Natural Gas was a Canadian rock music group featuring a horn section. Consisting of eight members, it was formed by

George Olliver George Olliver was a Canadian music artist. A singer and organist, he was the lead singer for Mandala in the 1960s. He also founded the late 1960s, early 1970s jazz rock group Natural Gas. Background As a boy he was in the Anglican church choir ...

. They released an album and a single in 1970. They had hit that year with "

All Powerful Man "All Powerful Man" is a song by Canadian jazz-rock group, Natural Gas. Composed by George Olliver and released in 1970, it was the group's only single and only hit. Background Music magazine ''Record World'' reported in their January 24, 1970 iss ...

". Their self-titled

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

also made the charts.

Background

In a similar vein to Lighthouse, Chicago and Blood Sweat & Tears, the group was put together by

.The Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedia
NATURAL GAS
/ref> The group's line up included drummer

Graham Lear Graham Lear (born July 24, 1949) is a Canadian rock drummer, best known for his time with Gino Vannelli, Santana (band), Santana and REO Speedwagon. He was born in Plymouth, United Kingdom. Background In 1952 his family moved to London, Ontario, ...

, and George Olliver. Founder Olliver had previously been with

Mandala A mandala (, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for establishing a sacred space and as an aid ...

and George Olliver & The Soul Children which was formed in 1967. Other members were, Dave “Hulk” Berman, Dave Classic, Leon Feigenbaum, Dave Tamblyn, Carl Watral and

Brian Wray Brian Wray was a veteran Canadian musician and musical arranger. He had been a member of three major Canadian bands, Natural Gas in the late 1960s, Motherlode and Truck in the early 1970s. He also worked with Lisa Hartt, Freedom North, Moe Koff ...

. Wray had done some arrangements on Freedom North's self-titled album that was released in 1970. At one stage Natural Gas was represented by public relations man Richard Drew of Austin Drew Associates in New York. They recorded just one album. Brian Wray joined the group in May, 1969. He was previously in the group Five Of a Kind which also had a pre-

Mashmakhan Mashmakhan was a Canadian rock band formed in 1969 in L'Île-Perrot, Quebec. The band is best known for their 1970 hit single " As the Years Go By". The song reached No. 1 in Canada, and the Top 40 in the United States. The song was also a ma ...

Brian Edwards in their line up. Leon Feigenbaum joined up in October. He was previously in a group called The Influence.

Career

The group was formed around late 1968. They met their managers, Pat Jaques and Fran White in March, 1969 while in New York. Their debut album was recorded at RCA studios in Montreal in October that year and mixed in New York. Self-titled, it was produced by Pat Jaques and Fran White. Also in January, 1970 the group played at The Laugh In in Victoria Street, Montreal. Playing in genres that ranged from rhythm and blues to jazz and rock, they received a positive review by Montreal's '' The Gazette''. The reviewer noted a slightly unusual choice of material when they played the theme to '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', but wrote that it added to their versatility.''The Gazette'', Saturday, January 17, 1970
Page 15 Pop Music, Natural Gas a natural treat
/ref> Also in January, their album was released. It actually saw a US release before it got a Canadian release. The album was a ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' and ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' frontpage pick. It was reported by ''Record World'' in their January 24, 1970, issue that Natural Gas' single "

" bw "What Do You Want From My Life" would soon be released. A party was held at Broadway Recording Studios for the release of the group's album. It was attended by Gus Gossart,

WCBS-FM WCBS-FM (101.1 FM) is a radio station owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. licensed to New York, New York, and broadcasting a classic hits format. The station's studios are in the combined Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood in ...

Program Director, Dick Bozzi, WCBS-FM Music Director, Dan Goldberg, Music Editor of ''Record World'', plus hosts, George and Sam Goldner of Firebird Records. Their song, "What Do You Want From My Life" was also getting attention. By March, 1970, Modern Tape's Promotional Director, John Driscoll was ready to tour the Western Provinces to promote the group's LP album and their single, "All Powerful Man". "All Powerful Man" peaked at #76 on May 9, 1970, spending a total of 7 weeks in the Canadian charts. Their album got into the Canadian Top 10. It also made the Top 50 in the United States.

