WDHIII's blog

I was quite surpised when I went looking for info on this weeks Tunesday artist - surprised by the fact that theres very little information and that hes a utility infielder for the Milwaukee Brewers....

Born in Montreal on May 31, 1962, he traveled frequently as a child, living in the Bahamas with his father, but primarily following his mother through Mexico, Spain, and Florida, among other places. It didnt matter where he lived tho - his first love was always with him; MUSIC. At 13, he sang for Tom Jones and recorded with Paul Anka in Las Vegas... at 14 he started to write his own music/lyrics and dreamed of becoming a singer/songwriter and recording artist. His early efforts to sign with Canadian record companies were fruitless; he escaped to New York and met Billy Joel and worked in Long Island, New York to complete a demo of his first songs but unable to land a contract he returned to Canada, eventually signing with Aquarius Records.

In 1983 he released his MONSTER debut album, recorded in Manchester England in the spring of 1982 with producers Jon Astley and Phil Chapman; Eric Clapton lent his guitar stylings to the album. FIRST OFFENSE screamed to the top of the charts with this weeks featured tune, one which is now his signature song...whats even more surprising is it was a last minute addition to the disc. Its also contained two other semi hits,"She Got The Radio" and "It Ain't Enough" that helped keep it his album at the top of the Canadian Charts for almost 6 months!

He followed that up two years later with BOY IN THE BOX which produced not only the title song and "Lamp at Midnite" it also contained his second smash hit "Never Surrender" - instant notariaty led to, of all things, an offer for the lead in a movie...


[align=center]...which he turned down...[/align]


BACK TO THE FUTURE turned out to be a BLOCKBUSTER starring ANOTHER great Canadian Micheal J. Fox. Ironically it wasnt the ONLY offer he...

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This weeks Tunesday artist comes by her musical talent naturally; shes the Grand daughter of Canadian country stars Ray and Betty Gauthier who used to open for the likes of George Jones and Little Jimmy Dickens when they managed to make their way this far North. Born in Montreal but raised in Medicine Hat, Ab, she spent afternoons listening to her mother entertain guests at the local coffee house and evenings listening to her Grandparents vast record collection; by the age of 11 she had taught herself play guitar. After graduation she took the step her Grandparents only dreamed about... she moved to Nashville and surprised everyone back home by landing a job at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, the famous honky-tonk bar across the alley from the Ryman Auditorium!

The public started to take notice of this Jewel from the Great White North but it took the music industry a little longer... 7 years went by before she landed an audition with Mercury Records and after seeing a live performance by Clark, the label's president put her name on the bottom line... luckily he also hired a prolific writer and 4 short months later her debut album hit the stores. Backed by the MEGA HIT "Better Things to Do" and subsequent singles "When Boy Meets Girl" and "If I Were You" it certified Gold in no time and earned her a summer tour with one of her Idols - George Strait. She was also nominated Country Music Association's Horizon Award, as well as the Academy of Country Music Awards' Best New Female Vocalist.

Her follow up, 1996s JUST THE SAME sold even better than her first effort; the singles "Poor, Poor Pitiful Me" and and this weeks featured tune pushed it Platinum, reaching number 10 South of the 49th and number ONE in Canada! She subsequently won a TON of Canadian Country Music Awards, including Album of the Year and Single of the Year; she was also named the Top New Female Country Artist of 1995 by Billboard magazine.

HOW I FEEL hit the stores...

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This weeks TUNESDAY artists incorporated horns and strings into "modern rock" LONG before the likes of Three Dog Night and ELO.... BIG BAND meets GRATEFUL DEAD if you will.

The year was 1969 and Toronto musician Skip Prokop was tired of layin down other artists tracks....The Paupers, Janis Joplin, Al Kooper..... he even played with the GREAT Carlos Santana at Woodstock.....

But after a chance meeting in NY with "sessions man" Paul Hoffert they began to form a vision of what "new rock" should be, spending the next 6 months writing behind closed doors. Needing a little "out of the rock box" thinking they pulled Ralph Cole into the fold. Cole was a classically trained musician with little experience with rock and roll; he fit in perfectly.

With the doors flung wide open they added the rest of the "players"...on the HORNS were Russ Little, Arnie Chycoski, Freddy Stone, Howard Shore, Dale Hillary and Keith Jollimor...on the STRINGS were Dick and Paul Armin and Don Dinovo...add in singer Pinky Dauvin and FULL ORCHASTRA sound was born. Just imagine....ROCK AND ROLL with cellos, violas, an array of horns and a full percussion section!

Spied by RCA Canada during an outdoor concert in Brantford they were QUICKLY signed to their first record deal. A half year of hard work in Toronto's Eastern Sound Studio resulted in the release of a self-titled album; not huge commercial "wax" it was met with praise by critics following the limited success of such tracks as "Mountain Man" and the cover of the Byrds' "Eight Miles High".

"SUITE FEELINGS" released a short time later; a cover of the Beatles "A DAY IN THE LIFE" was their first foray into Canadas Top Ten.

Internal management problems saw them switch to GRT Records and commercial success began catching up with the critics praise when "ONE FINE MORNING" hit the air. The second single off THE CHANT, "HATS...

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Born in Jamaica, this weeks Tunesday artist moved to the GWN as a child; always a ham at family get-togethers one smart relative FINALLY suggested vocal lessons and by the age of fifteen her natural gift landed her spots on various local shows. Word spread and soon the teenager was headlining her OWN shows and setting her sights on something bigger.... something musical.... something South of the border.

After Graduation she headed for New York where she eventually landed a role in the hit musicals "Hair" and "Catch My Soul" - the former toured Europe the following year and when the run ended our little singer found herself out of work in Germany. She DID manage to land a few jobs as a studio vocalist and it was during one of these late night sessions she met Frank Farina who had just scored a European hit with "Baby Do You Wanna Bump". She spent the next year touring and singing for Farina..... the name of their group?

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