Jon and Lee & The Checkmates
Encyclopedia
Jon and Lee & The Checkmates are an Canadian
music group
, best known for containing future members of Elektra
band Rhinoceros
. Together with Mandala
, they spearheaded Toronto
's R&B
scene during the mid 1960s. As the Jon-Lee Group, the band released a lone single
for ABC Records
before splitting up in September 1967. The group has more recently reformed, released its debut album
in late 2006.
In late 1963, Dorsey introduced classically trained pianist Michael Fonfara
, who was responsible for bringing in a second lead guitarist, Larry Leishman
.
Leishman’s arrival signaled a major upheaval in the band's line up, as Dorsey departed and Leishman’s former compatriot from the Silvertones and the Tempests, Peter Hodgson (born April 16, 1946, Toronto), succeeded McDeavitt on bass. Soon afterwards, the two new recruits (together with Fonfara) lobbied for the inclusion of another former Tempest, singer John Finley (born May 6, 1945, Toronto), whose recruitment in mid-1964 prompted a name change to Jon and Lee & The Checkmates.
Throughout that year, the group also went through a succession of drummers as Dave Brown, who had come in for Carrier, left to join Jay Smith & The Majestics, and was replaced by Wes Morris. By the end of the year, however, Morris had moved on to join The Majestics and former commercial artist Jeff Cutler (born Rowland Jeffries Cutler, September 8, 1941, Toronto) completed the classic line up.
in early 1965. The exposure from the performance aroused the interest of Afro-American émigré Eddie “Duke” Edwards and Big Land music agency entrepreneur, the late Ron Scribner, who both became involved with the group’s career. Edwards, a graduate of the Boston Conservatory
, helped arrange material for The Checkmates as well as co-managing them.
Jon and Lee & The Checkmates, along with several local artists, were due to open for The Rolling Stones
at Maple Leaf Gardens
on April 25. However, the organisers booked too many groups and the band never got to play. Throughout the summer, Jon and Lee & The Checkmates found regular work at the Devil's Den club which became the band's home.
On September 13, the group joined local pop singer Bobby Curtola
and others in opening Toronto’s new city hall in Nathan Phillips Square. The exposure landed the band the opening slot at The Rolling Stones show at Maple Leaf Gardens on October 31, 1965. The following month, several US
record label
s, including Decca
, Elektra
, Motown and RCA
approached the band with offers. Jon and Lee & The Checkmates recorded a few tracks in Toronto for RCA in November, but the results were disappointing. Shortly after a show at the Hawk’s Nest on December 10, the group headed to New York
to play at the Phone Booth and to record three tracks for Decca but the label soon lost interest.
, The Chiffons
and Junior Walker & the Allstars at Shea Stadium.
Cecil Farrell, a proprietor at a Niagara Falls
newspaper, hired the band for his 16-year-old daughter's birthday party, and there group met Leo Pillott, director of public relations for the ABC-TV
network. After hearing sample tapes, Pillott offered to represent the group and arranged a series of engagements, including the shows at the famous Peppermint Lounge.
Throughout 1966, the band also consolidated its Toronto following, holding down a residency at the Avenue Road Club, and appearing at other notable venues such as the Broom and Stone, the Gogue Inn and the Hawk’s Nest.
and others. Within days, however, the band changed name to The Jon-Lee Group.
Around this time, an important production deal was struck with Daniel Secunda (cousin of Procol Harum
’s manager Tony Secunda
), which enabled the band to venture back in to the studio and record enough material for two singles. Four tracks were subsequently cut in New York for ABC Records
to coincide with a show at Steve Paul’s club, The Scene.
A cover of John Sebastian
's "Girl, Beautiful Girl," should have been the band's debut single, but was dropped in favour of "Bring It Down Front", written by Billy Barberis and Bobby Weinstein, backed by the Duke Edwards' instrumental
"Pork Chops". Issued during August, "Bring It Down Front" failed to chart in the US but was a sizeable hit back home in Canada when it was put out on Sparton Records
, reaching #10 on the Toronto CHUM chart, and #23 on the national RPM chart in October. However, the band began to unravel, and played its final show on September 16, 1967.
