Crowbar was a Canadian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band based in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...

, best known for their 1971 hit "Oh, What a Feeling".Graham Rockingham
"Branding Hamilton as a music city"
''Hamilton Spectator'', November 9, 2016.

History

From 1969 to 1970, most of the members of the group had been a backup band for

Ronnie Hawkins Ronald Cornett Hawkins (January 10, 1935 – May 29, 2022) was an American singer-songwriter, long based in Canada, whose career spanned more than half a century. His career began in Arkansas, United States, where he was born and raised. He ...

under the name "And Many Others". However, in early 1970, he fired them; as he later told a friend, "Those boys could fuck up a crowbar in fifteen seconds." They recorded their first album in 1970, called ''Official Music'', as "

King Biscuit Boy Richard Alfred Newell (March 9, 1944 – January 5, 2003), better known by his stage name, King Biscuit Boy, was a Canadian blues musician. He was the first Canadian blues artist to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the US Newell played gui ...

with Crowbar". King Biscuit Boy left the band later in 1970 but continued to appear off and on as a guest performer. In 1971, the band recorded a performance at

Massey Hall Massey Hall is a performing arts theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1894, it is known for its outstanding acoustics and was the long-time hall of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. An intimate theatre, it was originally designed to sea ...

, in Toronto, which was released as a double album, ''Larger than Life (and Live'r Than You've Ever Been)''. The concert, billed as "An Evening of Love with Daffodil Records", was co-produced by concert promoter Martin Onrot and Toronto radio station

CHUM-FM CHUM-FM is a Canadian radio station in Toronto, Ontario, broadcasting on 104.5 MHz. Owned by Bell Media, the station airs a hot adult contemporary format. CHUM-FM's studios are located at 250 Richmond Street West in the Entertainment District ...

. Numerous guests appeared with Crowbar at Massey Hall, including members of Lighthouse, Dr. Music, and Everyday People. King Biscuit Boy also returned to perform with his former bandmates. The recording and release of the album are significant as being the first time a Canadian band had recorded and released a "live in concert" album. It was also the first time that a live concert was broadcast simultaneous on

. Also in 1971, the band performed a concert in the Lord Beaverbrook Grand Ballroom in New Brunswick and entertained at the anniversary celebrations in Hamilton, Ontario. Due largely to Margaret Trudeau's enthusiasm for the band, Crowbar was featured as the opening act of Pierre Trudeau's 1972 re-election campaign rallies, including a notable stop at Toronto's

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...

. This association enhanced the band's reputation in Canada and garnered international interest from agencies such as A&M Records and figures such as Clive Davis. Despite this momentum, their second album did not capture the energy of their first and the band faltered. Crowbar disbanded in 1975 but was revived in 1977, without Jozef Chirowski, who had joined

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

's band. The band performed intermittently during the 1980s. More recently, Crowbar played shows around Hamilton, Ontario, including a performance at their induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011.

Members

The band consisted of numerous players in various combinations over its lifetime, including: *

(Richard Newell) – vocals, harmonica, guitars *Roly Greenway – bass, vocals, percussion, guitars *Kelly Jay (Blake Fordham) (December 1, 1941 – June 21, 2019) – piano, vocals, harmonica, bass. Jay was the subject of an episode of '' Hoarding: Buried Alive'', originally aired on April 10, 2013. *John Rutter – vocals (1970) *Ed Charron – guitar (1973–1974) * Richard Bell – keyboards (1970) *Jozef Chirowski – organ, vocals, piano, flute, vibes, percussion *Larry Atamanuik – drums (1970) *Tim Nantais – bass *Sonnie Bernardi – drums, vocals *Paul Nicholls – guitars *Rheal Lanthier – guitars, vocals *John Gibbard – guitars, vocals *Sonny Del-Rio – saxophone *Ray Harrison – piano, Hammond B3 organ *John Dickie – vocals (2000) *Russell Foreman – guitars *Tim Thompson – drums (1978) *Rick Waites (aka Rock Watts) – bass *Terry Branagh – guitars

Discography

Albums

''Official Music'' (as King Biscuit Boy with Crowbar) (1970, Daffodil; 1996, Stony Plain) ;Track listing # "Highway 61" – 2:47 # "Don't Go No Further" – 3:38 # "Unseen Eye" – 2:54 # "I'm Just A Lonely Guy" – 2:29 # "Key To The Highway" – 3:15 # "Corrina, Corrina" – 4:18 # "Biscuit's Boogie" – 9:26 # "Hoy Hoy Hoy" – 5:20 # "Badly Bent" – 2:05 # "Cookin' Little Baby" – 2:25 # "Shout Bama Lama" – 2:25 Personnel *

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, harmonica, acoustic (1) and slide (4) guitars * John "Greyhound" Gibbard –

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

and slide guitars * Rheal "Ray" Lanthier – electric guitars * Kelly J. –

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

* Roly Greenway – bass * Larry Atamanuik – drums * John R. – percussion ''Bad Manors'' (1970, Daffodil SBA-16004) ;Track listing # "Frenchman's Filler #1" – 1:13 # "Too True Mama" – 2:52 # "Let The Four Winds Blow" – 2:20 # " The House Of Blue Lights" – 2:44 # " Train Keep Rollin'" – 2:49 # "

Baby Let's Play House "Baby Let's Play House" is a song written by Arthur Gunter and recorded by him in 1954 on the Excello Records label and covered by Elvis Presley the following year on Sun Records. A line from the song ("I'd rather see you dead, little girl, tha ...

