Fathead was a Canadian multiple

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

and Maple Blues award-winning blues band, founded by Al Lerman and originally formed with members Mike Fitzpatrick,

Ted Leonard Theodore Michael Leonard (born September 22, 1971) is an American vocalist and guitarist, best known as the lead singer for the progressive rock band Enchant. He has also provided lead vocals for Thought Chamber, Spock's Beard, and Pattern-S ...

, John Mays and Bob Tunnoch.

Biography

Fathead, originally from Havelock, Ontario and

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario, were a working band from 1992 until 2016. They are multiple

and Maple Blues Award winners. Their distinguished musical career was so honoured by the

Juno Awards The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's music industry. The Grammy Awards are the United S ...

as early as 1999 and again in 2008. They were awarded their first Maple Blues Award as early as 1997 for ''Electric Act of the Year.'' Fathead came together in the late 1980s with no intention of becoming a permanent band; they were a pick up gig. Lerman worked for close to a year with a variety of musicians. When he noticed it was the same musicians coming out to play each time, they all realized they were onto something. They became the long-standing members of the newly formed band in 1992, which Lerman named Fathead after a recording he had by David Fathead Newman.

Musicians

John Mays (born 1941) in Georgia grew up with southern

Gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...

. In the 1950s he began singing

Doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

on the streets of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He entered the rhythm and blues club scene in the 1960s then graduated to

Soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and

Funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

as a member of The Insiders in the 1970s while touring with

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

. In 1978 he came to

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

to stay, at that time he was still performing all styles of music and was the co-founder of The Bleeker Street Band prior to becoming the lead vocalist for Fathead in 1992, returning to his devotion of the blues, deep soul and gospel. In 2011, on his 70th birthday, Mays released his only solo album, ''I Found a Love''. Mays remained with the Fathead band for twenty four years until his death in 2016, in that time he was awarded six

Maple Blues Awards The Maple Blues Awards are Canada’s blues awards, "honouring the finest in Canadian blues". They are the only comprehensive national best in blues awards program. The program's goal is to promote blues music across Canada, and to recognize ou ...

for ''Male Vocalist of the Year'' and in 1995 the West Coast Blues Award for ''Best Male Vocalist''. Al Lerman (born 1954) founder and organizer of the Fathead band is a multi-instrumentalist, playing the harmonica, tenor saxophone and guitar as well as being a singer and songwriter. He was influenced by

Sonny Terry Saunders Terrell (October 24, 1911 – March 11, 1986), known as Sonny Terry, was an American Piedmont blues and folk musician, who was known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers and occas ...

and

Brownie McGhee Walter Brown "Brownie" McGhee (November 30, 1915 – February 16, 1996) was an American folk and Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaboration with the harmonica player Sonny Terry. Life and career McGhee was bor ...

, whom he went to see in multiple performances, commencing at the age of eleven. An elementary school music class would blossom a lifelong desire to play the blues. Lerman then began seeking out many of his musical heroes, receiving advice and being fortunate to sit in and play with blues legends such as

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of moder ...

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

Sunnyland Slim Albert Luandrew (September 5, 1906March 17, 1995), "Blues pianist and singer Sunnyland Slim was born Albert Luandrew in Vance, Mississippi, September 5, 1906 (most sources say 1907, but the Social Security Death Index and 1920 census data give t ...

and many more. He became friends with Chicago harmonica player

Carey Bell Carey Bell Harrington (November 14, 1936 – May 6, 2007) was an American blues musician who played harmonica in the Chicago blues style. Bell played harmonica and bass guitar for other blues musicians from the late 1950s to the early 1970s be ...

who mentored him on the harmonica, in live performances, Lerman regularly plays with a rack-mounted harmonica. Bob "Omar" Tunnoch bassist for the Fathead band is a musician, songwriter, and visual artist. Along with band leader Al Lerman he has penned and co-written many of Fathead's songs. He was a member of influential bands in

being

Whiskey Howl Whiskey Howl was a Toronto-based Canadian blues band, most popular between 1969 and 1972. The band is notable as being one of the early Canadian bands promoting and developing blues music in Canada.John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues that he develo ...

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer and songwriter. Starting her career in 1954, James frequently performed in Nashville's R&B clubs, collectively known as the Ch ...

and

Paul Butterfield Paul Vaughn Butterfield (December 17, 1942May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player, singer, and bandleader. After early training as a Western concert flute, classical flautist, he developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored ...

. Tunnoch is also an award-winning Canadian artist and member of the Society of Canadian Artists.

was born into a musical family in

and became one of the original members of the Fathead band, remaining until 2006. In 2006, Leonard decided to embark on a career as a freelance musician permitting him to tour throughout

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

with musicians Mark ‘Bird’ Stafford,

Paul Reddick Paul Reddick is a Canadian blues singer, songwriter and harmonica player. He was the founder of the group The Sidemen, active from 1990 until the early 2000s. History Born in Toronto, Ontario,Larry LeblancProfile of Paul Reddick Blues Art Journ ...

