|
Heavy airplay and extensive touring, coupled with many guest appearances on the popular Canadian TV shows of the time (Anne Murray, Miss Teen Canada, Kenny Roger's "Rollin' On The River" and The Ian Tyson Show), eventually led to The Stampeders' starring in their own CBC-TV special, "A Short Visit To Planet Earth." 1972 also saw the release of The Stampeders' second album "Carryin' On," featuring the lead-off single, "Devil You" b/w "Giant In The Streets." Although it was the last record released in the U.S. on Bell, the album gained a release in Europe on Regal Zonophone. It featured hard rocker "Wild Eyes," a song that gave their sound more edge and introduced the band to a whole new audience. Part of the appeal of The Stampeders was their musical versatility. The Stampeders' busy schedule also took them to Rio De Janeiro and Sao Paulo, Brazil (South America). They were asked to represent Canada in the Rio De Janeiro Song Festival, which entailed performing to a live audience of 30,000 and a television viewership of 90-million. Accepting the offer was easy, but surviving the gig was another matter. The word was, "Don't drink the water." Little did they know that the locals washed the lettuce and watered down the milk with the water. Montezuma's revenge -- bigtime! Moreover, David Clayton Thomas, the U.S. representative, and Ronnie King, developed an affinity for the local drink, "Mescala," which led to some interesting situations. The label on the bottle displayed a dead scorpion. Ah, Brazil!! |
|
|
While 1971 was a banner year for The Stampeders, 1973 was, in many ways, their biggest year. Cross-Canada tours, coupled with the release of "Rubes, Dudes and Rowdies" and "From The Fire" kept the band very active. In Canada, both new singles, "Oh My Lady" and "Minstrel Gypsy," went gold, while follow-up singles, "Running Wild" and "Johnny Lightning," garnered heavy airplay and another JUNO nomination. Rich Dodson's solo single, "Julia Get Up," also went Top-Ten. The release of The Stampeders' fifth gold album, "New Day," saw the emergence of a more experimental sound and a highly popular single, "Ramona." Their live-album, "Backstage Pass," was recorded at Ontario Place before a sold-out crowd of 17,000 fans. This was soon followed by the heavier, "Steamin," which contained a cover version of "New Orleans" and the infamous get-together of Ronnie King and U.S. radio D.J., Wolfman Jack, for the recording of "Hit The Road Jack." The Stampeders met Wolfman Jack, and became good friends, while taping an NBC television special at the Saratoga Springs Song Festival in 1975. On April 4, 1976, "Hit The Road Jack" went Top-Forty in the U.S. and reached Number One in Canada and Holland, where it stayed for two weeks. The song featured vocals and dialogue between Wolfman Jack and Ronnie King, who uses his real name Cornelis. Cornelis pleads with Wolfman to let him stay at his mansion, because his 'baby' just threw him out of the house. The success of the single led to the release of The Stampeders' final gold album, "Hit The Road," and another JUNO nomination. It was later released in Europe by Quality records and in the U.S. on the Private Stock Label. The departure of Rich Dodson in 1977 signaled the end of the three-man Stampeders' unit which had been together since 1968. Rich left the band to start his own 24-track recording studio and independent record label, Marigold. The final three singles with Dodson, "Playing In The Band," "Sweet Love Bandit," and "San Diego" were released in 1976. With the release of "Platinum" in 1977, the new band's line-up included original members, Ronnie King and Kim Berly, along with back-up musicians Gibby Lacasse (drums and percussion), Ian Kojima (tenor and baritone sax and flute), David Norris-Elye (tenor and soprano sax), Doug Macaskill (guitar) and Gary Scrutton (guitar and vocals). Single releases included the horn-based R&B track, "Bring The House Down." Following "Platinum," TeeVee International released a "Best of The Stampeders" hit package. The failure of the new jazzier, funky-sounding Stampeders to gain critical and commercial acceptance, along with the increased cost of supporting the large band, eventually led to the departure of drummer, Kim Berly. Also gone was the band's recording deal with Quality records. Ronnie King tried to keep the flame burning with a new album on Apex called "Ballsy." The new line-up included Ronnie's youngest brother, Roy Van Sprang, Bob Allwood and Gary Storin. Lack of sales, high overhead and disappointed fans led to the band's final break up in 1980 and the departure of manager, Mel Shaw. In 1979, Kim Berly started his own new-wave band, The Cry, in which he performed under the name, Kimball Fox. Two album releases on RCA, good sales and intensive touring sustained the band for a couple of years, but mounting personal problems forced Kim to leave the music scene. From 1983 to 1989, Kim went briefly into acting, gaining recognition in the Toronto theatre community. Despite speculation within the music industry about just how successful The Stampeders would have been had they focused on just one style of music, one thing remains clear -- they left an enduring musical legacy. Between 1970 and 1977, they released ten albums and 15 singles, with six albums and seven singles going gold. Along with three Billboard chart singles in the U.S., The Stampeders had ten, Top-Ten singles in Canada. They also won three JUNO Awards, three BMI Awards, an EDISON Award and toured Canada, Europe, the U.S., including Hawaii, and South America. IN 1992, THE STAMPEDERS OFFICIALLY REUNITED. |
