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The Bells, a.k.a. The Five Bells, were a
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from
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
,
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen ...
, active from 1964 to 1974. They released four albums and several singles, two of which were major hits in the early 70s, "Fly Little White Dove Fly" and especially " Stay Awhile".


History

The band formed in 1964 in Montreal as The Five Bells. Members were
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n-born sisters Anne and Jackie Ralph as well as Cliff Edwards, Doug Gravelle and Gordon McLeod. Cliff Edwards and Anne Ralph married in 1967. The Five Bells' first big song was "Moody Manitoba Morning" (written by Rick Neufeld) which peaked on the RPM 100 chart at #78 in the spring of 1969. In 1970, after their first child was born, Anne retired and the family settled on a hobby farm in Warkworth, Ontario. The band shortened their name to The Bells, and recorded a hit single "Fly Little White Dove Fly", which made Top 10 in Canada.
Piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...
player Frank Mills joined The Bells for a short period, from 1970 to 1971, after which he left to pursue a
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career, the highlight of which was the #3 1979 U.S. hit single " Music Box Dancer". Mills was replaced by piano player Dennis Will. Charlie Clark and Mike Waye also joined the band in 1970 as guitarist, bassist and vocalists. "White Dove" was followed up in 1971 by " Stay Awhile", a duet featuring Jackie Ralph and Cliff Edwards. Written by Saint John native Ken Tobias, the song became a major hit worldwide, selling four million copies and going to #1 in Canada on the '' RPM 100'' national Top Singles chart on April 10, 1971 and remaining there for two weeks. It also became their only Top 40 hit in the U.S., reaching #7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. This single sold over one million copies before the major U.S.
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s played it, and received a
gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
awarded by the R.I.A.A. on 27 May 1971. The success led to invitations to perform on ''
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'' in June 1971 and ''
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''. They also played a New Years Eve show from the Waldorf Astoria Hotel with Guy Lombardo. In Australia, "Stay Awhile" reached #9. Also that year, the single "Lady Dawn" appeared on the charts, peaking at #11 on the Canadian charts in July . During late 1972, the band had another hit in their native Canada, a cover of
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' " Maxwell's Silver Hammer". It reached #83 on the ''RPM'' 100 and #2 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The band broke up when Cliff Edwards departed for a solo career in 1973. The Bells had three Canadian Top Ten singles from their final album, ''Pisces Rising'' (Polydor, 1973): "The Singer", "Hey My Love", and "He Was Me, He Was You". Jackie Ralph recruited new members, featuring a new rhythm section with Skip Layton on drums and Will (Wayne) Cardinal on bass; the band took on an edgier, country rock style. Layton and Cardinal were also members of the bands Faro and
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in 1976; Layton would go on to become the drummer of
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. In 2007,
Guy Maddin Guy Maddin (born February 28, 1956) is a Canadian screenwriter, director, author, cinematographer, and film editor of both features and short films, as well as an installation artist, from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Since completing his first film i ...
used The Bells' song "Moody Manitoba Morning" in his film ''My Winnipeg''. In 2014, a daughter of Cliff Edwards and Anne Ralph, Jessica Edwards, released a documentary film about The Bells' career and the personal relationships of the group members. Titled ''Stay Awhile'', it premiered at the Whistler Film Festival on December 6, 2014.


Discography

Albums *''Dimensions'' (1969), Polydor, as The Five Bells *''Love, Luck N' Lollipops'' (1971), Polydor *''Fly, Little White Dove, Fly'' (1971), Polydor *''Stay Awhile'' (1971, EP), Polydor *''Studio "A"'' (1972), Polydor *''Pisces Rising'' (1973), Polydor *''The Best Of The Bells'' (1974, compilation), Polydor *''Best Of The Bells'' (1989, compilation), Polydor *''The Best Of The Bells'' (2004, compilation), Universal Music Canada Singles *"V'la Le Bon Vent" / "Amen" (1966), as The Five Bells *"Big City" / "Moody Manitoba Morning" (1969), as The Five Bells *"Fly Little White Dove, Fly" / "Follow The Sun" (1970) *"Je Vais Rester / "Blanc Petit Oiseau Blanc" (1970) *"Sweet Sounds Of Music" (1971) *"Homeward Bound" / "For Better For Worse" (1971) *"For Better For Worse" / "To Know You Is To Love You" (1971) *"Stay Awhile" / "Sing A Song Of Freedom" (1971) *"I Love You Lady Dawn" / "Rain" (1971) *"Lady Dawn" (1971) *"Maxwell's Silver Hammer" / "Moody Manitoba Morning" (1972) *"Oh My Love" / "You You You" (1972) *"The Singer" / "Love Once Removed" (1973) *"He Was Me, He Was You" / "Child Of Mine" (1973) *"Hey My Love" (1973)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bells (band), The Musical groups established in 1964 Musical groups disestablished in 1974 Musical groups from Montreal Canadian pop rock music groups English-language musical groups from Quebec 1965 establishments in Quebec 1973 disestablishments in Quebec