The Toronto Sound is the characteristic R&B sound from the years 1959–69 which was a major progenitor of American Rock in the 1970s. Its components are the Fender Telecaster guitar, Fender Precision Bass

Fender Precision Bass

The Fender Precision Bass is an electric bass.Designed by Leo Fender as a prototype in 1950 and brought to market in 1951, the Precision was the first electric bass to earn widespread attention and use. A revolutionary instrument for the time, the Precision Bass has made an immeasurable impact on...

, New Orleans-style drumming, a dominant Hammond organ

Hammond organ

The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...

, and soul singing. Bands typically presented full shows complete with choreography a la James Brown

James Brown

James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...

 & the Famous Flames, and a matching wardrobe (cf. 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...

). Popular tunes were uniquely arranged by Toronto musicians, devotees of the Stax

Stax Records

Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...

 and Motown labels, and customized according to the will of the given bandleader. This sound came to influence many performers, including Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...

, Gordon Lightfoot

Gordon Lightfoot

Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr. is a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music, and has been credited for helping define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s...

, Neil Young

Neil Young

Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...

, Buffalo Springfield

Buffalo Springfield

Buffalo Springfield is a North American folk rock band renown both for its music and as a springboard for the careers of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and Jim Messina. Among the first wave of North American bands to become popular in the wake of the British invasion, the group combined...

, and Steppenwolf

Steppenwolf (band)

Steppenwolf are a Canadian-American rock group that was prominent in the late 1960s. The group was formed in 1967 in Los Angeles by vocalist John Kay, guitarist Michael Monarch, bassist Rushton Moreve, keyboardist Goldy McJohn and drummer Jerry Edmonton after the dissolution of Toronto group The...

.

Musicians typically played in two areas of 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...

. The first was Yorkville

Yorkville, Toronto

Yorkville is a district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, well known for its shopping. It is a former village, annexed by the City of Toronto. It is roughly bounded by Bloor Street to the south, Davenport Road to the north, Yonge Street to the east and Avenue Road to the west, and is considered part of...

, now an upscale shopping district, but then a centre for entertainment. Coffeehouses expanded into live venues as listed below. The second area was Yonge Street

Yonge Street

Yonge Street is a major arterial route connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. It was formerly listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest street in the world at , and the construction of Yonge Street is designated an "Event of...

 between King St. and Bloor.

Principal Musicians and Bands Responsible for Creating the Toronto Sound

David Clayton Thomas, Domenic Troiano

Domenic Troiano

Domenic Troiano was a Canadian rock guitarist, most notable for his contributions to Mandala, The James Gang, The Guess Who and as a solo artist.-History:...

, the Five Rogues/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...

/Bush

Bush (Canadian band)

Bush was a Canadian rock band in the early 1970s, which evolved from the respected club act Mandala. The latter had a minor Canadian hit with the song "Love-Itis". Bush consisted of ex-Mandala bandmates Domenic Troiano, Roy Kenner, Hugh Sullivan and Pentti Glan, plus Prakash John. The group...

, George Olliver and the Soul Children, Eric Mercury

Eric Mercury

Eric Mercury is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and musician. He was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario into a family of musicians. He performed with groups including The Pharaohs and Eric Mercury and the Soul Searchers in the 1960s, and moved to Chicago in 1968 to perform by himself. His debut...

, Diane Brooks and the Soul Searchers, Grant Smith & The Power

Grant Smith & The Power

Grant Smith & The Power were a popular Canadian rock-soul outfit from the 1960s that had a hit with a cover of Jackie Edwards' "Keep On Running" and was also a training ground for musicians who went on to the likes of McKenna Mendelson Mainline, Motherlode, Crowbar and Leigh Ashford.- Group...

, Steppenwolf

Steppenwolf (band)

Steppenwolf are a Canadian-American rock group that was prominent in the late 1960s. The group was formed in 1967 in Los Angeles by vocalist John Kay, guitarist Michael Monarch, bassist Rushton Moreve, keyboardist Goldy McJohn and drummer Jerry Edmonton after the dissolution of Toronto group The...

 (originating as Jack London and the Sparrows), 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...

, 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....

 (including Neil Young

Neil Young

Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...

 and 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...

), The Plague, Jackie Shane (said, without proof, to be a cousin of Little Richard

Little Richard

Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...

), Eugene Smith and the Imperials, Shawne and Jay Jackson and the Majestics, Ronnie Hawkins

Ronnie Hawkins

Ronald "Ronnie" Hawkins is a Juno Award-winning rockabilly musician whose career has spanned more than half a century. Though his career began in Arkansas, USA, where he'd been born and raised, it was in Ontario, Canada where he found success and settled for most of his life...

 and the Hawks (who became 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...

), Robbie Lane and the Disciples, Jackie Gabriel, Jack Harden and the Silhouettes, RK and the Associates, Jon and Lee & The Checkmates

Jon and Lee & The Checkmates

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...

, who became Rhinoceros

Rhinoceros

Rhinoceros , also known as rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia....

, Luke & The Apostles

Luke & The Apostles

Luke & The Apostles was a 1960s blues group from Toronto known for their 1967 hit "Been Burnt". Band members included Canadian guitarist Mike McKenna, Luke Gibson, Peter Jermyn, Jim Jones, and Pat Little...

, and, later, Prakash John

Prakash John

Prakash John is a Canadian rock bassist.Born in Bombay, India, John was a student at the Cathedral and John Connon School, enrolling at the age of four in 1951. He migrated to Toronto in 1960....

 and the Lincolns

The Lincolns

- History :In 1979, after leaving the Alice Cooper tours, Prakash John returned to Toronto and founded an R&B band in tribute to the Toronto bands of his youth. He recruited some of the best musicians available, some from previous tours, particularly the Lou Reed Sally Can't Dance album and tour...

.
The James Stafford Set called The Chad Noir home as The Ugly Ducklings

The Ugly Ducklings

The Ugly Ducklings were a five piece garage rock group based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, most notable during the mid 1960s.They released six singles in 1966 and 1967 on the Yorktown and Yorkville labels, and one album, Somewhere Outside in 1967...

called Charlie Brown's theirs. Other popular Toronto groups were The Stitch-in-Tyme, The Last Words, The Rising Sons and many more.

Clubs in which the Toronto Sound was developed

In Yorkville: The Riverboat; The Purple Onion; The Devil's Den; El Patio; The Penny Farthing; The Mynah Bird; Chez Monique; The Embassy Tavern; Boris's; and The Flick, most of which were overgrown coffee houses.
On Yonge Street from Bloor to King Street: Le Coq d'Or (with The Hawk's Nest above it); The Colonial Tavern; The Sapphire; Club Blue Note; The Zanzibar; and Club 888, which became The Rockpile in 1968.