Steel River was 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 ...

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 ...

, which performed primarily during the 1970s.

Background

Starting in 1965 as a part-time Toronto R&B club band called The Toronto Shotgun, Steel River became a full-time band in 1969. The lineup consisted of singer John Dudgeon, keyboardist Bob Forrester, bassist Rob Cockell, guitarist Tony Dunning, and drummers Ray Angrove and Dennis Watson. Greg Hambleton signed them to his then-label Tuesday Records, which released their first single "Ten Pound Note", and was written with the assistance of A Passing Fancy's Jay Telfer. The single hit the Top 10 in Canada. It finished in Canada at #79 for the year.

Career

In December 1970, Steel River and Tuesday Records labelmates

Madrigal A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance music, Renaissance (15th–16th c.) and early Baroque music, Baroque (1600–1750) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The Polyphony, polyphoni ...

were ready to tour Quebec and the Maritimes. Also they were to appear in a CKFH promoted charity-related concert that was held at Massey Hall on the 20th. Other artists on the list were Ronnie Hawkins, Everyday People, Madrigal and Tommy Graham. In 1971, the band released a follow-up LP on Evolution Records. A single, "Southbound Train", was released through Quality Records and included a toy train in the promotional package. They continued touring internationally until they disbanded in 1974. Before breaking up, however, they went on a 14-state tour in the United States. Four out of five of the original members reunited briefly in 1980, and released a single, "Armoured Car". In 1983, vocalist John Dudgeon went on to release a solo track entitled "Put My Arms Around You", which received extensive airplay on CKFM (99.9) and other stations in Canada and the US. In 2013 and 2014, two of Steel River's albums, ''A Better Road'' and a remixed ''Weighin' Heavy'', were reissued on producer Greg Hambleton's revived Axe Records label.

Discography

Singles

* 1970 - "Ten Pound Note" / "Momma Pie Blues" (Tuesday) GH-101 5 CAN* 1971 - "Walk by the River" / "If You Let Her Know" (Tuesday) GH-105 * 1971 - "Southbound Train (Stand Up)" / "A Lie" (Tuesday) GH-110 28 CAN* 1971 - "Mexican Lady" / "Joyful Judy" (Tuesday) GH-113 * 1974 - "Just Remember" / "Lazin' Children" (Axe) AXE-14 * 1980 - "Armoured Car" / "Hold Me Close" (Axe) AXE-60 * 1980 - "We Want You to Love Us" / "Keep Movin' On" (Axe) AXE-61

Albums

* 1970 - ''Weighin' Heavy'' (Tuesday) GHL-1000 * 1971 - ''A Better Road'' (Tuesday) GHL-1003 * 1979 - ''Armoured Car'' (Axe Records Limited) AXM-1001 * 2014 - ''A Better Road'' e-issue(Axe Records) A534 * 2015 - ''Weighin' Heavy'' e-issue(Axe Records) A536 * 2015 - ''Armoured Car'' e-issue(Axe Records digital download) DL-A540

Compilation tracks

* 1990 - "Ten Pound Note" on ''Made in Canada: Volume One - The Early Years'' (BMG) KCD1-7156

References

External links and sources

*
Discogs: Steel River

45Cat: Steel River
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steel River Musical groups established in 1969 Musical groups disestablished in 1974 Musical groups reestablished in 1980 Musical groups from Toronto Canadian rock music groups 1969 establishments in Ontario 1974 disestablishments in Ontario 1980 establishments in Ontario Axe Records artists Tuesday Records artists