Every RPM Canadian Content #1 single discussion thread 1964-2000

Here's one I overlooked. Peaking at #18 back on March 24, 1973, was Alice Cooper's "Hello Hurray", written by Hamilton native Rolf Kempf. The recording was also produced by a Canadian, Bob Ezrin, but apparently not recorded in Canada, hence only the 'M' and 'L' are filled on the MAPL wheel. When Alice Cooper was still a band, they approached Jack Richardson, impressed with his work with The Guess Who. Richardson passed them off to Ezrin, who was sort of his protege.






Alice Cooper (the solo artist) and Rolf Kempf many years later:

 

Except for Sample, these sessioneers were names that turned up on many a Barry White session during this period.

 

One of a very few Jamie singles pressed by CBS Pitman, NJ plant.

 

And the U.S. promo label:

 

And the U.S. Big Tree label:

 

142. MAKE MY LIFE A LITTLE BIT BRIGHTER
by CHESTER
CELEBRATION CEL 0278X
Highest ranking for 4 weeks: September 15 (11), 22 (10), 29 (10) and October 6 (10), 1973



​

I have very little to say about Chester, so let's let RPM do the talking:

"Billed as a 'Happiness Group', Chester have literally invaded the Canadian scene with their initial single release for Celebration, 'Make My Life A Little Bit Brighter'. Together only seven months, the group made the booze bin circuit, only as a means of getting it all together under the worst possible conditions. They, like most talented groups, would prefer to play concert dates where they can communicate with the audience rather than compete with cash registers and 'sauced-up' club patrons.

"Jim Mancel, leader of the group, has many years of showbiz under his belt. He recalls an incident fifteen years ago when he and two of his friends, all aged thirteen, were harmonizing in Hillcrest Park (Toronto). The only unusual thing about it was that they had no instruments and it happened to be 2AM. Suddenly a cat in a long flannel kimono appeared out of the dark and, after satisfying them that he wasn't an "Albert Flasher", took them over to his house where they auditioned for him and his wife. This charitable soul got the youngsters a gig at the Purple Onion, one of Toronto's first folk clubs. But then Mancel and company disappeared. A chance meeting at Quality's reception for Dawn (July 19/73) brought Mancel face to face with his early mentor - Sam Sniderman.

"This time Mancel and company have plans to be around for sometime. Mancel looks after the lead vocals with excellent instrumental backup by: Glen Morrow, keyboard, guitar and vocals; Mike Argue, lead guitar and vocals; 'Wedge' Monroe, drums, piano and guitar. The plug side was penned by Argue while the flip, 'But Maybe The Next Time' is a Morrow original.

"Chester first came to the attention of Quality's A&R Director, Bob Morten, earlier this year. He dug their songwriting and wanted 'Brighter' for Ann Bridgeforth but finally consented to let the group wax it. The excitement around the Quality camp was almost immediate. Morten transferred this enthusiasm to the Bell people in New York as well as to Pye in the UK."

The last sentence seems to be half true. In addition to its Canadian release on Quality subsidiary Celebration, "Make My Life a Little Bit Brighter" did indeed come out in the USA on Bell. But Pye seems to have gotten cold feet at some stage, as it turned out to be EMI subsidiary Stateside that released the single in the UK. And the Netherlands as well, which means a single boring picture sleeve.

The other half-truth, of course, is the idea of Chester planning to be around for a long time. It is true that this was Chester's first single. In fact, they released only *one* further single before starting to splinter, with the departure of Mike Argue for a solo career (which lasted for all of three singles). The band put out two further singles in 1976 and 1977, apparently with competing lineups, though both came out on Quality. Jim Mancel seems to have put out six singles on six different labels (or imprints) between 1975 and 1981. They feature inspirational titles like "We Had a Dream (the Dream Song)" and "Heart of a Lion (Terry's Theme)".

For all of these seven-inch waxings down the years, neither Chester nor any of the solo members ever made a proper album. In the 2000s, the good folks at Unidisc mopped up much of the material discussed above on the compilation CD Make My Life A Little Bit Brighter, credited to Chester but also including Argue's and Mancel's solo excursions.

