Chimo! (Inuit for "Hello") was a Canadian jazz-rock/

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

band, founded in 1969. The band played with some of the biggest acts of their era, and recorded one album, ''Cross Country Man'' for

Revolver Records Recreational Records was a British record label set up in 1981 by the Bristol record shop and distributor Revolver Records. Originally formed as an independent record label with its own distribution as part of The Cartel (record distributor), t ...

History

Chimo! evolved from Georgian IV, a band formed in

Parry Sound Parry Sound is a sound or bay of Georgian Bay on Lake Huron, in Ontario, Canada. It is highly irregularly shaped with many deep bays and islands. Killbear Provincial Park is located on the large peninsula that separates the sound from Georgian B ...

in 1962 by John Johnson, Ross Raby, Stewart McCann and Rick King. After seven years of increasing success the band saw major personnel changes and, in 1969, changed its name to Chimo!, with the original line-up of Jack Mowbray (guitar), Tony Collacott (keyboards), Ross Raby (keyboards, vocals), John Johnson (guitar), Andy Cree (drums), and

Breen La Boeuf Chimo! (Inuit for "Hello") was a Canadian jazz-rock/jazz fusion band, founded in 1969. The band played with some of the biggest acts of their era, and recorded one album, ''Cross Country Man'' for Revolver Records. History Chimo! evolved from Geo ...

(lead vocals). Also in 1969, the band played alongside

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

at the

Toronto Rock and Roll Revival The Toronto Rock and Roll Revival was a one-day, twelve-hour music festival held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on September 13, 1969. It featured a number of popular musical acts from the 1950s and 1960s. The festival is particularly notable as fea ...

and, on June 28, 1970, opened the second day of the

Festival Express ''Festival Express'' is a 2003 documentary film about the 1970 train tour of the same name across Canada taken by some of North America's most popular rock bands, including the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band, Buddy Guy, Flying Burrito B ...

with The Band and

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known Rock music, rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage ...

at the

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Stadium. They also appeared at the Midsummer Night Rock Festival at

Michigan State Fairgrounds Coliseum Michigan State Fairgrounds Coliseum (also Hockeytown State Fair Coliseum) was a 5,600-seat multi-purpose arena in Detroit, Michigan. The coliseum, built in 1922, was part of the former Michigan State Fairgrounds until its demolition in early 2022. ...

with

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, The Poor Souls, Iggy &

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, and others. Following the release of the band's album ''Cross Country Man'' in November 1970, Andy Cree left to do sessions for

David Wiffen David Wiffen (born 11 March 1942) is an English-Canadian folk singer-songwriter. Two of his songs, "Driving Wheel" and "More Often Than Not", have become cover standards. Early life Wiffen was born in Redhill, Surrey, England.

before joining

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray was the fir ...

's band. He was replaced by Pat Little, who had previously been with

Luke & The Apostles Luke & The Apostles was a 1960s blues group from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The band is known for their 1967 hit "Been Burnt". Band members included Canadian guitarist Mike McKenna, Luke Gibson, Peter Jermyn, Jim Jones, and Pat Little. The band i ...

, and had been doing session work for

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

and

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. The new line-up was responsible for two singles, Little's "In The Sea" and Mowbray's "Cross Country Man". In 1971, Raby, Johnson and Collacott left the band to start families (save for Collacott, who would have no children). Little joined the band Heaven and Earth, and then founded the band Flag. LeBoeuf joined a re-formed Motherlode and, in 1977, Offenbach.

Personnel

Breen LeBoeuf Chimo! (Inuit for "Hello") was a Canadian jazz-rock/jazz fusion band, founded in 1969. The band played with some of the biggest acts of their era, and recorded one album, ''Cross Country Man'' for Revolver Records. History Chimo! evolved from Geo ...

: vocals * Ross Raby: organ, vocals * Jack Mowbray: guitars, vocals * John Johnson: bass, vocals * Andy Cree: drums, percussion * Pat Little: drums, percussion * Tony Collacott: piano

Recordings

References

Sources

* "1,500 rock groups in search of smash records", Toronto Telegram, September 17, 1970, page 33 * Bill Munson's sleeve for Chimo! CD on Pacemaker * Interview with Breen LeBoeuf, 2004 I love Chimo! {{DEFAULTSORT:Chimo Canadian rock music groups Revolver Records (Canada) artists