’s new group, The Flying Circus
. He then became a promoter under his real name, Michael Ferry. Finley also left to reassess his musical future, leaving the remaining members to travel to New York with future Blood, Sweat & Tears
singer David Clayton-Thomas
and perform at The Scene.
Billed as David Clayton-Thomas & The Phoenix, the group performed at least one set of shows (from October 19-22) before Thomas was deported back to Toronto for being an illegal immigrant.
Jeff Cutler, who also remained in New York, later joined The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
for its second US tour in May 1968 and then worked with The Holy Modal Rounders.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
music group
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, best known for containing future members of Elektra
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
band Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros (band)
Rhinoceros was a rock band established in 1967 by Elektra Records as that label's intended supergroup. The band, while well respected in many circles, did not live up to the record label's expectations...
. Together with Mandala
Mandala
Maṇḍala is a Sanskrit word that means "circle". In the Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions their sacred art often takes a mandala form. The basic form of most Hindu and Buddhist mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point...
, they spearheaded Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
's R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
scene during the mid 1960s. As the Jon-Lee Group, the band released a lone single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
for ABC Records
ABC Records
ABC Records was an American record label, founded in New York City in 1955 as ABC-Paramount Records. It originated as the main popular music label operated the Am-Par Record Corporation, the music subsidiary of the American Broadcasting Company . ABC-Paramount Records' first president was Samuel H....
before splitting up in September 1967. The group has more recently reformed, released its debut album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
in late 2006.
High school origins
Lee Jackson and The Checkmates, formed at a Toronto high school during 1962 out of the remains of the Stereos, initially consisted of singer Michael Ferry (Lee Jackson), guitarist Al Dorsey, bass player Dave McDeavitt, drummer Paul Carrier and saxophone player Hilmar Ajax.In late 1963, Dorsey introduced classically trained pianist Michael Fonfara
Michael Fonfara
Michael Fonfara is a keyboard player who is most notable for his work with the bands The Electric Flag and Rhinoceros in the 1960s, Lou Reed in the 1970s and The Downchild Blues Band, from 1990 to the present.- History :Fonfara's career as a professional musician commenced in 1963, when he started...
, who was responsible for bringing in a second lead guitarist, Larry Leishman
Larry Leishman
Larry Leishman is a Canadian guitarist who was a member of Toronto R&B outfit, Jon and Lee & The Checkmates during the mid '60s...
.
Leishman’s arrival signaled a major upheaval in the band's line up, as Dorsey departed and Leishman’s former compatriot from the Silvertones and the Tempests, Peter Hodgson (born April 16, 1946, Toronto), succeeded McDeavitt on bass. Soon afterwards, the two new recruits (together with Fonfara) lobbied for the inclusion of another former Tempest, singer John Finley (born May 6, 1945, Toronto), whose recruitment in mid-1964 prompted a name change to Jon and Lee & The Checkmates.
Throughout that year, the group also went through a succession of drummers as Dave Brown, who had come in for Carrier, left to join Jay Smith & The Majestics, and was replaced by Wes Morris. By the end of the year, however, Morris had moved on to join The Majestics and former commercial artist Jeff Cutler (born Rowland Jeffries Cutler, September 8, 1941, Toronto) completed the classic line up.
1965: establishing their act
Jon and Lee & The Checkmates stamped their authority on the local scene with a performance at Toronto’s Massey HallMassey Hall
Massey Hall is a venerable performing arts theatre in the Garden District of downtown Toronto. The theatre originally was designed to seat 3,500 patrons but, after extensive renovations in the 1940s, now seats up to 2,765....
in early 1965. The exposure from the performance aroused the interest of Afro-American émigré Eddie “Duke” Edwards and Big Land music agency entrepreneur, the late Ron Scribner, who both became involved with the group’s career. Edwards, a graduate of the Boston Conservatory
Boston Conservatory
The Boston Conservatory is a performing arts conservatory located in the Fenway-Kenmore region of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in music, dance and musical theater...
