Neil Merryweather
Encyclopedia
Neil Merryweather is a Canadian rock singer, bass player
and songwriter
. He has recorded and performed with musicians including Steve Miller
, Dave Mason
, Rick James
and Wilson Pickett
.
During 1964, he joined forces with Gary Muir & The Reflections, a local group comprising Muir (vocals), Ed Roth (organ), Bill Ross (guitar), Brian Hughes (bass) and Bob Ablack (drums). Neilson’s arrival prompted the group to part from Muir and the band briefly changed their name to The Ookpiks (after a native-designed stuffed toy owl that was being promoted by the Canadian government). As it turned out that another group was already using that name, they briefly switched to The Sikusis (after yet another stuffed toy). After the Canadian government demanded payment for their name, they settled on The Just Us
in early 1965.
In 1965, the group recorded its lone single, "I Don’t Love You" c/w "I Can Tell", for the local Quality Records label. (Some copies list the group as The Ookpiks, some The Sikusis, and some The Just Us.) Soon afterwards, Hughes, Ross and new drummer Al Morrison left to take part in the formation of The Bossmen around singer David Clayton-Thomas
).
Neilson, who now went by the name Neil Lillie, befriended ex-Mynah Birds singer Jimmy Livingston in Long and McQuade’s music store where he worked in the backroom as an amp and guitar repairman and asked him to join a new line up of The Just Us. To complete the band, Lillie recruited former C. J. Feeney & The Spellbinders members Stan Endersby
on guitar and Wayne Davis
on bass.
In early 1966, the group recorded an album’s worth of material at Arc Sound in Toronto, but disaster struck when the manager took the tapes and disappeared with them. Undeterred, The Just Us remained a popular local draw, regularly playing at Toronto clubs like the Hawk’s Nest, the In Crowd and the Gogue Inn as well as local high schools.
In June 1966, Davis left to play with Bobby Kris & The Imperials
and Lillie learned to play bass in two weeks to fill the spot. Around this time, an American duo with the same name appeared on the charts and the group was forced to adopt a new name, The Group Therapy, for its show at the Varsity Arena
on June 22, supporting The Byrds
. When another local group surfaced with an earlier claim to The Group Therapy name, the band adopted a new moniker, The Tripp
, in September 1966.
The new group never got the opportunity to record, but did appear on the first episode of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
’s TV show “The Sunday Show”. The band remained a regular fixture on the Toronto club scene throughout late 1966 and early 1967, and one of its most prestigious shows during this period was a performance at Maple Leaf Gardens
on September 24, 1966 alongside the cream of Toronto’s rock bands.
With its more experimental approach to performance, The Tripp began to perform at more colourful venues like Boris’ Red Gas Room, the Flick and the Syndicate Club. Pianist Richard Bell from Ritchie Knight & The Mid-Knights briefly augmented the group in early 1967 but soon moved on to Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks (and years later, Janis Joplin
’s backing groups and The Band
).
) in a new version of The Mynah Birds
. The band went to Motown studios in Detroit during August 1967 and recorded "It’s My Time", a song written by James and Neil Young during the group's previous incarnation. The project was shelved when the band fell apart.
James and Lillie returned to Toronto to find new musicians. With James out of action for a few weeks, Lillie was introduced to guitarist Bruce Cockburn
, formerly of the Esquires. The pair decided to go ahead without James, and recruited with former Bobby Kris & The Imperials members Marty Fisher and Gordon MacBain, who were playing at the Concord Tavern in Toronto at the time.
management, the group recorded a number of unreleased tracks in Toronto, including Cockburn’s “Flying Circus”, “She Wants To Know”, “I’m Leaving You Out” and “Mother” as well as Lillie’s “Last Hoorah” and “Elephant Song” and Fisher and MacBain’s “Where Is All The Love”. At the same sessions, the band also recorded songs by Cockburn’s former Children cohort, Bill Hawkins, such as “Merry Go Round”, “It’s A Dirty Shame” and “Little Bit Stoned”.
During late 1967, the band played at Le Hibou in Ottawa and the Riverboat in Toronto and opened for Wilson Pickett at the Capitol Theatre in Ottawa. The Flying Circus also drove to Motown Records but turned down an offer to record for the label after the members refused to give up their song-writing royalties.
