The brainchild of Thomas B. Kin Chong, the Shades began in 1957 as an evolution of an Elvis impersonator group fronted by his friend Dick Byrd, a full blood Sarcee First Nations teenager with Thomas playing backing guitar. The Shades then grew to include Tommie Melton, an African American football hero. The band named themselves the Shades as noted by Chong, “We were the Shades because we were of different colors: rare, medium and well done.” This band lineup would ultimately expand to include Eric Murray, Sonny Carruthers and Pete Watts.
Yup, that's comedy legend Tommy Chong - those of us that went to Western Canada High School may have spent time trying to find his graduation photo on the walls. The Shades had moderate success, and eventually moved to Vancouver, where they changed their name to Little Daddy and the Bachelors, ultimately cutting a 7" for RCA records. Melton exited the band when they took on lead singer Bobby Taylor, becoming Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers - and taking their sound in a more soulful direction. Tommy Chong went on to fame as, well, Tommy Chong - while Melton must have found his way back to Calgary at some point.