, helped arrange material for The Checkmates as well as co-managing them.
Jon and Lee & The Checkmates, along with several local artists, were due to open for The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
at Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens is an indoor arena that was converted into a Loblawssupermarket and Ryerson University athletic centre in Toronto, on the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto's Garden District.One of the temples of hockey, it was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the...
on April 25. However, the organisers booked too many groups and the band never got to play. Throughout the summer, Jon and Lee & The Checkmates found regular work at the Devil's Den club which became the band's home.
On September 13, the group joined local pop singer Bobby Curtola
Bobby Curtola
Robert Allen "Bobby" Curtola, CM is an early Canadian rock and roll singer and teen idol.-History:Curtola had several songs on the Canadian music charts beginning with "Hand In Hand With You"...
and others in opening Toronto’s new city hall in Nathan Phillips Square. The exposure landed the band the opening slot at The Rolling Stones show at Maple Leaf Gardens on October 31, 1965. The following month, several US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
s, including Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
, Elektra
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
, Motown and RCA
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
approached the band with offers. Jon and Lee & The Checkmates recorded a few tracks in Toronto for RCA in November, but the results were disappointing. Shortly after a show at the Hawk’s Nest on December 10, the group headed to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to play at the Phone Booth and to record three tracks for Decca but the label soon lost interest.
1966: recovering from setbacks
Unable to record, Jon and Lee & The Checkmates concentrated on extending their fan base beyond southern Ontario into the northern United States, establishing pockets of support in New York and Philadelphia. While in New York, the group often performed at the Peppermint Lounge and the Phone Booth (early February 1966) and on one occasion opened for The TemptationsThe Temptations
The Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...
, The Chiffons
The Chiffons
The Chiffons was an all girl group originating from the Bronx area of New York in 1960.-Biography:The Chiffons were one of the top girl groups of the early 1960s...
and Junior Walker & the Allstars at Shea Stadium.
Cecil Farrell, a proprietor at a Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
newspaper, hired the band for his 16-year-old daughter's birthday party, and there group met Leo Pillott, director of public relations for the ABC-TV
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
network. After hearing sample tapes, Pillott offered to represent the group and arranged a series of engagements, including the shows at the famous Peppermint Lounge.
Throughout 1966, the band also consolidated its Toronto following, holding down a residency at the Avenue Road Club, and appearing at other notable venues such as the Broom and Stone, the Gogue Inn and the Hawk’s Nest.
1967: the Jon-Lee Group
In the early months of 1967, Jon and Lee & The Checkmates increasingly spent time in Philadelphia, and only returned to Toronto intermittently to play shows. On May 6, the group appeared at the Centennial Cool-Out in Kingston, Ontario with The Guess WhoThe Guess Who
The Guess Who are a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Initially gaining recognition in Canada, they also found international success from the late 1960s through the mid-1970s with numerous hit singles, including "American Woman", "These Eyes" and "Share the Land"...
and others. Within days, however, the band changed name to The Jon-Lee Group.
Around this time, an important production deal was struck with Daniel Secunda (cousin of Procol Harum
Procol Harum
Procol Harum are a British rock band, formed in 1967, which contributed to the development of progressive rock, and by extension, symphonic rock. Their best-known recording is their 1967 single "A Whiter Shade of Pale"...
’s manager Tony Secunda
Tony Secunda
Anthony Michael "Tony" Secunda was a British manager of rock groups in the 1960s and 1970s, including The Moody Blues, Procol Harum, The Move, and T...
