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 OFF TO A STRANGER" was right on the heels of "MORNING' and helped establish them as one of Canadas most promising groups!

They released THOUGHTS OF MOVING ON in '71 then launched their first World Tour; their choice of venues was as eclectic as some of their music. Major outdoor concerts, including The Isle Of Wight, Monterey Pop and Newport Jazz Festivals.....sessions with some of the worlds biggest symphonies and when they returned home to THE GREAT WHITE NORTH?

Their FIRST Juno award for OUTSTANDING GROUP PERFORMANCE.... a catagory they themselves helped create with their innovative make-up.

Then they went BALLISTIC.....

In '72 they released their LIVE album.... recorded at Carnagie Hall it was the FIRST EVER RECORD to go PLATINUM in THE GREAT WHITE NORTH! One single (this weeks highlight tune) was SO successful they RE-RECORDED it within the friendly confines of THUNDER SOUND and  re-released it as a single. It soon became CANADAS SUMMER ANTHEM and helped push the group to their second Juno win.

Sadly the band starting drifting apart after this point..with a group this big its hard not to have different agendas and while they had only MODERATE success into the 80s they were undeniably one of the driving forces of the Canadian Pop Music machine of the 70s with a total of 9 Gold, 3 Platinum and 4 Junos to thier credit.

Today a makeshift band fronted by the original nucleus of Skip, Paul & Ralph can be seen at the odd outdoor festival, horn section and all...... on a quiet day in New Brunswick you MAY just hear....

LIGHTHOUSE

and the CANADIAN SUMMER ANTHEM.....

SUNNY DAYS!

(push play and sing along)

Sittin' stoned alone in my backyard
Askin' myself "Why should I work so hard?"
Sittin' dreamin' 'bout the days to come
Half-undressed, just soakin' up the sun

Sittin' here, I hope I don't get fried
Two years ago, you know, I almost died
And yet, there's nothin' better for your soul
Than lyin' in the sun and listenin' to rock 'n roll

Sunny days
Oh, sunny, sunny, sunny days
Ain't nothin' better in the world, you know
Than lyin' in the sun with your radio

Sunny days
Oh, sunny, sunny, sunny days
Ain't nothin' better in the world, you know
Than lyin' in the sun with your radio

I really think there's nothin' quite so fine
As lettin' the sun rejuvenate your mind
Don't get me wrong, I really dig the moon
But it was four in the afternoon when I wrote this tune

And now the sun's about to fade away
I'm feelin' better than I've felt for days
You know, there's nothin' better for your soul
Than lyin' in the sun and listenin' to rock 'n roll

Sunny days
Oh, sunny, sunny, sunny days
Ain't nothin' better in the world, you know
Than lyin' in the sun with your radio

Sunny days
Oh, sunny, sunny, sunny days
Ain't nothin' better in the world, you know
Than lyin' in the sun with your radio

Sunny days
Oh, sunny, sunny, sunny days
Ain't nothin' better in the world, you know
Than lyin' in the sun with your radio

Sunny days
Oh, sunny, sunny, sunny days
Ain't nothin' better in the world, you know
Than lyin' in the sun with your radio

Da da-da da-da da da da
Da da-da da-da da da da
Da da-da da-da da da da
Da-da da-da da-da da-da daaaaaa-aaaa
Well, all right!

Hope you enjoyed this weeks Summer edition of TUNESDAY!

Wil