After leaving The Flying Circus
in March 1968, Lillie reunited with former Tripp members Ed Roth and Jimmy Livingston to form a new band. Adding ex-Fraser Loveman Group guitarist Dave Burt and drummer Gary Hall, the new group, initially dubbed New King Boiler began rehearsing in Lillie’s grandmother’s basement. Gary Hall drank so much coffee that he was soon being called “Coffee” by Lillie’s grandmother; the name stuck, though he chose to spell it “Coffi”.
. In the summer of 1968, the band moved to Los Angeles but Livingston dropped out before the band signed to Capitol Records.
Shortly before the release of the band’s eponymous debut, produced by John Gross, Lillie changed his name to Merryweather. The group’s second (double album), Word of Mouth (released in September 1969) was recorded in Los Angeles with the same basic line-up of Merryweather, Roth, Hall and Burt, plus Steve Miller, Barry Goldberg
, Charlie Musselwhite
, Dave Mason, Howard Roberts and Bobby Notkoff.
Although the album was reasonably successful, the group still fragmented, with Burt, Hall and Roth hooking up with Ricky James Matthews in a new group called Salt 'N' Pepper.
Merryweather flew back to Toronto to recruit replacements, then returned with them to record an interesting album for the important blues label, Kent in early 1970. The resulting album, credited to Merryweather, ex-Ugly Ducklings drummer Robin Boers, guitarist John Richardson from Nucleus (and before that Lords of London) and ex-49th Parallel member JJ Velker attracted only limited interest, as did a follow-up album for RCA, Ivar Avenue Reunion, featuring the same basic group plus Goldberg, Musselwhite and Neil's new girlfriend, ex-CK Strong singer Lynn Carey
. The Reunion LP has some very strong quitar work especially in the cut "Ride Me", but is unavailable in most instances.
Neil Merryweather and Lynn Carey, using a pool of musicians, recorded the Vacuum Cleaner LP for RCA, then came out with a more permanent unit, Mama Lion, which recorded two albums. The first Mama Lion LP featured a controversial photo of Lynn appearing to be nursing a tiger cub.
After Mama Lion disbanded, Neil Merryweather released a couple of heavy Glam Rock
solo LPs on Mercuty Records: Space Rangers in 1974 and Kryptonite in 1975. Notable cuts included a cosmic glam rock version of The Byrds' "8 Miles High," and a single released from the album Hollywood Boulevard.
Bass Player
Bass player can refer to:*Bass Player , an album by Rhombus*Bass Player , a magazine for bassists*Bassist, or bass player, a musician who plays the bass guitar...
and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
. He has recorded and performed with musicians including Steve Miller
Steve Miller (musician)
Steven H. "Steve" Miller is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter who began his career in blues and blues rock and evolved to a more popular-oriented sound which, from the mid 1970s through the early 1980s, resulted in a series of successful singles and albums.-Early years:Born in Milwaukee,...
, Dave Mason
Dave Mason
David Thomas "Dave" Mason is an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Worcester, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic...
, Rick James
Rick James
James Ambrose Johnson, Jr. , better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. James was a popular performer in the late 1970s and 1980s, scoring four number-one hits on the U.S. R&B charts performing in the genres of funk and R&B...
and Wilson Pickett
Wilson Pickett
Wilson Pickett was an American R&B/Soul singer and songwriter.A major figure in the development of American soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, and frequently crossed over to the US Billboard Hot 100...
.
The Just Us and The Tripp
Merryweather began his career in Toronto during the early ‘60s performing under the name Bobby Neilson.During 1964, he joined forces with Gary Muir & The Reflections, a local group comprising Muir (vocals), Ed Roth (organ), Bill Ross (guitar), Brian Hughes (bass) and Bob Ablack (drums). Neilson’s arrival prompted the group to part from Muir and the band briefly changed their name to The Ookpiks (after a native-designed stuffed toy owl that was being promoted by the Canadian government). As it turned out that another group was already using that name, they briefly switched to The Sikusis (after yet another stuffed toy). After the Canadian government demanded payment for their name, they settled on The Just Us
The Just Us
The Just Us were a short-lived Toronto based, R&B band from the mid 1960s, which later morphed into The Tripp and then Livingstone’s Journey. The group’s personnel included Neil Merryweather and Stan Endersby.-Origins:...
in early 1965.
In 1965, the group recorded its lone single, "I Don’t Love You" c/w "I Can Tell", for the local Quality Records label. (Some copies list the group as The Ookpiks, some The Sikusis, and some The Just Us.) Soon afterwards, Hughes, Ross and new drummer Al Morrison left to take part in the formation of The Bossmen around 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...