), which enabled the band to venture back in to the studio and record enough material for two singles. Four tracks were subsequently cut in New York for ABC Records
ABC Records
ABC Records was an American record label, founded in New York City in 1955 as ABC-Paramount Records. It originated as the main popular music label operated the Am-Par Record Corporation, the music subsidiary of the American Broadcasting Company . ABC-Paramount Records' first president was Samuel H....
to coincide with a show at Steve Paul’s club, The Scene.
A cover of John Sebastian
John Sebastian
John Benson Sebastian Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and autoharpist. He is best known as a founder of The Lovin' Spoonful, a band inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000...
's "Girl, Beautiful Girl," should have been the band's debut single, but was dropped in favour of "Bring It Down Front", written by Billy Barberis and Bobby Weinstein, backed by the Duke Edwards' instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
"Pork Chops". Issued during August, "Bring It Down Front" failed to chart in the US but was a sizeable hit back home in Canada when it was put out on Sparton Records
Sparton Records
Sparton Records was a Canadian record company which was based in London, Ontario.Sparton Records was founded in 1930 by the American electronics company Sparks-Withington Corp., of Jackson, Michigan, which made Sparton radios. It manufactured and distributed Columbia Records in Canada from 1939 to...
, reaching #10 on the Toronto CHUM chart, and #23 on the national RPM chart in October. However, the band began to unravel, and played its final show on September 16, 1967.
Falling apart
Jackson, who had lost interest in being a singer, left the band to work initially as a road manager for Bruce CockburnBruce Cockburn
Bruce Douglas Cockburn OC is a Canadian folk/rock guitarist and singer-songwriter. His most recent album was released in March 2011. He has written songs in styles ranging from folk to jazz-influenced rock to rock and roll.-Biography:...
’s new group, The Flying Circus
The Flying Circus
. For other meanings of this term see the disambiguation page under Flying CircusThe Flying Circus were a short-lived Toronto-based group fronted by singer/songwriter, Bruce Cockburn...
. He then became a promoter under his real name, Michael Ferry. Finley also left to reassess his musical future, leaving the remaining members to travel to New York with future Blood, Sweat & Tears
Blood, Sweat & Tears
Blood, Sweat & Tears is an American music group, originally formed in 1967 in New York City. Since its beginnings in 1967, the band has gone through numerous iterations with varying personnel and has encompassed a multitude of musical styles...
singer David Clayton-Thomas
David Clayton-Thomas
David Clayton-Thomas is a Canadian musician and singer best known as the lead vocalist for the American band; Blood, Sweat & Tears...
and perform at The Scene.
Billed as David Clayton-Thomas & The Phoenix, the group performed at least one set of shows (from October 19-22) before Thomas was deported back to Toronto for being an illegal immigrant.
Aftermath
Finley and Fonfara went on to become founding members of Rhinoceros in 1968. Hodgson, Edwards and Leishman joined them one year later.Jeff Cutler, who also remained in New York, later joined The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown is a psychedelic rock album by Arthur Brown and his band The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, released in 1968. Considered a classic of the late-1960s psychedelic scene and a significant influence on progressive rock, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown includes covers of...
for its second US tour in May 1968 and then worked with The Holy Modal Rounders.
The Checkmates return
In 1999, Michael Fonfara, Peter Hodgson and Larry Leishman reformed The Checkmates for live dates in Toronto. In 2005, John Finley rejoined the band and the group released their debut album in 2006.Sources
- John Finley, interviews with Bill Munson, 1978 and Nick Warburton
- Michael Ferry, interview with Bill Munson, 1978
- Peter Hodgson, interview Nick Warburton
- Larry Leishman, interviews with Bill Munson, 1978 and Nick Warburton
- Michael Fonfara, interview with Nick Warburton
- Rhinoceros-group.com
- The Toronto TelegramToronto TelegramThe Toronto Evening Telegram was a conservative, broadsheet afternoon newspaper published in Toronto from 1876 to 1971. It had a reputation for supporting the Conservative Party at both the federal and provincial level. The paper competed with the liberal Toronto Star...
s After Four section on Thursdays listed live dates in the city