For roughly two years Richard played with Hawkins. During that time Ronnie asked Richard to assemble a new version of the Hawks for him and Richard recruited what became Crowbar. Richard tapped hardworking Ontario bar band The New Ascots for Rheal Lanthier, guitar, Kelly Jay, keyboards and Roly Greenway, bass to which Richard added Richard Bell, keyboards, along with John Gibbard, guitar, and Larry Atamaniuk, drums, to create the latest version of Hawkins’ band christened And Many Others.
Like The Band, everyone left Ronnie eventually. In 1970, the backup crew that included Richard grew weary of hearing Hawkins describe them on stage, as “so dumb they could fuck up a crowbar” and they decided to split from Ronnie, stay together and hit the road. The boys still had a sense of humour and took the insult as their name of their new band and named it Crowbar. In 1970, Richard, by now “Biscuit” to one and all, to everybody’s surprise, suddenly left Crowbar. Left Crowbar? And the band with a hot single out there. Whatever, the move got me back with Richard.
When Richard left Crowbar he got himself an agent and then he needed a band. He called on me and Babe Myles to be his rhythm section and Earl Johnson, who had played with him at the jam the previous Christmas, for guitar. Earl then recommended Garnett Zimmerman for piano and bingo! We had a band. Called it “The Real Gooduns” partly because Rich and I had used ‘the Gooduns’ name in Europe to replace the ‘the Chessmen’ name which was taken over there by a recording group and partly because “Gooduns” was the title of his new album about to be released on Daffodil Records. He was backed by the members of Crowbar on both it and “Official Music”, his first release for Daffodil. We rehearsed daily for two weeks getting a set list together that included several songs from his first album and from his latest. Rich’s agent got some gigs together around Toronto to get things rolling and to promote the new album. We were off and on the road. Played gigs all over southern Ontario: bars, clubs, dance halls and universities. Went on an east coast tour in April 1971 and then after some local gigs went to Michigan and played the university there, back home and then off to Washington, DC and on to Miami. Back in Toronto we played a week at the prestigious Colonial Tavern on Yonge Street then off to Ottawa and the Rainbow Grill. And best of all we played the Grange Tavern here in Hamilton, the holy grail of gigs for Hamilton born muscians of the rock / pop /soul persuasion. Somewhere along the way we were told to get our asses into gear and write some songs, we had a recording session booked in 3 months to record Rich’s 3rd album for Daffodil.
No choice but to do it, can’t blow a chance like this. I came up with a song based on a favorite of Rich and myself, Warren Smith’s ‘Ubangi Stomp’. Kept the changes and the breaks but wrote a whole new story line. Gave it to Rich and he added two lines that became the chorus so to speak. Called ‘Caledonia River’, we had one. Now we needed a whole lot more. I got to work and wrote six more tunes that Rich would then figure out what the boys should be playing and when and where etc. for each tune. And he would fine tune a lyric here and there to suit his vocal style. That fall we were off to New York City to do a showcase gig at Max’s Kansas City and then over to Long Island Sound to record. We cut 6 originals plus the blues classics ‘Messin’ With the Kid’, ‘Smokestack Lightning’, ‘Done Moved to Kansas City’ and ‘Junker Blues’. We were very excited about the results. When, we wanted to know, would the album be released. What? Never? Sorry lads, Daffodil Records just went bankrupt, your album won’t ever see the light of day. That was the beginning of the end of the band, all downhill from there with no new record, album or single, to promote. The Real Gooduns broke up a few months later. But four of the originals were released 25 years later on the UNI label as a part of a Best of King Biscuit Boy CD release.
I’ve always had copies of the songs we recorded at that Long Island Sound session. Listen to all the originals from that recording session below.
Caledonia River
Deaf, Dumb, Crippled and Blind
Gotta’ Be A Good’un
Blues For Duffy’s Tavern
Walkin’ Shoes
TH&B Railway Blues
.Here are the rest of the Long Island Sound recordings…..
Messin’ With the Kid
Done Moved to Kansas City
Junkers Blues
King Biscuit Boy and the Real Gooduns were: Richard, vocals, slide guitar and Blues harp, John “Babe” Myles, drums, Garnett Zimmerman, piano, Earl ‘Moxie’ Johnson on guitar, myself on bass and vocals on “I’m Ready” (Rich always had me sing a song or two so he could play chromatic harmonica).
Two years later Richard went to New Orleans to record with Allen Toussaint at his SeaSaint Studios for Epic Records. And Allen picked two of our originals, “Caledonia River” and “Deaf, Dumb, Crippled and Blind”, gave them amazing arrangements and updated the grooves and the playing was by his house band which included members of the Neville Brothers band. Listen to them here.
Deaf, Dumb, Crippled, Blind
Caledonia River
All the songs were recorded at Long Island Sound studios, Long Island, New York. “Caledonia River” and Deaf, Dumb, Crippled and Blind were re-recorded at SeaSaint Studio in New Orleans, Louisiana for Epic Records.
One more time, Deaf, Dumb, Crippled and Blind by Tinsley Ellis
from Fannin’ the Flames, Alligator Records, 1989
https://youtu.be/CiJ21o1cm_Y?si=VHDPGbfND0AnNmNk
All the songs were recorded live and should be considered ‘historical documents’. Best listened to through a sound system where the bass and treble can be controlled.
Blues Rockin' Hamilton 