, Johnny Max and Pork Belly Futures. He left a freelance career in 2009 and rejoined the Fathead band which he remained with until 2013, when he again decided to leave and remains to this day in a freelance career. In total Leonard spent eighteen years with the Fathead band and in that time he received a Maple Blues Award in 1999 as ''Guitarist of the Year'' and in 2010 the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Great Lakes Blues Society and the Jimmy Lewis Award, presented by the city of

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

for his long career as a blues musician. Bucky Berger, originally performed with the band

Rough Trade Rough Trade may refer to: *Rough Trade (shops), London record stores *Rough Trade Records, a record label from the stores *Rough Trade Books, a publishing house from the label *Rough Trade (band), a Canadian new wave rock band * "Rough Trade" (''Am ...

, which was formed by vocalist

Carole Pope Carole Ann Pope (born 6 August 1950) is a British-born Canadian rock singer-songwriter, whose provocative blend of hard-edged New wave music, new wave rock with explicit homoerotic and BDSM-themed lyrics made her one of the first openly lesbian ...

and

Kevan Staples Rough Trade (1968–1988) was a Canadians, Canadian Rock music, rock band centred on singer Carole Pope and multi-instrumentalist Kevan Staples. The band was noted for their provocative lyrics and stage antics; singer Pope often performed in bond ...

in 1968. Berger was the drummer with the band from 1978 to 1982, when he left to pursue a freelance career before joining the Fathead band in 2007. Over a long career, he has played and/or recorded with

Chilliwack Chilliwack ( ) is a city of about 100,000 people and in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located about east of the City of Vancouver in the Fraser Valley. The enumerated population is 93,203 in the city and 113,767 in the gr ...

, David Wilcox, Danny Brooks, Curley Bridges,

Elvin Bishop Elvin Richard Bishop (born October 21, 1942) is an American blues and rock music singer, guitarist, bandleader, and songwriter. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 2015, and in ...

, Eddie Cleanhead Vinson,

Maria Muldaur Maria Muldaur (born Maria Grazia Rosa Domenica D'Amato; September 12, 1942) is an American folk and blues singer who was part of the American folk music revival in the early 1960s. She recorded the 1973 hit song " Midnight at the Oasis" and h ...

and many others. Berger spent nine years with the Fathead band, and received a Maple Blues Award in 2009 for ''Drummer of the Year''. Papa John King, joined Fathead in 2013 as their guitarist replacing

. He has performed with many notable musicians over the years Ian Hunter,

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, sh ...

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician and producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin. Page began his career as a studio session musician in Lo ...

and

Mick Taylor Michael Kevin Taylor (born 17 January 1949) is an English guitarist, best known as a former member of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (1967–1969) and the Rolling Stones (1969–1974). As a member of the Stones, h ...

just to name a few. In 1983, King was recruited by British blues artist

Long John Baldry John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including ...

, whom he remained with over 20 years permitting him to travel internationally, in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and across

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. In the early years King played in influential bands in

including Hott Roxx and Hogtown Heroes, as well as being the regular guitarist for blues musicians

Rita Chiarelli Rita Chiarelli is a Canadian blues singer. She has been called "the goddess of Canadian blues" by Shelagh Rogers at CBC Radio One. Biography Born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, Chiarelli began performing in Ronnie Hawkins' band in the early ...

and Danny Brooks. King was the house guitarist at the now closed famed Club Bluenote in

where he backed such artists as

Martha Reeves Martha Rose Reeves (born July 18, 1941) is an American R&B and pop singer. She is best known for being the lead singer of the Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas, which scored several major Hot 100 hits such as " Nowhere to Run", "Heat ...

Screamin' Jay Hawkins Jalacy J. "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins (July 18, 1929 – February 12, 2000) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, film producer, and boxer. Famed chiefly for his powerful, shouting vocal delivery and wildly theatrical performances of s ...

and

Solomon Burke Solomon Vincent McDonald Burke (born James Solomon McDonald, March 21, 1940 – October 10, 2010) was an American singer who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues as one of the founding fathers of soul music in the 1960s. He has been called ...

Band

Before the official formation of the Fathead band in 1992, Al Lerman contacted musicians to see who wanted to come and perform at gigs as a band. During which time Tony Flaim, whose associations included the Cameo Blues Band and the

Downchild Blues Band The Downchild Blues Band is a Canadian blues band, described by one reviewer as "the premier blues band in Canada". The Blues Brothers band was heavily influenced by the Downchild Blues Band. History Early history: 1969-1982 The Downchild Blue ...