).
Neilson, who now went by the name Neil Lillie, befriended ex-Mynah Birds singer Jimmy Livingston in Long and McQuade’s music store where he worked in the backroom as an amp and guitar repairman and asked him to join a new line up of The Just Us. To complete the band, Lillie recruited former C. J. Feeney & The Spellbinders members Stan Endersby
Stan Endersby
Stan Endersby is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist.He comes from an acting family and began his career in the early '60s playing with Toronto bands, The Omegas and C J Feeney & The Spellbinders....
on guitar and Wayne Davis
Wayne Davis
Wayne Elliot Davis was an American football cornerback in the National Football League for the San Diego Chargers, the Buffalo Bills, and the Washington Redskins...
on bass.
In early 1966, the group recorded an album’s worth of material at Arc Sound in Toronto, but disaster struck when the manager took the tapes and disappeared with them. Undeterred, The Just Us remained a popular local draw, regularly playing at Toronto clubs like the Hawk’s Nest, the In Crowd and the Gogue Inn as well as local high schools.
In June 1966, Davis left to play with Bobby Kris & The Imperials
Bobby Kris & The Imperials
Bobby Kris & The Imperials were a 1960s Toronto folk-rock band, that had a local hit with Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "Walk On By".-Origins:...
and Lillie learned to play bass in two weeks to fill the spot. Around this time, an American duo with the same name appeared on the charts and the group was forced to adopt a new name, The Group Therapy, for its show at the Varsity Arena
Varsity Arena
Varsity Arena is an arena in Toronto, Ontario. It is located at 299 Bloor Street West and is primarily home to the ice hockey teams of the University of Toronto, the Varsity Blues, though it also hosted the Toronto Toros of the WHA from 1973–74 and the Toronto Planets of the RHI in 1993...
on June 22, supporting The Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
. When another local group surfaced with an earlier claim to The Group Therapy name, the band adopted a new moniker, The Tripp
The Tripp
The Tripp was a short-lived Canadian rock band, based in Toronto from the mid 1960s, featuring Neil Merryweather and Stan Endersby and formed the link between The Just Us and Livingston’s Journey.-The Just Us:...
, in September 1966.
The new group never got the opportunity to record, but did appear on the first episode of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
’s TV show “The Sunday Show”. The band remained a regular fixture on the Toronto club scene throughout late 1966 and early 1967, and one of its most prestigious shows during this period was a performance 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 September 24, 1966 alongside the cream of Toronto’s rock bands.
With its more experimental approach to performance, The Tripp began to perform at more colourful venues like Boris’ Red Gas Room, the Flick and the Syndicate Club. Pianist Richard Bell from Ritchie Knight & The Mid-Knights briefly augmented the group in early 1967 but soon moved on to Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks (and years later, Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
’s backing groups and The Band
The Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
).
Mynah Birds
Soon afterwards, Lillie left the group to take up an offer from singer Ricky James Matthews (later funk star Rick JamesRick James
James Ambrose Johnson, Jr. , better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. James was a popular performer in the late 1970s and 1980s, scoring four number-one hits on the U.S. R&B charts performing in the genres of funk and R&B...
) in a new version of The Mynah Birds
The Mynah Birds
The Mynah Birds were a Canadian R&B band formed in Toronto, Ontario active from 1964 to 1967. Although the band never released an album, it is notable as featuring a number of musicians who went on to have successful careers in rock, folk rock and funk....
. The band went to Motown studios in Detroit during August 1967 and recorded "It’s My Time", a song written by James and Neil Young during the group's previous incarnation. The project was shelved when the band fell apart.
James and Lillie returned to Toronto to find new musicians. With James out of action for a few weeks, Lillie was introduced to guitarist Bruce Cockburn
Bruce 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:...
, formerly of the Esquires. The pair decided to go ahead without James, and recruited with former Bobby Kris & The Imperials members Marty Fisher and Gordon MacBain, who were playing at the Concord Tavern in Toronto at the time.
Bruce Cockburn's Flying Circus
Signed to Harvey Glatt’sHarvey Glatt
Harvey Glatt is a notable and award-winning Canadian music promoter, manager, broadcaster, record and instrument retailer, and record label owner.- History :...
management, the group recorded a number of unreleased tracks in Toronto, including Cockburn’s “Flying Circus”, “She Wants To Know”, “I’m Leaving You Out” and “Mother” as well as Lillie’s “Last Hoorah” and “Elephant Song” and Fisher and MacBain’s “Where Is All The Love”. At the same sessions, the band also recorded songs by Cockburn’s former Children cohort, Bill Hawkins, such as “Merry Go Round”, “It’s A Dirty Shame” and “Little Bit Stoned”.
