The Nylons are an

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

group founded in 1978 in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada, best known for their covers of pop songs such as The Turtles' " Happy Together", Steam's "

Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" is a 1969 song written and recorded by Paul Leka, Gary DeCarlo and Dale Frashuer, attributed to a then-fictitious band they named "Steam". It was released under the Mercury subsidiary label Fontana and became a ...

", and The Tokens' " The Lion Sleeps Tonight". The band's current lineup includes Claude Morrison (

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

), Garth Mosbaugh (tenor/baritone), Gavin Hope (

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

/tenor/bass) and Tyrone Gabriel (

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

/baritone). Morrison is the only original member still with the band (and still living) today. The band has reissued all their albums on CD through

Unidisc Music Unidisc Music is a Canadian independent record label. The label is known for releasing rare music, that was made between the mid-1960s and late 1980s. Genres include rock, electronic, funk, soul, hip hop, jazz, reggae, Latin, disco and a cappel ...

Career

The Nylons' original lineup consisted of Claude Morrison (

), Paul Cooper (baritone; born James Paul Cooper in Pikeville, Tennessee, February 20, 1950 – December 29, 2013), Marc Connors (tenor), and

Denis Simpson Denis Simpson (born Dennis Anthony Leopold Simpson; 4 November 1950 – 22 October 2010) In April 1979, Simpson left the group to perform in a musical and was replaced by Ralph Cole (bass)."High trash & hot stuff". ''

The Body Politic ''The Body Politic'' was a Canadian monthly magazine, which was published from 1971 to 1987.

'', December 1980. All of the original members were gay men, although later lineups included both gay and non-gay singers. Cole left the band in late 1981 and was replaced by Arnold Robinson (bass). In 1986, the group appeared on the critically acclaimed children's television show ''

Sharon, Lois & Bram's Elephant Show ''The Elephant Show'' (from the second season onward, ''Sharon, Lois & Bram's Elephant Show'') is a Canadian preschool television show. The series premiered on CBC on October 8, 1984, and ended on February 26, 1989, after 65 episodes over five s ...

'', featuring children's entertainers

Sharon, Lois & Bram Sharon, Lois & Bram (also known as Sharon, Bram & Friends, Sharon & Bram or Sharon & Randi) are a Canadian children's music group founded in Toronto, Ontario, 1978. The group's original lineup consisted of Sharon (née Trostin) Hampson, Lo ...

. The Nylons appeared in Season 3 of the show on the "Treasure Island" episode, singing " The Lion Sleeps Tonight". These songs appeared on the band's albums ''Seamless'' (1984) and ''Rockapella'' (1989). During this era, the band also gained exposure from the mid-1980s syndicated

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

Throb ''Throb'' is an American sitcom that aired in syndication from September 6, 1986, to May 21, 1988. The series, created by Fredi Towbin, was produced by Procter & Gamble Productions in association with Taft Entertainment Television, and was dist ...

'' by singing (with the show's lead actress

Diana Canova Diana Canova (born June 1, 1953) is an American actress, director, and professor. She is best known for her role as Corinne Tate on ''Soap'' (1977-1980). Early life Canova was born Diane Canova Rivero in West Palm Beach, Florida, to actress an ...

) the theme to the show. In October 24, 1992, The Nylons sang "

O Canada "O Canada" (french: Ô Canada, italic=no) is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the mus ...

" at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, preceding Game 6 of the

1992 World Series The 1992 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1992 season. The 89th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Toronto Blue Jays and the Nati ...

, in which their hometown team, the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

, won their first championship. Cooper retired from the band in 1990 and was replaced by

Micah Barnes Micah Barnes is a Canadian singer and songwriter. He has performed both as a solo artist and with the band the Nylons. Born in Vienna, Barnes is the son of composer, conductor and jazz drummer Milton Barnes (composer), Milton Barnes, and author, ...

