Airdate – Oct 10, 2021
Over the years there have been a number of groups who have named themselves after cities with two of the most prominent being Chicago and Boston. Other notables include the groups Nazareth and Berlin.
Canada also have some groups with geographic names. In the east, there was the group Toronto which was active from 1979 – 1984 and started up again in 2007. You may recall the group’s hit “Your Daddy Don’t Know” which went to #2 in the city of Toronto in 1982. It also made it onto the Billboard Hot 100 that year peaking at the #77 position.
However, there was another Canadian city-named group that appeared seven times on Billboard Hot 100 during the ten year period from 1972 – 1982.
*****
This group was named after a city in the province of British Columbia on the West Coast of Canada – a city that is approximately 63 miles east of Vancouver. The original members of the group came from a house band formed in 1961 for radio station CFUN in Vancouver. The group took on the name The Collectors in 1966.
The city-named version of the group got its start in 1970 and remained active until 1988. It was subsequently resurrected in 1997 and still performs today. It’s line up has changed many times over the years but its lead singer/guitarist Bill Henderson has been there since 1966.
Their seven best-selling singles were “My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone),” “Arms of Mary,” I Believe,” “Whatcha Gonna Do,” “Fly at Night,” “Crazy Talk,” and “Lonesome Mary.”
Rolling Stone magazine once wrote: “At their best, [this group] was the finest Canadian rock band, out-rocking BTO and out-writing Burton Cummings [of Guess Who fame]. But a lack of consistency kept it from international success.”
The name of the group is Chilliwack. If you have ever heard this group perform, you will remember the distinctiveness of Bill Henderson voice and his range. One of the best examples of this is a 1974 release that went to #16 on Vancouver’s CKLG charts. It was produced by another local artist, Terry Jacks, of “Seasons In The Sun” fame.
Rarely heard today, many followers of Chilliwack smile when they hear this record, bearing witness that “There’s Something I Like About That,” this week’s Tom Locke moment in time.
YouTube video of this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ56UpuBwCs