Ocean was a Canadian

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...

band formed in 1970 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 ...

. They are best known for their 1971 single "

Put Your Hand in the Hand "Put Your Hand in the Hand" is a gospel pop song composed by Gene MacLellan and first recorded by Canadian singer Anne Murray from her third studio album '' Honey, Wheat and Laughter''. It became a hit single for the Canadian band Ocean, release ...

", penned by Jeff Jones and

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 ...

. The single sold over one million copies, earning a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

in the United States from the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

, on 3 May 1971. The single peaked at No. 2 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and reached No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary chart. The song was inducted into the

Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (''Panthéon des Auteurs et Compositeurs canadiens'') is a Canadian non-profit organization, founded in 1998 by Frank Davies, that inducts Canadians into their ''Hall of Fame'' within three different categori ...

, in 2006.

Background

Ocean consisted of Greg Brown (vocals, keyboard), Jeff Jones (bass, vocals), Janice Morgan (guitar, vocals),

Dave Tamblyn Natural Gas was a Canadian rock music group featuring a horn section. Consisting of eight members, it was formed by George Olliver. They released an album and a single in 1970. They had hit that year with "All Powerful Man". Their self-titled alb ...

(guitar), and Chuck Slater (drums). Dave Tamblyn had previously been in the group

Natural Gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

Career

They recorded their debut album, ''Put Your Hand in the Hand'', in

in 1970. The album, originally released on the Yorkville label in Canada, contained eight songs written by such notables as

Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson, OC (born July 5, 1943), is a Canadian musician. He is best known for his work as lead guitarist and songwriter for the Band, and for his career as a solo recording artist. With the deaths of Richard Manuel in ...

and Gene MacLellan. The album was picked up in the U.S. by the

Kama Sutra The ''Kama Sutra'' (; sa, कामसूत्र, , ; ) is an ancient Indian Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfillment in life. Attributed to Vātsyāyana, the ''Kama Sutra'' is neither exclusively nor predominantly ...

label, which also released the band's second album, ''Give Tomorrow's Children One More Chance'', in both the U.S. and Canada. Ocean managed additional hits in Canada with the songs "We've Got a Dream" and "One More Chance", both written by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

songwriting team of Roger Cook and

Roger Greenaway Roger John Reginald Greenaway, (born 23 August 1938) is an English singer, songwriter and record producer, best known for his collaborations with Roger Cook. His compositions have included "You've Got Your Troubles" and the transatlantic mill ...

, but they failed to make any further impact in the U.S., and the group disbanded in 1975 after having released two albums.

Later years

Chuck Slater died by his own hand in 1987.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

* AllMusic Guide entry for Oceanbr>CanadianBands.com entry for Ocean
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ocean 1970 establishments in Ontario 1975 disestablishments in Ontario Canadian Christian rock groups Kama Sutra Records artists Soft rock music groups Musical groups established in 1970 Musical groups disestablished in 1975 Musical groups from London, Ontario