Wonderful Grand Band

The Wonderful Grand Band is a Canadian music and comedy group formed in 1978 in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.[1]

For the album, see The Wonderful Grand Band (album).
The Wonderful Grand Band
OriginSt. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
GenresRock
Folk Rock
Years active1978–1983 (Reunion 1997) 2009–present
LabelsGrand East Records
Associated actsRon Hynes
Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellers
Figgy Duff
The Fables

History

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 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

The following members are listed on the group's albums:

  • Ron Hynes – lead vocals, guitars, mandolin, banjo (1978–1983) (1997)
  • Greg Malone –
  • Tommy Sexton – vocals
  • Kelly Russell - fiddle, mandolin, dulcimer
  • Sandy Morris - acoustic & electric lead guitars, backing vocals
  • Bryan Hennessey - electric bass, harmonica on 'Take a Chance'
  • Bawnie Oulton - vocal harmony
  • Glenn Simmons - lead vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, bass guitar, vocal harmony
  • Rocky Wiseman - drums
  • Jamie Snider – lead vocals, guitars, mandolin, fiddle
  • Ian Perry – bass guitar, electric guitar, backing vocals
  • Paul "Boomer" Stamp – drums, percussion, backing vocals
  • Declan O'Doherty – keyboards
  • John Jonson – saxophone
  • Dave Rundle – percussion

Discography
  • Wonderful Grand Band (1978)
  • Living in a Fog (1981)

References
Citations
  1. Sandra Clarke (28 February 2010). Newfoundland and Labrador English. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 93–. ISBN 978-0-7486-3141-4.
  2. Sean Cadigan (11 April 2009). Newfoundland and Labrador: A History. University of Toronto Press. pp. 2047–. ISBN 978-1-4426-9059-2.
  3. Larry LeBlanc (28 June 2003). "Newfoundland's Hynes documents local life". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.: 65–. ISSN 0006-2510.
  4. http://www.heritage.nf.ca/arts/television.html
  5. Alan Doyle (13 October 2015). Where I Belong. Doubleday Canada. pp. 80–. ISBN 978-0-385-68038-7.
  6. Darrell Varga (1 November 2015). Shooting from the East: Filmmaking on the Canadian Atlantic. MQUP. pp. 32–. ISBN 978-0-7735-9805-8.
  7. Bob Mersereau (1 March 2015). The History of Canadian Rock 'n' Roll. Backbeat Books. pp. 169–. ISBN 978-1-4950-2890-8.
  8. 'Magical' Ron Hynes performs before cancer treatment; CBC News; August 11, 2012 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2012/08/12/nl-hynes-performs-before-cancer-treatment-811.html
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