" – 3:02 # "Oh What A Feeling" – 4:18 # "Frenchman's Filler #2" – 0:32 # "Frenchman's Filler #3" – 0:35 # "Murder In The First Degree" – 5:10 # "In The Dancing Hold" – 3:48 # "Mountain Fire" – 3:56 # "Prince Of Peace" – 4:07 # "Frenchman's Filler #1" – 0:45 ;Personnel * John "The Ghetto" Gibbard –

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

and slide guitars,

* Rheal Lanthier – lead guitar, vocals * Jozef Chirowski – organ, vocals,

* Kelly Jay – piano, vocals * Roly Greenway – bass, vocals,

* Sonnie Bernardi – drums, vocals, percussion ''Larger than Life (and Live'r than You've Ever Been)'' (1971, Daffodil 2-SBA-16007), recorded in concert at

, Toronto ;Track listing # "Introduction" – 0:33 # "Prince Of Peace" – 3:37 # "Murder In The First Degree" – 3:36 # "Newspaper Song" – 2:36 # "Corinna Corinna" – 4:40 # "Fly Away" – 3:41 # "Tits Up On The Pavement" – 7:47 # "Mummy And Daddy" – 1:39 # "Ask Me No Questions" – 5:46 # "Over The Mountain" – 5:18 # "Cane On The Brazos" – 5:15 # "Rock Around The Clock / Shake, Rattle And Roll" – 2:05 # "In The Dancing Hold" – 3:45 # "Oh What A Feeling" – 8:50 ;Personnel * John "Ghetto" Gibbard –

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

* Rheal Lanthier – electric guitar, vocals * Josef Chirowski – organ, vocals,

, harmonica * Kelly Jay – piano, vocals, harmonica, bass * Roland "Roly" Greenway – bass, vocals, acoustic guitar * Sonnie Bernardi – drums, vocals, percussion ''Heavy Duty'' (1972, Daffodil SBA-16013) ;Track listing ;Side one # "Trilby" – (Kelly Jay) – 2:41 # "Listen Sister (A Mutual Liberation Ballad)" – (Kelly Jay) – 2:07 # " Hey Baby" – (

Bruce Channel Bruce Channel ( ; born November 28, 1940) is an American singer-songwriter best known for his 1962 million-selling number-one hit record, " Hey! Baby". Career Channel performed originally for the radio program '' Louisiana Hayride'' and t ...

) – 2:55 # "Dreams" – (Josef Chirowski, John Gibbard) – 2:49 # "Where Were You" – (Kelly Jay) – 3:56 ;Side two #

"Dead Head Out Of St. John's" – (Kelly Jay) – 3:45 # "The Beaver And The Eagle" – (Kelly Jay) – 3:07 # "Cluckie's Escape" – (Roly Greenway) – 3:10 # "Snakes And Ladders" – (Kelly Jay) – 2:50 # "Lay One Down" – (Roly Greenway, LOVE) 4:28 ;Personnel * Rheal Lantier –

and

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular re ...

guitars,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

* John Gibbard –

and slide guitars,

* Kelly Jay –

and backing vocals * Josef Chirowski – organ,

and backing vocals,

, flute, vibes * Roly Greenway – bass,

and backing vocals,

cowbell A cowbell (or cow bell) is a bell worn around the neck of free-roaming livestock so herders can keep track of an animal via the sound of the bell when the animal is grazing out of view in hilly landscapes or vast plains. Although they are t ...

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

* Sonnie Bernardi – drums,

''KE32746'' (1973, Epic KE-32746) ;Track listing ;Side one # "Million Dollar Weekend" – 3:04 # "Something Happened Yesterday" – 4:20 # "Trumpet Rose" – 3:25 # "All The Living Things" – 3:11 # "Go For The Throat" – 4:42 ;Side two #

"Kilroy" – 2:23 # "Rocky Mountain Tragedy" – 5:52 # "The Killing Time Trilogy" – 7:06 ## "Killing Time ## "It Really Doesn't Matter ## "Hard On You ## "Killing Time – Reprise # "Nothing Lasts Forever" – 3:27 ''Crowbar Classics: Memories Are Made of This'' (1975, Daffodil SBA-16030)

Singles

*1970 "Corrina, Corrina" (Daffodil) (as King Biscuit Boy with Crowbar), #29 CAN *1970 "Uncle Pen" / "Roberta" (London 17385) *1971 "Oh What a Feeling" (Daffodil), #10 CAN *1971 "Happy People" (Daffodil) *1972 "Too True Mama" (Daffodil), #60 CAN *1972 "Dreams" (Daffodil) *1972 "Fly Away" (Daffodil), #48 CAN *1972 "Hey Baby" (Daffodil), #59 CAN *1973 "Million Dollar Weekend" (Epic), #22 CAN *1974 "All the Living Things" (Epic), #81 CAN *1977 "Run, Run Rudolph" (Puck)

References

External links

Entry at Canadian Pop Encyclopedia

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowbar Musical groups established in 1970 Musical groups disestablished in 1975 Canadian rock music groups Musical groups from Hamilton, Ontario 1970 establishments in Ontario 1975 disestablishments in Ontario