Leigh Ashford 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 ...

group formed 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 anch ...

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 C ...

, Canada, and which existed between 1966 and 1974.

History

The group was formed in 1967 by, the guitarist Gord Waszek, drummer Dave Cairns, bassist Joe Agnello and keyboard player Newton Garwood. With Garwood as keyboardist, the band opened for The Vanilla Fudge. Later on in 1969 a lead singer was added for more dynamics...Percussionist Vocalist Glenn Brown was recruited from another iconic Toronto band, A Passing Fancy ...During his stint in the band Leigh Ashford opened for the bands

The Foundations The Foundations were a British soul band (m. 1967–1970). The group's background was: West Indian, White British, and Sri Lankan. Their 1967 debut single " Baby Now That I've Found You" reached number one in the UK and Canada, and number e ...

at the

Electric Circus ''Electric Circus '' (also known as ''EC'') was a Canadian live dance music television program that aired on MuchMusic and Citytv from September 16, 1988 to December 12, 2003. The name originated from a nightclub that once existed at Citytv's fir ...

in Toronto and

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

at the Rockpile in 1969.

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Jack Richardson took the band to New York to record. A single "Country Place" was released on the Nimbus 9

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed ...

, but the

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

itself was never issued. The band kept busy in the clubs in Toronto until 1970. Garwood was replaced by keyboardist Bruno Weckerle, Craig Kaleal (of The Witness) became the permanent drummer and a new vocalist

Buzz Shearman ''A Tribute to Buzz Shearman'' is a compilation/tribute album by the Canadian rock group Moxy in the band's original incarnation with Buzz Shearman, Earl Johnson, Buddy Caine, Bill Wade and Terry Juric. The album is a tribute to Moxy vocalist B ...

was added. The band was invited to appear at three day long,

Strawberry Fields Festival The Strawberry Fields Festival was a rock music festival held at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park) in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, about 100 kilometers east of Toronto, between August 7 and the early morning hours of August 10 ...

, in August 1970. In 1971, they recorded their debut album called ''Kinfolk'' in the

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

studios in Toronto. Things were looking good for the band with a US tour. In addition, the album's first single, "Dickens", began gaining attention of US radio stations. However creative differences due to member turn-over rate was breaking the band up. It fell to singer Buzz Shearman to pick up the pieces and soldier on in 1972, when founding members Gord Waszek joining Fludd and Joe Agnello joining Grant Smith & The Power. Wally Cameron and Doni Underhill also decided to leave in 1974, with Underhill also joining Fludd. Shearman recruited Earl Johnson (guitar, and former member of the

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 ...

band), Kim Fraser, then Terry Juric (bass guitar) and Bill Wade (drums), the latter being former members of Outlaw Music. This group ultimately evolved with a harder sound into the hit recording act

Moxy Moxy may refer to: * Moxy (airline), formerly proposed name for the airline Breeze Airways in the United States * Moxy (band), a Canadian hard rock band formed in the 1970s ** ''Moxy'' (album), 1975 ** '' Moxy II'', 1976 * Moxy Engineering, a No ...

in late 1974. In 1997, Pacemaker Records re-issued the sole Leigh Ashford album, ''Kinfolk'', on CD.

Career

In December, 1970, the group had their single out on the Revolver label that was headed by Mort Ross. A distribution deal between Revolver and

had been signed. In addition to Leigh Ashford, other acts included

Chimo! 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 ...

, Motherlode and Jam Jar.

Members

*Dave Cairns (drums) *Joe Agnello (bass) *Newton Garwood (keyboards) *Gord Waszek (guitar) *Glenn Brown (vocals) *Wally Cameron (drums; replaced Cairns 1970) *Lance Wright (drums; replaced Cameron) *Craig Kaleal (drums; replaced Wright) *

(vocals; replaced Brown 1971) *Bruno Weckerle (keyboards; replaced Garwood) *Don Elliot (bass; replaced Agnello) *Doni Underhill (bass; replaced Elliot) *Kim Fraser (bass; replaced Underhill 1973) *Earl Johnson (guitar; replaced Waszek 1973) *Terry Juric (bass; replaced Fraser 1974) *Bill Wade (drums; replaced Kaleal 1973)

Discography

Singles

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Leigh Ashford - Discography, Canada
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Albums

* ''Kinfolk'' - Revolver– LSP-4520, 1971 **# "Dickens" - 2:40 (Sherman, Waszek) **# "Mighty Fine Cookin'" - 3:15 (Waszek) **# "Never Give Myself" - 4:27 (Waszek) **# "Juicy Lucy" - 3:25 (Waszek) **# "County Country" - 3:24 (Sherman, Waszek) **# "Good Day" - 4:00 (Agnelio, Kaleal,

Shearman Shearman is an English surname, which may be pronounced as "Sherman" (as for example with John Shearman). Notable people with the surname include: * Ben Shearman (1884–1958), English footballer * Billy Shearman, English footballer * Bob Shearman ...

) **# "Lee Oompa Kum Pah Pah" - 3:10 (Agnello, Shearman, Waszek) **# "Lady" - 4:44 (Sherman, Waszek) **# "Sicawine, Part 1" - 3:27 (Sherman, Waszek, Weckerle, Agnello) **# "Sicawine, Part 2" - 6:39 (Sherman, Waszek, Weckerle, Agnello) **# "Workin' All Day" - 2:05 (Sherman)- Bonus track on 1997 re-issue CD **# "The Country's Got a Soul" - 3:14 (Sherman) - Bonus track on 1997 re-issue CD

References

External links

Leigh Ashford biography
at

allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

* {{discogs artist, Leigh Ashford
Leigh Ashford
at Library and Archives Canada Canadian rock music groups Musical groups established in 1966 Musical groups disestablished in 1974 1966 establishments in Ontario 1974 disestablishments in Ontario Revolver Records (Canada) artists