Copperpenny & Steel River

Part 2

This is part 2 of a 2 part article focusing on two excellent bands from Southern Ontario. During the early 1970’s these two bands were popular on Canadian radio and toured extensively. Part 1 was all about Copperpenny, and now we will look at the other band, Steel River. 

Steel River started their musical journey in the Toronto area. The original band consisted of John Dudgeon (lead vocals), Tony Dunning (guitar), Bob Forrester (keyboards), Rob Cockell (bass) and Ray Angrove (drums). Like most bands, they started out playing locally on weekends, honing their chops and paying their dues. In 1969, they took the plunge and turned pro. (On a point of clarity, the band members as listed above are the 1969 lineup, I am unable to establish if all of them were band members prior to then). 

It was around this time that the band became associated with a legendary member of the Canadian music scene, Greg Hambleton. Greg was establishing himself as a songwriter, producer and manager, as well as running his own record label. The band decided to have him become their manager and producer, and they also decided to sign a deal with his Tuesday record label (distributed in Canada by Quality). 

With Greg Hambleton at the helm, the band commenced recording their first album, “Weighin’ Heavy”. Interestingly, the single that was released from their debut album was a cover version of a song written by a rival Toronto band. The decision turned out to be a wise one, as the song “Ten Pound Note” was a Canadian hit, charting at the number ten position. “Ten Pound Note” was a typical rhythm and blues influenced track of the era, featuring a strong keyboard arrangement and lots of tambourine. The songs tempo was relaxed, with a soulful vocal performance from John Dudgeon. The album was in stores in the fall of 1970, with the single being released first, in July.

The single’s success in Canada, and to lesser extant south of the border, provided the band with some touring opportunities as openers for larger acts. They opened for such bands as Sly & The Family Stone, Three Dog Night, and Steppenwolf (amongst others). On Greg Hambleton’s current website, axerecords.ca, there is a link (under “Articles”) to a a great interview with Steel River’s bassist Rob Cockell about the band’s 1971 American touring experiences. It is well worth reading. The band came off the road in the spring of 1971 and started recording material for the next release.

The followup record was called “A Better Road”, and was released during the summer of 1971. To my ears, the songs on this album found the band really hitting their stride. It featured a harder, rockier sound than the band’s first album. The keyboards were still prominent however, and maintained the great “R&B” feel the group had. There were two singles released from this album, and to those of us who listened to such stations as CHUM FM during the summer of 1971, these were songs that we heard a lot. They also go strong airplay on the AM “Top 50” stations. Both songs had a great beat, were very danceable (always important to the teen aged demographic!) and were radio friendly, so it’s not surprising that they were successful. Like Copperpenny, Steel River still enjoys strong airplay on Southern Ontario radio stations specializing in classic rock of the Canadian variety. In passing, it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the importance of the “Canadian Content” or “MAPL” regulations that required Canadian radio to play a certain percentage of Canadian artists. These rules obviously helped in encouraging and supporting Canadian artists, and I am sure were instrumental in getting these singles on the air. Once they were being broadcast, they held their own. 

The first single to be released was “Southbound Train”.  The song opens with a strong gospel influenced series of piano chords. The vocal portion of the song begins with the band harmonizing together over the chorus lyrics. Lead singer John Dudgeon sings the verse with a real blues feel, and some Mick Jagger influenced phrasing and inflection. The instrumental features a melodic (if somewhat restrained) guitar solo. The song structure is primarily based around the strong piano playing of Bob Forrester. Like most singles, it is around three minutes in length. The flip side as a non-album track called “A Lie”. “Southbound Train” was released in May of 1971, just in time for summer.

The second single to be released was “Mexican Lady” backed with “Joyful Judy”. (The details about this single are somewhat contradictory. One online site indicates that “Joyful Judy”, a track included on the album was the “A” side, and “Mexican Lady” a non-album track, was the “B” side. However, when I looked up the single online, “Mexican Lady” was cleared marked as the “A” side, or side 1. I certainly remember hearing “Mexican Lady” on the radio, so I suspect it was what the band wanted to be played on air. Why it wasn’t on the album is a bit of a mystery.) Like “Southbound Train”, the song has a strong, danceable beat, and opens with some classic electric (my technical description would be “crunchy!) guitar chords along with drums and bass, joined after four bars by a classic Hammond B3 organ accompaniment. As with the preceding single, the keyboards really frame the music and provide that great “R&B” feel. The vocals again commence with the band harmonizing over the chorus. This is probably my favourite Steel River tune, and really suits the blues-rock vocal abilities of John Dudgeon. The chorus is very catchy, and you can easily visualize high-school students dancing to this number in somebody’s basement, or at a dance at their school where the band would be performing. (It is hard to believe in this day of austerity and regulations that actual professional rock and roll bands with records on the radio played high-school dances!). The instrumental portion of the tune features a brief drum solo prior to a guitar solo. It’s fair to admit that this song, and its predecessor “Southbound Train”, may not have had some of the polish that other artists may have had on their recordings of the same time period, but the groove is very strong, and we are hearing a band that has worked long hours together on the road and has that tightness that comes with extensive touring. “Mexican Lady” was released in November, 1971.

Steel River toured extensively throughout Canada and portions of the United States in support of their recordings. However, like many other Canadian bands on a smaller label, they were unable to take the next step and really establish themselves. There were some further single releases, but they didn’t have the impact that the first three release had. The band stayed on the road, including in the United States, but by 1974 they decided to call it quits.

For the collector, both albums (“Weighin’ Heavy” and “A Better Road”) were released on Tuesday records in Canada (GHL 1000 for “Weighin’ Heavy” and GHL 1003 for “A Better Road”) and the Stereo Dimension label in the United States. The three singles on Tuesday are identified as GH 101X (“Ten Pound Note”), GH 110X (“Southbound Train”) and GH 113X (“Mexican Lady”). Like the albums, they were also released south of the border on the Stereo Dimension label. 

Both Copperpenny and Steel River are great examples of the bands that were recording and performing music in Southern Ontario during the late 1960’s and the first part of the 1970’s. Please take a few minutes and listen, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.