirteen. He earned a degree in music, with a Major in Performance from the University of Manitobafrom 1977 to 1982. Carey during those years went on to perform with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra sharing the stage with many of the visiting jazz greats. Music career Early career: 1982–1990s Studio musician to Downchild In 1979, Carey partnered with Tom Jestadt, noted Canadian drummer and formed the Pat Carey and Tom Jestadt Jazz Quartet. Carey then joined Rocki Rolletti, the group went on to win the TransCanada Rock Contest in 1982 which secured them a recording session with produc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chuck Jackson (Canadian Musician)
Chuck Jackson (born March 11, 1953) www.chuckjackson.com. is the Canadian musician, lead singer and one of two harmonica players in the , otherwise known as Downchild, with which he has been associated since 1990. Biography Jackson has been a professional musician since the 1960s, and since the late 1970s primarily as a blues singer and harmonica player. Between 1978 and 1992, he was the lead singer of the well respected Cameo Blues Band, of Toronto, with whom he continues to perform on occasion. In addition to his work with Downchild, Jackson performs and has recorded ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
