Wednesday, 29 September 2021
Circus - Not If You're Lovin' Me/Real Emotion (1983)
Tuesday, 28 September 2021
Melchizedek - She/Sonic Stallion (1982)
His Doug Wong Music imprint kicked off in 1979, and if we're reading the Discogs entries correctly, put out 106 7" records. Many of which we've managed to get our hands on... including this one from prog rockers Melchizedek.
The 7" format is a bit of a weird one for this single, which packs songs which are over 5 minutes long onto each side. But we suspect the decision to go with a 7" may have been partly a financial one - the article below suggests that Melchizedek was probably a bit of a niche band:
We recognize that many of you are probably more interested in the first part of that article... please try to stay focused long enough to get to the download.
Monday, 27 September 2021
Randy Andrus - He's Back! (1983), Cal Kellett - Run Away (1983), Cruiser (1984)
Sorry for being so focused on the artwork for these two singles (and really not mentioning the third) -we've been trying to figure out how to fold them back together.
Sunday, 26 September 2021
Randy Andrus and Cal Kellett - Red Hot (1987)
Saturday, 25 September 2021
R. Harlan Smith & The Royalty Singers - Go, Go Calgary/Fan The Flames (1981)
Friday, 24 September 2021
Spirit of '87 - 88/Theme From 88 (1987)
Most notably, this was before the whole Jamaican bobsleigh team craze, which makes it extra perplexing.
But there it is.
Thursday, 23 September 2021
Keen Kraft - Cardboard Lathe
Wednesday, 22 September 2021
Lenny Siebert and Sons of the Saddle - Cowpoke/In The City (1961)
Whoops! We're digging back into the 1960's with today's single, a pair of great country songs from Lenny Siebert, one of the three Calgarian siblings that made up the Siebert Brothers.
We haven't been able to locate any episodes/clips of the TV show referenced above... but at least we've got the download!
Tuesday, 21 September 2021
Heart Records: Wood Sisters (1978), Time Machine (1978, 1979), Mary Lu Zahalan (1981)
Get 'em here!
Monday, 20 September 2021
Heart Records: Bonnie James (1979), Weather (1979), Vacationers (1979), Pat Hatherly (1980)
We're going to blast thru the rest of the Heart Records singles that are laying around the CCPS offices... this first batch are all (kind of) name-checked in the article below, and seem to be out-of-town (Vancouver!) artists.
We're kind of curious about the second Bonnie James single: the A side of the Pat Hatherly single appears to be the one mentioned in the article. Did James change her name? Do we care enough to find out?
Sunday, 19 September 2021
Rick Morgenstern - That Lady of Mine (1978), Lovin', Lovin' (1979), Be My Dream Maker (1979), I'm Taking Care Of The Babies (1981), Nashville's Lonely Out Tonight (1982)
Today's stack of singles is from country singer/keyboardist Rick Morgenstern. Two are on his own Meadow-Morgen Records (named in part for his hometown of Meadowlake, Saskatchewan) and the other three are on Heart Records. These are all polished little slabs of vinyl (not literally - as you've probably noticed by now, some of our records are in TERRIBLE condition), which is probably why Morgenstern piqued the interest of Heart founder Ron Mahonin:
At last sighting Morgenstern was still active, living in Edmonton and playing with the legendary Emeralds.
Get these singles here!
Saturday, 18 September 2021
Ian Tyson - Beverly (1977), Alberta's Child (1980), Ol' Alberta Moon (1981), Alberta's Child (1983)
So, here's that other Highwood single - from the legendary Ian Tyson! We had to go back a revisit the timeline of his career to figure out how he ended up releasing this piece of vinyl (along with another) on such a small label. The duo of Ian & Sylvia called it quits in 1975, around the same time The Ian Tyson Show - and in 1980 Tyson signed on with a new manager that helped to reinvigorate his career.
In that interim period between 1975 and 1980, he put out a few recordings on smaller labels (Gary Buck's Broadland imprint, the Hitchner's Highwood, and Stompin' Tom's Boot Records). We've got a selection of singles (mostly) from that era of his career, including three singles that are Alberta-themed. Oh, and two of which are the same song. That second, major-label version of "Alberta's Child" is in here also because it was mixed by Richard Harrow in his Living Room Studios.
Friday, 17 September 2021
Highwood Records - James Lee Hitchner (1975, 1976, 1977, 1981), Keith Hitchner (1975, 1981)
Today's seven singles come to us via siblings James Lee Hitchner and Keith Hitchner, and (mostly) the Highwood label. James got his start in music in the early 60's, playing in a country/pop outfit called the Cavaliers before going full country. We suspect that the Highwood label - which most of these singles are on - was a family business, as all the label seems to have put out are records by the brothers Hitchner. With one big exception, which we'll get to tomorrow. But for now, you can enjoy this ripper of a review of an early James Lee Hitchner show:
Ouch! Suffice to say, these singles are far more polished.
Thursday, 16 September 2021
Fosterchild - Let Me Down Easy/Play The Game To Win (1976)
We almost skipped posting this one, but since Fosterchild warranted Roy Wilcox's attention in Garage Band Rockers, we've got to include it. Let's turn it over to Roy for the skinny on the band:
Calgary’s answer to the Eagles came into existence in the early seventies with the formation of Fosterchild. Initially a quartet performing music that was categorized as rock with country influences, Fosterchild became regulars at the Scotch and Sirloin. Seeking a wider audience, Fosterchild’s initial lineup comprised of Jim Foster on guitar and vocals, Gordon Mar on lead guitar, Dwight Thompson on bass and Bob “Mickey” Mathews on drums travelled to Edmonton to record a demo tape. Wes Dakus’ Sundown Recorders studio filled the bill with Gaye Delorme mastering a demo of Foster’s song “Let Me Down Easy”. The result generated interest by CBS Records in the song and ultimately a record contract. In an interesting development, the label fired the entire band, bringing in bassist Dwight Thompson and Jorn Anderson on drums to finish the recording session.
The band went on to record three LPs and put out a bunch of singles before they split; afterwards, Jim Foster joined Edmonton's One Horse Blue before embarking on a solo career.
Wednesday, 15 September 2021
Cry - Crackdown/Little Sister (1980), What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted/The Last Lonely One (1982)
Tuesday, 14 September 2021
Rich Dodson - Julia Get Up (1972), Van Louis - Solitary Feeling (1983)
Monday, 13 September 2021
Drylanders - Such Are The Dreams (1971), Joanne (1974), I Feel It Everyday (1975), Cabin By The Stream
We're bouncing around a bit, but/and we're really trying to make it through all the 7" singles we've amassed here at the CCPS. This batch of four records today comes to us from (the) Drylanders, an easy-listening/country outfit that was active from the late 1960's... all the way into the 1980's, it appears. We name-checked the Drylanders earlier this year when we posted a single by the Kunkel Brothers - the Drylanders are made up of a whole bunch of Kunkels. AND Ron Barge (aka Buckshot) likely plays keyboards on "I Feel It Everyday."
In the early 70's the Drylanders were playing lounges around town, and the band (and Buckshot) was also part of the action as our city ushered in our Olympic year:
Get it here!
Sunday, 12 September 2021
Will Allen and the Country Deputies - Same Old Heartache/City Park (1961)
This record puzzles us a bit, mostly because someone has written on the label either (a) to clarify and celebrate where the artist is from or (b) to mess with us. We cannot verify that Mr. Will Allen was from Calgary (or of Calgary, as the case may be), which is really a bit of a disappointment. Both sides of this single are pretty decent slices of honky tonk, and all we can find that mentions Allen is this ad:
Even though it's a different backing band. Anyways, get today's single here.