Wesley "Wes" Dakus (April 2, 1938 – August 18, 2013) was a Canadian musician and the leader of Wes Dakus and the Rebels, Canada's most popular instrumental group of the 1960s.

Wes Dakus and the Rebels

Dakus was born in

Mannville, Alberta Mannville is a village in central Alberta, Canada. It is located at the intersection of the Yellowhead Highway and Highway 881, approximately west of Vermilion, Alberta, Vermilion and east of Edmonton, Alberta, Edmonton. Its primary industry is ...

, and in 1958 formed Wes Dakus and the Club 93 Rebels. Shortening to simply "The Rebels", band members included Barry Allen, Stu Mitchell, Gerry Dere, Dennis Planidin (aka Dennis Paul), Bob Clarke, and Maurice Marshall. In 1960, they were signed with

Quality Records Quality Records was a Canadian entertainment company which released music albums in Canada on behalf of American record labels. They also released recordings by Canadian artists. The company operated between 1950 and 1985 with offices in Toron ...

, and released their first album in the same year titled ''El Ringo''. The group began recording with

Norman Petty Norman Petty (May 25, 1927 – August 15, 1984) was an American musician, record producer, publisher, radio station owner, and considered to be one of the founding fathers of early rock & roll. Biography Petty was born in the small town of Clo ...

in his Clovis, NM studio in early 1963, resulting in 10 singles for Capitol Canada and 2 LPs. A brief trip through California had them recording 2 tracks for the Gallio label "Surfs U Rite / Dog Food" released in 1963. In 1965 ''The Wes Dakus Album – With The Rebels'' was released and helped the band create several singles. In 1967 their album was issued on KAPP as ''"Wes Dakus's Rebels"''. In Canada, the album was split into singles. ''

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 ...

'' voted the band "Top Instrumental Group" in 1964 and 1965. The group disbanded in the summer of 1967. The 1968 single "New Sound Of Wes Dakus" had no band involvement whatsoever and was a group of session musicians from Gary Paxton Studios who had recorded demos. Wes licensed two instrumental tracks from his Paxton sessions to complete his Capitol contract.

Sundown Recorders and Vera Cruz Records

In 1972, Dakus opened a recording studio called

Sundown Recorders Sundown Recorders was a recording studio located in Edmonton, Canada, owned by Canadian recording artist and producer Wes Dakus, that existed from 1972 to 1987. A number of notable Canadian and American artists recorded at the studio, including Ho ...

in Edmonton, Alberta. The studio existed from 1972 to 1987, after which many of its audio tapes were donated to the

Provincial Archives of Alberta The Provincial Archives of Alberta is the official archives of the Canadian Province of Alberta. It preserves and makes available for research both private and government records of all media related to Alberta. The Provincial Archives of Alberta ...

. Archives Canada
Sundown Recorders
. Retrieved June 12, 2012. Artists who recorded there included

Hoyt Axton Hoyt Wayne Axton (March 25, 1938 – October 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voic ...

One Horse Blue One Horse Blue was a Canadian country rock music group that existed from 1975 to 1981 and, as reconstituted, from 1988 to 1995, releasing five albums. History The band first formed as Pickens in 1975 in Edmonton, Alberta, with members Winston Que ...

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Gary Fjellgaard Gary Lynn Fjellgaard (born August 14, 1937)Staff (undated)"Gary Fjellgaard" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. Retrieved February 15, 2013. is a Canadian country music singer-songwriter. He has released fifteen albums and charted thirty-five songs ...

, and

Fosterchild Fosterchild was a notable Canadian band that existed from 1976 to 1981, releasing three albums. History Membership History Fosterchild was formed in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1976 by Jim Foster and Vern Wills, both of whom had first played t ...

. During the 1978–1982 period, Dakus also owned

Vera Cruz Records Vera Cruz Records was a record label, based in Edmonton, Canada and distributed by CBS Records, that existed from 1978 to 1982. The label, owned by Wes Dakus,CanadianBands.comBiography of The Models Retrieved 2012-09-07. is notable for having relea ...

, releasing albums by One Horse Blue, Fosterchild,

Bryan Fustukian Bryan Fustukian (born October 12, 1937 Saint Boniface, Winnipeg) is a Canadian country music singer and songwriter. He is also notable as a former radio broadcaster and concert promoter. Under the stage name of Vik Armen, Fustukian initially develo ...

, Hoyt Axton, and

Don Everly The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

, among others.

Later career

Dakus still dabbled with music projects while residing in British Columbia. His last public appearance was at the Alberta Rock Reunion held in Edmonton in October 2006. CDs of his '60s output have been released on the Super Oldies label, with more unissued material to be released in the future. Dakus suffered from health complications after a stroke in 2012, and died on August 18, 2013, in Vancouver from a cancerous brain tumor that had spread quickly.

Discography

Singles

Albums

*1965 **''The Wes Dakus Album – With The Rebels'' (Capitol) *1967 ** ''Wes Dakus & The Rebels'' (Kapp) 2006 **''Wes Dakus & The Rebels – Volume 1'' (Super Oldies) *2007 **''Wes Dakus & The Rebels – Volume 2'' (Super Oldies) * 2012 **''Wes Dakus & The Rebels – Volume 3'' (Super Oldies)

References

External links

CanConRox entry
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dakus, Wes 1938 births 2013 deaths Canadian rock bass guitarists Musicians from Alberta People from the County of Minburn No. 27 Canadian rockabilly musicians 20th-century Canadian guitarists