Gerry Markman (born 16 August 1950) is a Canadian

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

ist. His particularly notable musical associations have been with the

Cameo Blues Band The Cameo Blues Band is a Toronto-based blues band, originally formed in 1978. It is particularly notable for its association with several of Canada's leading blues singers, including Richard "Hock" Walsh, Tony Flaim and Chuck Jackson, all of ...

, the Lincolns,

Richard "Hock" Walsh Richard "Hock" Walsh (December 19, 1948 – December 31, 1999) was one of the first professional blues singers in Canada. He is particularly notable as the co-founder of the Downchild Blues Band and was the original singer of that band's best-kn ...

and

Alannah Myles Alannah Myles (née Byles; born December 25, 1958) is a Canadian singer-songwriter who has won both a Grammy and a Juno Award for the song " Black Velvet". The song was a top-ten hit in Canada and a number one hit on the US ''Billboard'' Hot ...

Biography

Markman began playing guitar at age 12, learning from his sister, Mirel. He remembers the folky influence she had on him and to this day is jokingly quoted as saying: "D, A7 and G, the only chords you'll ever need." Over the next 15 years, Markman toured and recorded with the Max Band and Dandy Batt. His single, "The Flying Dutchman", became a cult favourite. In 1977 he moved to

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 ...

to work at the second location of Steve's Music Store and left performing for a while. He was coaxed out of 'retirement' by

Bob Segarini Robert Joseph Segarini (28 August 1945 – 10 July 2023) was an American-Canadian recording artist, singer, songwriter, composer, and radio host. During a professional music career primarily developed between 1968 and the early 1980s, Segarini w ...

and left Steve's Music in 1981 to devote himself entirely to music, playing guitar for Marghie Evans and Pamela Cannon, and numerous jobbing gigs, TV shows and sessions. Markman joined the

with

Malcolm Tomlinson Malcolm Tomlinson (16 June 1946 – 2 April 2016) was an English musician, particularly active as a recording artist in the late 1970s. History UK years: early 1960s–1969 Tomlinson was born in Isleworth, Middlesex, England, and attended S ...

in 1982 and later toured with the Lincolns, opening for

Robert Palmer Robert Allen Palmer (19 January 1949 – 26 September 2003) was an English singer and songwriter. He was known for his powerful and soulful voice, sartorial elegance and stylistic explorations, combining soul, funk, jazz, rock, pop, regga ...

. Markman returned to Toronto and played with the

Band, Tom Barlow and the late

. On special occasions, Markman has also performed with

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Aykroyd was a writer and an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" cast on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Nigh ...

and

Jeff Healey Norman Jeffrey Healey (March 25, 1966 – March 2, 2008) was a Canadian blues, rock and jazz guitarist, singer and songwriter who attained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. He reached No. 5 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart with " Ang ...

. His recording credits include

Rosenshontz Rosenshontz was a children's music duo popular in the U.S. in the 1970s and 1980s. Made up of Gary Rosen and Bill Shontz, the group recorded six albums between 1980 and 1991. Some of their more popular songs included "Share It", "Hugga, Hugga ...

(''It's the Truth''), Michael Vincent (''Home in the Forest''), Tapestry (''I Need Your Lovin) and Ron Wiseman (''Mystical Mood''). In 1991, Markman returned to Steve's Music and continued playing with the Gerry Markman Band, the French Connection and Curley Bridges. He led the Ruanne's House Band in Barrie, hosting dozens of Ontario's finest musicians as guests and twice was musical director for the Barrie Music Awards. He became the driving force of the rockin' blues band the Sensations, based out of

Orillia Orillia () is a city in Ontario, Canada, about 30 km (18 mi) north-east of Barrie in Simcoe County. It is located at the confluence of Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe. Although it is geographically located within Simcoe County, the city is a Lis ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. Markman still plays with the Sensations, Malcolm Tomlinson and occasionally the Partland Brothers. He still does sessions and also performs as a solo acoustic artist. Markman recently played with

Jimmy Hall Jimmy Hall (born April 26, 1949) is the lead singer and harmonica player for the Southern rock group, Wet Willie. Hall was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and reared in Mobile, Alabama. He first gained recognition in 1970 as the lead vocalist, sa ...

, former lead singer of

Wet Willie Wet Willie is an American southern rock band from Mobile, Alabama. Their best-known song, " Keep On Smilin'", reached No. 10 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in August 1974. Several other of the group's songs also appeared on the single ...

. Markman was profiled in the January 2008 issue of ''CMT'' (''Canada Music Trades'') magazine. Markman is the uncle of the

hurdy-gurdy The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound by a hand-turned crank, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin (or nyckelharpa) bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar ...

artist Ben Grossman.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Markman, Gerry 1950 births Living people Musicians from Montreal Canadian guitarists

Biography

See also

References