Glenn (with two n's) Morrow, for his part, graduated to the role of Chris DeBurgh's keyboardist. Wikipedia and other sources mention that. What they fail to mention, however, is that Morrow subsequently graduated from DeBurgh to David Hasselhoff, working with him for several tours and even appearing on Baywatch before passing away in 1997. I happen to know this from the Toronto Council agenda notes that discuss the renaming of a street near Woodbine and Danforth to "Glenn Morrow Mews", which Google Maps confirms did indeed come to pass.

Finally, despite the depths of unremembered obscurity we're discussing, there's something even more obscure than Chester, and that's Ann Bridgeforth, an American soul singer who, at this stage, had released only a single 7", as "Little Ann" in 1969. An unreleased acetate of hers would blow up in the obscurity-obsessed Northern Soul scene in the 1990s, giving her some belated recognition. It's fascinating that she's even mentioned here at all. But you can imagine the Chester song in the Northern Soul genre. Discogs, in its constant confusion, describes the song as belonging in the "electronic, funk/soul, disco" categories, which is a blatant lie. However, the piano-driven song is upbeat and happy. It's not half bad, if not half memorable.

 

Give Me Your Money Please : Maybe it's not as immediately catchy as their later hits but I love how this song moves along. I hear some country-ish guitar during the chorus (the "wasn't that strange" line), one last nod to their Brave Belt days perhaps.

Hello Hooray : For years, I was under the impression that this was an AC original. Now that I have heard the Judy Collins version, I appreciate the amount of effort that went it re-arranging it so that it sounded like an Alice Cooper song. The guys (along with Bob Ezrin) truly had their work cut out for them.

Make My Life A Little Bit Brighter : Yet another song that got a lot of airplay on Oldies 950. Never been a fan of this song, sorry.

 

And here's the US ish:

This was hardly the only US Bell 45 that, in the UK, was released on Stateside. Vicki Lawrence's US #1 "The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia" was too, rather than on UK Bell; this may have something to do with producer Snuff Garrett owning the master, rather than Bell. (A few years later, Ms. Lawrence's record was reissued on, of all places, Minneapolis-based Soma Records whose two most famous hits were "Mule Skinner Blues" by The Fendermen and "Liar, Liar" by The Castaways.)

 

Incidentally, I'm going to give advance notice that this week (i.e. the next five days here in 2021, not in 1973) contains, well, let's say it contains a "biggie". One of those songs that it's impossible to have nothing to say about. (Damn Grammarly doesn't understand grammatically correct double-negatives.)

Wanting to do it, well, justice (for better or for worse), I've been working on its entry for about a month now, off and on. At almost 2000 words, it's already triple the length of any other entry I've ever done, and I haven't quite finished it yet. I can run on at the mouth, but in this case, there's just so very much to unpack. So just giving everyone a heads-up to expect a big one at some point this week.

 

I don't know. Given that I've commented in some way about prior entries however and whenever I could . . . in any case, I'll wait . . .

 

"Make My Life A Little Bit Brighter" reached #2 at Ottawa's CFGO, #3 at Vancouver's CKLG and #11 at CHUM. It peaked at #20 at Cleveland's WXIY. The B-side "But Maybe The Next Time"



The next single, "Start A Dream" b/w "Nothin But A Baby", was produced by Les Emmerson.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TQAgBw7zY0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GIUGgkDlSg



1975's "Betty Bingo" with "Nothin But A Baby" again as the B-side
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzwoSLKY88M

And "You Give Me Strength" b/w "Love Signs" from 1976
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iwt97Yq8rc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y13ComIAmUc



Michael Argue's first solo single "Dancing With Your Lady" from 1974
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcccRYBOTHo




Jim Mancel had a pre-Chester hit, and he'll have a post-Chester one some of you might recognize.
Every RPM Canadian Content #1 single discussion thread 1964-2000

 

Gary and Dave?

 

Wow, interesting.

Looking forward to it

 

Yeah, did not know that was not an AC original. Probably my favourite from the peek period of Alice Cooper singles.

 

I'm gonna' guess it's THAT song, the one that's pretty well universally hated.

