Walter "Zwol" Zwolinski (aka Zwol or Walter Zwol) is a Canadian musician and songwriter and founding member and front-man for the Canadian rock band
Brutus
Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...
(1969–1976). The band charted a minor Canadian hit, "
Who Wants To Buy A Song", a #65 hit in 1976. Zwol then embarked on a solo career and charted two Top 100 hits in the US and Canada late 1970s. He continues to record and perform live in the
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
region.
Brutus
Formed in 1969, Brutus consisted of Zwol as vocalist, Tom Wilson as bassist,
Michael Magann on trumpet,
Lance Wright on drums,
Eldon "Sonny" Wingay on guitar, and
Bill Robb on sax and trombone. The band was the opening act for popular Canadian and American acts that were touring Canada.
The group disbanded in 1971, then reformed with a revised line-up and new look in 1973. The new Brutus lineup recorded two singles on GRT Records in 1975, with "
Who Wants To Buy A Song" and "Ooh Mama Mama"becoming their most successful recordings. Their debut album would follow in 1976 but only two additional singles would follow before they disbanded.
Solo career
Zwol would sign with
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
-America in the late 1970s and record two albums: the self-titled ''Zwol'' in 1978 and ''
Effective Immediately'' in 1979. From the self-titled album, two singles would make the American Top 100 chart:
[Whitburn, J: "Top Pop Singles 1955 to 2002, page 786 Record Research, 2003] "Call Out my Name", about love fading away, reached #75 US and #90 Canada, and "New York City", a new wave synth ode to the Big Apple, reached #76 US and #57 Canada.
Band members on Effective Immediately included
Bernie LaBarge on guitar and vocals, Grant Slater on keyboards and vocals, Sonnie Bernardi on drums, and
Dennis Pinhorn on bass guitar and vocals.
In 1981, Zwol signed a record deal with
A&M for his new band "Walter Zwol and The Rage". They released one album titled ''Thrillz'' but no singles would chart. Band members included
Bernie LaBarge on guitar and vocals,
Grant Slater on keyboards and vocals, Paul Armstrong on drums, and Dennis Pinhorn on bass guitar and vocals.
Singles
References
External links
NWZCA Facebook group
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zwolinski, Walter
Canadian rock singers
Living people
1946 births