Douglas Brian Riley, CM (April 12, 1945 – August 27, 2007) was a Canadian musician, also known as

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 spent two decades with the

Famous People Players Famous People Players is a black light puppetry theatre company. It is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and tours worldwide. It is a non-profit organization that employs people with physical and intellectual disabilities. Those individuals share ...

as its musical director, besides his participation on over 300 album projects in various genres. Riley died of a heart attack on August 27, 2007.

Biography

Riley was a graduate of the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

and studied at the

Royal Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher (musician), Edward ...

. Doug Riley was born and raised 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 ...

. At the age of two he was diagnosed with polio. When he was three, as a way to help cope with his physical disability and to provide him with a means of self-expression, he began to study piano. In his teens, he played with R&B band

the Silhouettes The Silhouettes were an American doo wop/ R&B group, whose single " Get a Job" was a number 1 hit on the ''Billboard'' R&B singles chart and pop singles chart in 1958. The doo-wop revival group Sha Na Na derived their name from the song's lyric ...

. He attended the University of Toronto and, in 1965, graduated with a Bachelor of Music. He went on to do his postgraduate work on the music of the Iroquois. In 1969, Riley was the arranger and keyboardist on

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

' album, ''Doing His Thing''. In a 2006 interview with the Toronto Star, Doug Riley said "Ray Charles was my first influence outside the boogie-woogie and stride pianists like Albert Ammons and Fats Waller". After the completion of the album, Ray Charles asked Doug Riley to join his band but Riley turned down the offer and decided to stay in Toronto to continue his musical career.

Career (groups)

The Silhouettes

;Background As a teenager, he was in the Silhouettes, playing r&b at the Blue Note, a night club in Toronto. Musicians also included Steve Kennedy and

Dianne Brooks Gwendolyn Dianne Brooks (January 3, 1939 – April 29, 2005), was a soul, r&b and jazz singer from New Jersey. With the Three Playmates, Brooks recorded several songs in 1957. She moved to Toronto shortly thereafter. Her part in Canadian soul m ...

. One date they played at was The Blue Note on February 22, 1964. This is where

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 ...

first met Steve Kennedy. The Silhouettes were actually the house band there, replacing the original house band, The Regents and inheriting their saxophonist Kennedy in the process. They played at the Blue Note for three years. They recorded two singles with Hardin, "I'm Not Running After You (Anymore)" bw "I Will Never Turn My Back On You" (1966) and "She'll Be Back" bw "Love Is Wonderful" (1967). They were also the backing band on Eric Mercury's 1966 single, "I Wondered Why" / "Softly". ;Career In early 1965, the group was backing singers Jack Hardin and Dianne Brooks, appearing at The Hawk's Nest in Toronto as the opening attraction. A ad appeared in the May 30, 1966 edition of ''RPM Weekly'' predicting a guaranteed 100% Canadian and possible international smash hit for "I'm Not Running After You (Anymore)". Reviews in the June 20th edition of ''RPM Weekly'' were luke warm. Barry Sarazin of

CJET CJET-FM (101.1 Hertz, MHz, ''CityNews Ottawa'') is a Commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Smiths Falls, Ontario, and serving the National Capital Region (Canada), National Capital Region including Ottawa. It is ...

didn't believe the song had the spice to be an instant hit but had merit to deserve airplay. Dave Charles of

CJBQ CJBQ is a Canadian radio station licensed at Belleville, Ontario. It is owned by Quinte Broadcasting along with CIGL-FM and CJTN-FM. CJBQ broadcasts at 800 kHz at a power of 10 kW. The transmitter is located in Prince Edward County. The a ...

said that it would at least deserve a chart rating. He also complemented Hardin's voice saying that the song was ideal for the singer's style. As Jack Hardin & The Silhouettes, they played at the Whitby Arena on May 13, 1967.

Dr. Music

;Background Riley formed the group Dr. Music in 1969. It began with Riley being asked to put together musicians for '' The Ray Stevens Show'' on CTV. This was for the 1969 to 1970 season. The core of the ensemble stayed together after the show's cancellation and they recorded and toured together. The group had a run of Top 20 hits during the 1970s. ;Career Their single "

One More Mountain to Climb "One More Mountain to Climb" is the 14th Diamond Records single for Ronnie Dove. Background Released in 1967, this single peaked at #45 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. It was his first single since 1964’s Hello Pretty Girl to miss the Billbo ...

bw "The Land" got a good review in the September 11, 1971 edition of ''Cash Box''. Spending 7 weeks on Vancouver's CKVN chart, it peaked at #15 in October that year.Their debut album was released on the GRT label in 1972. Self-titled, the album featured the tracks, " Sun Goes By", "One More Mountain to Climb" and "Try a Little Harder". Riley produced the album as well as co-arranging it with Steve Kennedy. "Sun Goes By" which Kennedy wrote spent 9 weeks on Vancouver's CKVN chart, peaking at #12. Not long after the release of their album the group broke up. He later formed another version of the group.

Composer, producer

A prolific composer of jingles at the age of 20, he was working in collaboration with Mort Ross, Tommy Ambrose and Larry Trudel. Trudel had the company Trudel Productions. He composed the song "Show Him (He's Not Alone)" which was Dianne Brooks' second single that was released on

Revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...

REVS 003 in 1969. It was produced by Mort Ross. With Ross, he produced " When I Die" which was a hit for the group, getting to No. 1 in Canada and Top 20 on the U.S. charts.Canadian songwriters Hall of Fame
When I Die
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Discography

Dr. Music

*''Dr. Music'' (1971) *''Dr. Music II'' (1973) *''Bedtime Story'' (1974) *''Doctor Music'' (1977) *''Circa '84'' (1984)

Solo

*''Dreams'' (1975) *''Freedom'' (1990) *''Con Alma'' (1994) *''A Lazy Afternoon'' (1997) *''Stride'' (2005) *''You Can't Make Peace'' (2007)

Awards and recognition

* 1981: nominee,

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

s, Best Jazz Album: ''Tommy Ambrose at Last'' (

Tommy Ambrose Thomas Ambrose (born 19 October 1939) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Tommy Ambrose was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. At age four he began gospel singing at "Youth for Christ" rallies at Massey Hall, Maple Leaf Gardens, and elsewhere under ...

with the Doug Riley Band) * 1993-2000: Jazz Organist of the Year,

Jazz Report Awards Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

* 2003: member,

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

Biography

Career (groups)

The Silhouettes

Dr. Music

Composer, producer

Discography

Dr. Music

Solo

Awards and recognition

References

External links