During late 1967, the band played at Le Hibou in Ottawa and the Riverboat in Toronto and opened for Wilson Pickett at the Capitol Theatre in Ottawa. The Flying Circus also drove to Motown Records but turned down an offer to record for the label after the members refused to give up their song-writing royalties.
After leaving 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...
in March 1968, Lillie reunited with former Tripp members Ed Roth and Jimmy Livingston to form a new band. Adding ex-Fraser Loveman Group guitarist Dave Burt and drummer Gary Hall, the new group, initially dubbed New King Boiler began rehearsing in Lillie’s grandmother’s basement. Gary Hall drank so much coffee that he was soon being called “Coffee” by Lillie’s grandmother; the name stuck, though he chose to spell it “Coffi”.
Merryweather
Renamed Heather Merryweather after a song the band performed with lyrics by band friend, June Nelson, the group soon shortened it to simply MerryweatherMerryweather
Merryweather can refer to:* Merryweather, one of the good fairies in Disney's Sleeping Beauty* Merryweather , a Canadian rock band from the 1960s* Merryweather & Sons, British builders of steam fire engines and steam tram engines* dr...
. In the summer of 1968, the band moved to Los Angeles but Livingston dropped out before the band signed to Capitol Records.
Shortly before the release of the band’s eponymous debut, produced by John Gross, Lillie changed his name to Merryweather. The group’s second (double album), Word of Mouth (released in September 1969) was recorded in Los Angeles with the same basic line-up of Merryweather, Roth, Hall and Burt, plus Steve Miller, Barry Goldberg
Barry Goldberg
Barry Goldberg is a blues and rock keyboardist, songwriter and record producer.-Career:As a teenager in Chicago, Goldberg sat in with Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, and Howlin' Wolf. He played keyboards in the band supporting Bob Dylan during his 1965 'electrified' appearance at the Newport Folk Festival...
, Charlie Musselwhite
Charlie Musselwhite
Charlie Musselwhite is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the non-black bluesmen who came to prominence in the early 1960s, along with Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield. Though he has often been identified as a "white bluesman", he claims Native American heritage...
, Dave Mason, Howard Roberts and Bobby Notkoff.
Although the album was reasonably successful, the group still fragmented, with Burt, Hall and Roth hooking up with Ricky James Matthews in a new group called Salt 'N' Pepper.
Merryweather flew back to Toronto to recruit replacements, then returned with them to record an interesting album for the important blues label, Kent in early 1970. The resulting album, credited to Merryweather, ex-Ugly Ducklings drummer Robin Boers, guitarist John Richardson from Nucleus (and before that Lords of London) and ex-49th Parallel member JJ Velker attracted only limited interest, as did a follow-up album for RCA, Ivar Avenue Reunion, featuring the same basic group plus Goldberg, Musselwhite and Neil's new girlfriend, ex-CK Strong singer Lynn Carey
Lynn Carey
Lynn Carey is an American singer, songwriter, model, and actress best known as the lead vocalist in the band Mama Lion. She is also the daughter of actor Macdonald Carey.-Biography:...
. The Reunion LP has some very strong quitar work especially in the cut "Ride Me", but is unavailable in most instances.
Neil Merryweather and Lynn Carey, using a pool of musicians, recorded the Vacuum Cleaner LP for RCA, then came out with a more permanent unit, Mama Lion, which recorded two albums. The first Mama Lion LP featured a controversial photo of Lynn appearing to be nursing a tiger cub.
After Mama Lion disbanded, Neil Merryweather released a couple of heavy Glam Rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
solo LPs on Mercuty Records: Space Rangers in 1974 and Kryptonite in 1975. Notable cuts included a cosmic glam rock version of The Byrds' "8 Miles High," and a single released from the album Hollywood Boulevard.
Sources
- http://www.theneilmerryweather.com/
- http://www.classicrockpage.com/everheardof/StanEndersby.htm
- http://www.canadianbands.com/Merryweather.html
- Bill Munson, interview with Ed Roth, 1976
- Nick Warburton, interview with Neil Merryweather, 2005
- The Toronto Telegram's After Four section