 

I'm telling you, it deserves it. I'm loving that song more and more every time I hear it!

 

No, the one that's universally hated is about two weeks away. This is the one that's about 95% hated. Although hated by 100% of Michigan-based commentators with Phil Ochs avatars.

 

Up to November 1977 already by then?

 

At #27 the week of September 29, 1973, "Happy Dreamer" by Jack Cornell. It would be the first of three non-consecutive weeks there, returning October 27 and November 3. Both sides can be heard at the link
Cornell, Jack - Happy Dreamer b/w Like the Clouds



German picture sleeve



Jack aka Jacky or Jac Cornell was born Jacques Eckhardt in the Netherlands. In the mid-1960s he became lead singer of the German beat group The Boots in time for their second album



"Gloria" live on TV in 1966


"Get Out Of My Life Woman"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfm7ruUbXqI

1968 top ten Dutch hit "In The Beginning"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqZ_7DdsH6U



The Boots would break up in 1969, and Cornell would launch a solo career. He had a Top 40 hit in Holland with "Everyday's Torture" in 1971.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2ZM6bhy6F8



Cornell would move to Toronto in 1973. About his hit, Jac sez:

Cornell, Jack

He will chart again.

Jacky Cornell | Nldiscografie.nl
BOOTS

 

Close behind at #29 the same week, "The Singer" b/w "Love Once Removed" by The Bells





The singer was the second of four singles to be released from their Pisces Rising album. The next one came out under band member Charlie Clark's name rather than the Bells, a couple of Stephen Stills songs. "Johnny's Garden" b/w "To A Flame".



The final Bells single (with a picture sleeve) would be "Hey My Love" b/w "Baby I Love You"





That was it for the Bells, lead singer Jacki Ralph would make one more record before retiring. "The Safety Song" b/w "Winter's Here" was done for the Canada Safety Council and released in January of 1975.
https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...-IDX/IDX/70s/RPM-1975-01-11-OCR-Page-0004.pdf

 

At #37 the same week of September 29 (for the first of two weeks), "Find Yourself A Boy" b/w "(But Then) We Only Had A Dream" by Tammy Rafferty on Periwinkle Records






Tammy Rafferty was from Toronto, she was just 15 years old when the record was released. It was on her debut album, Just Tammy, which contained four songs of her own.
Rafferty, Tammy - Just Tammy



The next year (1974) she recorded the album Do Something Nice Today! with Pete Schofield and the Canadians. The title song b/w "Summer Love" would be released as a single
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWS2lT4J6-U
Schofield, Pete & the Canadians with Tammy Rafferty - Do Something Nice Today! b/w Summer Love
Schofield, Pete & the Canadians with Tammy Rafferty - Do Something Nice Today!



And at the age of 16, that was it for Tammy Rafferty's recording career. She performs as part of a duo on cruise ships and releases her own material online.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip2ggFdTfDw

 

Right behind at #38 the same week of September 29 (also for the first of two weeks), "Holding Your Hands" b/w "Round And Round" by Sea Dog





Every RPM Canadian Content #1 single discussion thread 1964-2000

"Holding Your Hands" would be the B-side of Sea Dog's final single, a re-recording of "It's A Hot Night", released on Sweet Plum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teSXP_xIKVQ

Earlier version from 1971
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHxIDmTvVfI



Sea Dog would break up in 1975. Doug Varty would go on to the band Studebaker Hawk.

 

At #46 the same week of September 29, Ian Tyson with "Love Can Bless The Soul Of Anyone" b/w "If She Just Helps Me" (#30 on RPM's Country chart). Both songs were on his fist solo album, Ol' Eon and can be heard at the link:
Tyson, Ian - Ol' Eon




Tyson was backed by the Great Speckled Bird on Ol' Eon, it would peak at #81.

 

At #57 for the first of two weeks, "If You Wanna Go To New York City" b/w "A Petal From Her Hair" by Marty Butler
Neither song is on Youtube, both were from the album Love Vibrations. It would be his last appearance in the Top 100.



In 1974 Butler would release his own version of his song that was a big hit for the Bells, "Fly Little White Dove Fly".