(baritone). Connors died in 1991 from AIDS related complications, and was replaced by

Billy Newton-Davis Billy Newton-Davis (born April 26, 1951, in Cleveland, Ohio, United States) is an American-Canadian Contemporary R&B, R&B, jazz and gospel music, gospel singer and songwriter. Biography Newton-Davis grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio, a suburb of C ...

(tenor). In 1994 both Newton-Davis and Barnes left the group to pursue their solo careers, and were replaced by Garth Mosbaugh (tenor) and Gavin Hope (baritone) respectively. In 1997 Hope left the group to pursue a solo career and was replaced by Mark Cassius (baritone). In 2005, Cassius left the group; Tyrone Gabriel replaced him. After Robinson's retirement in early 2006, Gavin Hope returned as baritone; Tyrone Gabriel moved to the bass position to replace Robinson. Paul Cooper died in 2013 of cardiac arrest, at the age of 63. On May 30, 2014, the Nylons performed a show in Toronto which included the participation of every living past or present member of the band. In fall and winter 2016, The Nylons toured and performed their farewell show throughout Canada.

Members

* Marc Connors (

1978-1991) (died March 1991)* * Paul Cooper (

1978-1990) (died December 29, 2013)* * Claude Morrison (

1978–present)* *

Denis Simpson Denis Simpson (born Dennis Anthony Leopold Simpson; 4 November 1950 – 22 October 2010)bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

1978-1979) (died October 22, 2010)* * Ralph Cole (

1979-1981) (deceased, buried in Manitoba, Canada) * Arnold Robinson (

1981-2006) (died March 16, 2013) *

(

1990-1994) *

(

1991-1994) * Garth Mosbaugh (

1994–present) * Gavin Hope (

1994-1997, 2006–present) * Mark Cassius (

1997-2005) * Tyrone Gabriel (

2005,

2006–2022) (died January 11, 2022) * Denotes the four founding members.

Discography

Albums from 1982-1989 were released on Attic Records in Canada and

Windham Hill Windham Hill Records was an independent record label that specialized in instrumental acoustic music. It was founded by guitarist William Ackerman and Anne Robinson (née McGilvray) in 1976 and was popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The label was ...

in the United States, albums from 1989-1996 were released on

BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations * Music publishing companies: ** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 *** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...

Scotti Brothers Scotti Brothers Records (typically spelled Scotti Bros. Records) was a California-based record label founded by Tony and Ben Scotti in 1974. Their first success was releasing singles and albums from teen pop star Leif Garrett. They later helped ...

imprint, and albums after 1997 were released on Shoreline Records. * '' The Nylons'' (1982) #8 Canada * ''One Size Fits All'' (1982) - #59 AUS / #25 Canada * ''Seamless'' (1984) - #133

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

/ #40 Canada * ''Happy Together'' (1987) - #43 Billboard 200 / #45 Canada * ''Rockapella'' (1989) #60 Canada * ''4 on the Floor'' (1991,

live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...

) * ''Live to Love'' (1992) * ''The Best of the Nylons'' (1993) * ''Illustrious'' (1993) * ''Another Fine Mesh'' (1994) * ''Harmony: The Christmas Songs'' (1994) * ''Because...'' (1994) * ''Run for Cover'' (1996) * ''Fabric of Life'' (1997) * ''Hits of the 60's: A Cappella Style'' (1997) * ''Perfect Fit'' (1997) * ''A Wish for You'' (1999) * ''Lost and Found'' (1999) * ''Fabric of Life: Vocal Percussion Remix'' (2000) * ''Play On'' (2002) * ''Sterling'' (2006) * ''Skintight'' (2011)

Singles

References

External Links

* *
Article at canadianbands.com

Article at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nylons, The Canadian pop music groups LGBT-themed musical groups Musical groups established in 1978 Professional a cappella groups Windham Hill Records artists Musical groups from Toronto Attic Records (Canada) artists 1978 establishments in Ontario Canadian LGBT musicians