, joined as lead vocalist, he continued until returning to the Downchild Blues Band as their lead vocalist in 1986. In terms of blues styles, the quintet uses uptempo Chicago blues blended with the sound of Mississippi Delta blues creating its own unique and contemporary sound. Most of the songs are blues originals, generally co-written by Lerman and bass player Bob "Omar" Tunnoch. Throughout the band's 24-year career they had several members, with Al Lerman, John Mays and Bob Tunnoch the trio of the organization. Long standing guitarist

was followed by Darran Poole in 2006, Leonard returned to replace Poole in 2009. Leonard left again with guitarist Papa John King replacing him in 2013. The band has had a succession of drummers, being Mike Fitzpatrick, Ed White, Chuck Keeping, Hayden Vialva and Bucky Berger. Drummer Ed White as a member of Fathead, received a Maple Blues Award as ''Drummer of The Year'', in 2000. John Mays, Al Lerman and

joined and remained members of The Maple Blues Revue. This eleven member group of Canadian blues musicians whom are all multiple Maple Blues Award winners or nominees, perform at the annual Maple Blues Awards Ceremony in

as the Maple Blues Band and have released one recording, ''Live at Twisted Pines''. The band's first album, ''Fathead'', was released independently in 1995. The band thereafter signed with Electro-Fi Records in 1998 a Toronto-based label specializing in blues music releases. Electro-Fi Records released all the band's albums with the exception of ''Livelier Than Ever!'' which Electro-Fi did not want to produce, Fathead released the album independently in 2002. Throughout its career, the band has won multiple awards. Two of the band's albums, ''Blues Weather'' (1999) and ''Building Full of Blues'' (2008) received the

for Best Blues Album.

Band members

*John Mays lead vocalist succumbed to his battle with cancer in December 2016. *Al Lerman recently released the ''Slow Burn'' album and has continued gigging both as a solo musician and as the Al Lerman Band. *Bucky Berger is performing with the James Anthony Band and various other artists. *Papa John King is involved in classic Motown music including Music and Theatre Shows. *Bob "Omar" Tunnoch continues painting great art and performing with the Rootbone band among other projects. *

continued his path as a freelance musician performing with various bands and with his own band the Pocket Rockets. * Tony Flaim had a fatal heart attack March 2000. *Mike Fitzpatrick continues to this day as the drummer for the

and performing with The Hogtown AllStars and the BG Rhythm Section. *Chuck Keeping continued his path as a drummer and instructor and is presently a member of the

Big Wreck Big Wreck are a Canadian-American Rock music, rock band formed by Ian Thornley and Brian Doherty in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1992. The band was rounded out with David Henning and Forrest Williams. They disbanded in 2002 and Ian Thornley pursued ...

band. *Darran Poole continues performing with the Gary Kendall Band which he has been with since its inception in 2005 along with his own recently formed band, RootBone.

Awards and recognition

West Coast Blues Award *1995 Top Canadian Blues Recording *1995 Best Male Vocalist - John Mays Jazz Report Award *1997 Blues Group of The Year *1999 Blues Group of the Year Maple Blues Award * 1997 Electric Act of The Year * 1999 Guitarist of the Year -

* 1999 Electric Act of the Year * 2000 Drummer of the Year - Ed White * 2001 Male Vocalist of the Year - John Mays * 2002 Male Vocalist of the Year - John Mays * 2004 Male Vocalist of the Year - John Mays * 2008 Male Vocalist of the Year - John Mays * 2009 Male Vocalist of the Year - John Mays * 2009 Drummer of the Year - Bucky Berger * 2010 Male Vocalist of the Year - John Mays

* 1999 Best Blues Album – ''Blues Weather'' * 2008 Blues Album of the Year - ''Building Full of Blues'' Canadian Indie Award *2003 Blues Recording of the Year - ''First Class Riff-Raff'' The Jimmy Lewis Award *2010 Lifetime Achievement - recognition of his career as a blues musician -

Great Lakes Blues Society Award *2010 Lifetime Achievement - involvement in Canadian blues music -

Discography

;Studio albums *1995: ''Fathead'' *1998: ''Blues Weather'' *2000: ''Where's Your Head At?'' *2002: ''First Class Riff-Raff'' *2002: ''Livelier Than Ever!'' *2007: ''Building Full of Blues'' *2010: ''Where's The Blues Taking Me'' *2012: ''Twenty Years Deep'': The Very Best of Fathead 1992–2012 *2014: ''Fatter Than Ever''

References

External links

Fathead WebsiteAl Lerman WebsiteBob Omar Tunnoch WebsiteFathead credits at AllMusicFathead
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fathead Canadian blues musical groups Musical groups established in 1992 Musical groups from Toronto Juno Award for Blues Album of the Year winners