Wonderful Grand Band
The Wonderful Grand Band | |
|---|---|
| Origin | St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada |
| Genres | Rock Folk Rock |
| Years active | 1978–1983 (Reunion 1997) 2009–present |
| Labels | Grand East Records |
The Wonderful Grand Band is a Canadian music and comedy group formed in 1978 in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.[1]
History
[edit]The group was founded in 1978, and included comedians Greg Malone and Tommy Sexton.[2] They released their first album, The Wonderful Grand Band, in 1979.[3]
The group had an eponymous television musical variety show on CBC Television. This ran for six episodes under the title The Root Seller in 1978, before relaunching in 1980 as The Wonderful Grand Band, which produced 40 more episodes between 1980 and 1983.[4][5] The show starred Ron Hynes,[6] Sandy Morris, Ian Perry, Glenn Simmons (later replaced by Steve Annan, who died in 2010), Kelly Russell (later replaced by Jamie Snider), and Rocky Wiseman (who was later replaced by Paul Stamp), as well as Malone and Sexton, who died in 1993. The show combined original and traditional music[7] with topical comedy sketches and satire, some of which was directed at the CBC itself.
The band released a second album, Living in a Fog, in 1981.[3]
The band reunited in 2009 for a series of concerts throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, in conjunction with the release of two DVDs containing 12 episodes of the TV show. A second, one-off reunion was held in August 2012 at a Ron Hynes concert held before Hynes entered treatment for throat cancer.[8]
On December 7, 2017, The Wonderful Grand Band released a re-recorded version of Babylon Mall for the 50th anniversary of the Avalon Mall, with Mark Critch from CBC's This Hour Has 22 Minutes on vocals.
Members
[edit]Current Members
- Sandy Morris - acoustic & electric lead guitars, backing vocals (1978 - 1983, 1997, 2009 - present)
- Greg Malone - comedian (1978, 1979 - 1983, 1997, 2009 - present)
- Glenn Simmons - lead vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, bass, backing vocals (1978 - 1982, 1997, 2009 - present)
- Jamie Snider - lead vocals, fiddle, guitars, mandolin (1980 - 1983, 1997, 2009 - present)
- Paul "Boomer" Stamp - drums, percussion, backing vocals (1981 - 1982, 1982 - 1983, 1997, 2009–present)
- Ian Perry - bass, guitars, backing vocals (1978 - 1982, 1997, 2009 - present)
Past Members
- Bryan Hennessey - bass, harmonica (1978) (died 2021)
- Bawnie Oulton - backing vocals (1978) (died 2010)
- Kelly Russell - fiddle, mandolin, dulcimer, backing vocals (1978 - 1980)
- Rocky Wiseman - drums (1978 - 1981) (died 2018)
- Steve Annan - guitars (1982 - 1983) (died 2010)
- Howie Warden - bass (1982 - 1983)
- Kevin McNeil - drums (1982)
- Ron Hynes – lead vocals, guitars, mandolin, banjo, backing vocals (1978 - 1983, 1997, 2009 - 2015) (died 2015)
- Tommy Sexton – vocals, comedian (1979 - 1983) (died 1993)
- Cathy Jones - comedian (1982 - 1983)
- Mary Walsh - comedian (1982 - 1983)
Discography
[edit]See also List of songs by the Wonderful Grand Band.
- Wonderful Grand Band (1978)
- Living in a Fog (1981)
References
[edit]- Citations
- ^ Sandra Clarke (28 February 2010). Newfoundland and Labrador English. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 93–. ISBN 978-0-7486-3141-4.
- ^ Sean Cadigan (11 April 2009). Newfoundland and Labrador: A History. University of Toronto Press. pp. 2047–. ISBN 978-1-4426-9059-2.
- ^ a b Larry LeBlanc (28 June 2003). "Newfoundland's Hynes documents local life". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 65–. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ "Television".
- ^ Alan Doyle (13 October 2015). Where I Belong. Doubleday Canada. pp. 80–. ISBN 978-0-385-68038-7.
- ^ Darrell Varga (1 November 2015). Shooting from the East: Filmmaking on the Canadian Atlantic. MQUP. pp. 32–. ISBN 978-0-7735-9805-8.
- ^ Bob Mersereau (1 March 2015). The History of Canadian Rock 'n' Roll. Backbeat Books. pp. 169–. ISBN 978-1-4950-2890-8.
- ^ 'Magical' Ron Hynes performs before cancer treatment; CBC News; August 11, 2012 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/magical-ron-hynes-performs-before-cancer-treatment-1.1238692
External links
[edit]- Wonderful Grand Band Wonderful Grand Band official site
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
- Musical groups established in 1978
- Musical groups disestablished in 1983
- Musical groups reestablished in 2009
- Musical groups from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
- Canadian comedy folk musical groups
- Canadian comedy rock musical groups
- Canadian folk rock groups
- 1980 Canadian television series debuts
- 1983 Canadian television series endings
- Television shows filmed in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
- CBC Television original programming
- 1980s Canadian variety television series
- Television shows set in Newfoundland and Labrador