Line up

* Dave Berman - Saxes, Vocals * Dave Classic - Trombone, Vocals * Leon Feigenbaum - Bass *

- Percussion *

- Vocals, Organ * Dave Tamblin - Guitar, Vocal * Carl Watral - Trumpet, Fleugelhorn, Vocals *

- Organ, Piano, Flute, Vocals

Post Natural Gas

In 1971, members, Dave Berman and Brian Wray along with Brian Dewhurst, Gerry Legault and Joey Roberts (aka Joey Miquelon) became the fifth version of Motherlode, originally founded by Steve Kennedy,

William Smith William, Willie, Will, Bill, or Billy Smith may refer to: Academics * William Smith (Master of Clare College, Cambridge) (1556–1615), English academic * William Smith (antiquary) (c. 1653–1735), English antiquary and historian of University C ...

, Ken Marco and Wayne Stone. This fifth version of Motherlode did not release any recordings.citizenfreak.com (© Museum of Canadian Music)
Motherlode
/ref> Two Natural Gas members, Graham Lear, Brian Wray later became part of the group

Truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construct ...

which had evolved out of an earlier group called

Sound Spectrum In the physical sciences, the term ''spectrum'' was introduced first into optics by Isaac Newton in the 17th century, referring to the range of colors observed when white light was dispersed through a prism. Soon the term referred to a plot o ...

.Rock My World Canada!
Truck (jazz rock)
/ref> The group managed to have two singles released in 1972. They were "Canada" bw "Rain", released on

Capitol Capitol, capitols or The Capitol may refer to: Places and buildings Legislative building * United States Capitol, in Washington, D.C. * National Capitol of Colombia, in Bogotá * Palacio Federal Legislativo, in Caracas, Venezuela * National Ca ...

72679, and "Get It Together" bw "Can't Wait Until Tomorrow", released on Capitol 72687. They also had a self-titled

released that year. It included the track "Rollin's On My Mind" Lear co-wrote with keyboardist Brian Wray. During their time they opened up for

ELP Elp is a small village in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Midden-Drenthe, and lies about 15 km south of Assen. The village was first mentioned in 1362 as "in Elpe". The etymology is unclear. Elp was home ...

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

and

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...

. The biggest gig they played was to 20,000 people at the Rockwood Music Festival in Orangeville, Ontario. After a series of line-up changes the group broke up. Two other members of the group,

Carl Watral Natural Gas was a Canadian rock music group featuring a horn section. Consisting of eight members, it was formed by George Olliver. They released an album and a single in 1970. They had hit that year with " All Powerful Man". Their self-titled al ...

and Leon Feigenbaum would join the group

Young Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one's age is low, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an America ...

Later years

In 1973, Olliver released a solo single, "I May Never Get to See You Again" on Much Records. The single was produced by Bill Hill who was the A&R man for the label. In 1976, he had another single released. The song "

Don't Let the Green Grass Fool You Don't, Dont, or DONT may refer to: Films * ''Don't'' (1925 film), a 1925 silent comedy film * ''Don't'' (1974 film), a 1974 film about the monarch butterfly * ''Don't'', a fake trailer from the film ''Grindhouse'' (2007) Songs * "Don't" (Bill ...

" had

Dianne Brooks Gwendolyn Dianne Brooks (January 3, 1939 – April 29, 2005), was an American soul, r&b and jazz singer. With the Three Playmates, Brooks recorded several songs in 1957. She moved to Toronto shortly thereafter. Her part in Canadian soul music h ...

helping out with background vocals. Dave Classic died in 2019.

Discography

Discogs
Natural Gas (2), Discography
/ref>

References

{{reflist

External links

Discogs: Natural Gas
* retiredcanadian YouTube channel
Natural Gas entire LP, 1970
Canadian pop rock music groups Canadian rhythm and blues music groups Canadian jazz-rock groups