Little Caesar and the Consuls is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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, originally active 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 ...

from 1961 to 1971. The earliest tangible evidence of a group by that name is in the February 23, 1961, issue of the Weston, Ontario, ''Times & Guide'', which mentions that they played for the Downsview Junior Teen Club's Valentine Party at Beverley Heights Junior High School the previous Saturday. Two members of Little Caesar and The Consuls, pianist and vocalist Bruce Morshead and saxophonist Norm Sherratt, had previously been part of a group named The Consuls after a popular automobile. In early 1959, disappointed with the lack of success and because Robbie Robertson refused to play bass, a role for which he had recently been hired, the five-piece Consuls disbanded. Robertson, guitarist and vocalist

Gene MacLellan Gene MacLellan (February 2, 1938 – January 19, 1995) was a Canadian singer-songwriter from Prince Edward Island. Among his compositions were " Snowbird", made famous by Anne Murray, "Put Your Hand in the Hand", " The Call", "Pages of Time ...

and drummer Peter DeRemigis promptly formed The Suedes, with Johnny Rhythm (real name, John Rutter) joining as a vocalist. Morshead returned to his full-time employment at the bank. A year and half later, Morshead and Sherratt (formerly known as Norm Parish) reunited and formed a new group called Little Caesar and The Consuls. The Little Caesar part of the name is said to have been derived from a number of fans noting that Morshead resembled Edward G. Robinson in the film '' Little Caesar''.Canadian Pop Encyclopedia
Jam.canoe.ca The core of the group was pianist Morshead, guitarist Ken Pernokis, bassist Tom Wilson, drummer Gary Wright (who had replaced Wayne Connors in 1963) and saxophonist Norm Sherratt. The group recorded several Canadian hits, including "If ... (I Found A New Girl)" and covers of "

My Girl Sloopy "Hang On Sloopy" (originally "My Girl Sloopy") is a 1964 song written by Wes Farrell and Bert Berns. Rhythm and blues vocal group the Vibrations were the first to record the tune in 1964. Atlantic Records released it as a single, which reached N ...

" and "

You Really Got a Hold On Me "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" is a song written by Smokey Robinson, which became a 1962 Top 10 hit single for the Miracles. One of the Miracles' most covered tunes, this million-selling song received a 1998 Grammy Hall of Fame Award. It has als ...

", which reached number one on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' charts in 1965, making them only the second Canadian group (after Chad Allan and the Expressions) to top that chart. Morshead and Wilson left the band in 1968. The band continued with new vocalist and keyboard player Steve Macko before breaking up in 1971. There have been several incarnations of the group; reuniting in 1973, 1976, 1986, 1993 and 2003. In 1993, Norm Sherratt, Tom Wilson, Steve Macko, Vic Wilson (saxophones), Tony Crivaro (vocals and guitar) and Gary Wright (drums) joined up and recorded a reunion album, ''Since 1956''. Tom Wilson left the band in 2010. In later years, Norm Sherratt, Tony Crivaro, Sam Carothers (bass), Walter Taylor (keyboards) Sonny Milne (drums) and Doug Dixon (vocals and guitar) held forth at shows, adding Russ Strathdee on sax in 2013. Currently the line-up includes Walter Taylor (keyboards), James Legere (bass), Phil Strong (drums) and Russ Strathdee (sax), with Martin Damsell on lead vocals and guitar.

Discography

Albums

* 1965 ''Little Caesar and the Consuls'' * 1993 ''Since 1956''

Singles

* 1963 "If ... (I Found A New Girl)" * 1963 "Something's Funny, Something's Wrong" * 1964 "Sea Cruise" * 1964 "Heartaches" * 1965 "My Girl Sloopy" - number 3 - August 1965 * 1965 "

" - number 1 - December 1965 * 1966 "You Laugh Too Much" - number 9 - April 1966 * 1966 "1000 Miles Away" - number 58 - July 1966 * 1966 "Personality" * 1966 "Mercy Mr. Percy" -number #38 - December 1966 * 1967 "My Love For You" - number 88 - May 1967 * 1976 "

Hang On Sloopy "Hang On Sloopy" (originally "My Girl Sloopy") is a 1964 song written by Wes Farrell and Bert Berns. Rhythm and blues vocal group the Vibrations were the first to record the tune in 1964. Atlantic Records released it as a single, which reached ...

References

External links

History of The Consuls, from founder and drummer Peter DeRemigis's blog

RPM magazine biographical article on Little Caesar and The Consuls

Little Caesar and the Consuls
official website *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Little Caesar And The Consuls Musical groups established in 1957 Musical groups disestablished in 1971 Musical groups from Toronto Canadian rock music groups 1957 establishments in Ontario 1971 disestablishments in Ontario