Kenny Marco is a Canadian guitarist who has been a member of historical Canadian rock groups such as

Grant Smith & The Power Grant Smith & The Power were a popular Canadian (from Toronto) rock-soul outfit from the 1960s that had a hit with a cover of Jackie Edwards' "Keep On Running" (previously a big hit for The Spencer Davis Group) and was also a training ground for m ...

, Motherlode and

Dr. Music Dr. Music was a Toronto jazz group founded in 1969 by producer, arranger and performer Doug Riley. The band recorded three albums and toured across Canada. The personnel of the band changed throughout its history, with Riley remaining at the cor ...

. He was also a member of

Blood, Sweat And Tears Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is a jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation. In addition to original music, the group has performed popular songs by Laura Ny ...

Background

He has been described as the most prolific guitarist in the history of Canadian rock and roll. He has been a member of supergroups in the 1970s from Motherlode to

and

Blood Sweat & Tears Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is a jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation. In addition to original music, the group has performed popular songs by Laura Ny ...

. In later years, the musical genres he plays in include American funk/jazz and Brazilian cha cha. The son of a music store owner, he grew up in Brantford. The expected music path for him was to play the accordion like his brothers. Instead he took a different direction and learnt the guitar. He got his first guitar while still working as a newspaper boy on his paper route. He later attended Pauline Johnson Collegiate in Brantford, Ontario. He joined the high school band The Galaxies, and later at age 17, he hit the road with the Beau-Keys, his first road band, leaving his mother looking anxious as he left home.

Career

1960s to 1980s

In 1968, he played guitar on Grant Smith & The Power's debut album, '' Keep On Running''. Among the musicians on the album were Wayne Stone,

William "Smitty" Smith William Daniel "Smitty" Smith (August 30, 1944 – November 28, 1997) was a Canadian keyboardist and session musician. Background He had been playing together with Steve Kennedy, Eric Mercury, Eric "Mouse" Johnson, Terry Logan and Diane Brooks ...

on keyboards and Steve Kennedy on saxophone. There was some dissatisfaction felt by these musicians. They were unhappy about playing mostly covers. They were also disappointed with the lack of success with the record album. Leaving the band, the four of them relocated to

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

, and formed the group Motherlode. They went on to have the hit " When I Die". When Motherlode broke up in December 1969, Marco, Steve Kennedy and Wayne Stone went on to be members of

in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He replaced guitarist Jon Palma. As a member of Dr. Music, one of the albums he played on was the self-titled album in 1972, released on GRT RCC 23172. He played on the ''Tequila Sunrise'' by

David Clayton-Thomas David Clayton-Thomas (born David Henry Thomsett, 13 September 1941) is a Grammy Award-winning Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the American band Blood, Sweat & Tears. Clayton-Thomas has been inducte ...

that was released that year.

1990s to 2000s

In March 2015, Marco and

Theresa Sokyrka Theresa Sokyrka (born 1 April 1981) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. On the second season of ''Canadian Idol'', she was the final runner-up to winner Kalan Porter. Biography Born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Sokyrka studied music at Red Deer ...

were set to play a benefit concert for the Hope Cancer Centre. He had worked with Sokyra previously, playing on her 2005 album, ''These Old Charms''.Discogs
Theresa Sokyrka – These Old Charms
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Background

Career

1960s to 1980s

1990s to 2000s

References

Further reading