James Patrick Clench (May 1, 1949 – November 3, 2010) was a Canadian bassist and vocalist known for his roles in the rock bands

April Wine April Wine is a Canadian rock band formed in 1969 and based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Led by singer-guitarist-songwriter Myles Goodwin since its inception, April Wine's first success came with its second album, '' On Record'' (1972), which rea ...

and

Bachman–Turner Overdrive Bachman–Turner Overdrive, often abbreviated BTO, were a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba, founded by Randy Bachman, Robbie Bachman and Fred Turner in 1973. Their 1970s catalogue included five top-40 albums and six US top-40 singl ...

With April Wine (first run)

Clench was asked to join

after their original bassist Jim Henman decided to leave the band in October 1971. Although Myles Goodwyn was April Wine's primary lead singer, Clench was lead vocalist on songs such as the hit singles "Oowatanite" (which he also wrote) and "Weeping Widow". In 1975, after recording three studio albums and one live, Clench decided to leave April Wine and was replaced by former Mashmakhan bassist Steve Lang. Early April Wine albums recorded with Clench include; '' On Record'' (1972), ''

Electric Jewels ''Electric Jewels'' is the third studio album by Canadian rock band April Wine, released in November 1973 by Aquarius Records. In a 2007 publication by Goose Lane Editions, ''Electric Jewels'' ranked number 73 on Bob Mersereau's 2007 musical re ...

'' (1973), ''

Live! Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...

'' (1974), and ''

Stand Back "Stand Back" is a song by American singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks from her second solo studio album '' The Wild Heart'' (1983). The song was released as the lead single from the album in May 1983 and reached number five on the ''Billboard'' Ho ...

'' (1975), which was released just before he left the band.

With Bachman–Turner Overdrive

In 1978, Clench was asked to join

to replace

Randy Bachman Randolph Charles Bachman (; born September 27, 1943) is a Canadian guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a founding member of the bands The Guess Who and Bachman–Turner Overdrive. Bachman recorded as a solo artist and was part of a n ...

, who decided to start a solo career. Clench was with BTO until its first breakup in 1979, appearing on the albums ''

Street Action ''Street Action'' is the seventh studio album by Canadian rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive (BTO), released in 1978. It was the first BTO album released after the 1977 departure of co-founder Randy Bachman. As part of an agreement upon leavin ...

'' (1978) and '' Rock n' Roll Nights'' (1979). In addition to playing bass, Clench shared lead vocal duties with Fred Turner and wrote multiple songs for these two albums. Shortly afterwards, Clench also appeared as a guest musician on

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

's 1980 debut album. In 1980, Clench formed and toured with his own group, 451 Degrees. They released one album in Canada only. A video of their hit song, "Don't Walk", is available on YouTube. Clench also appeared in

Loverboy Loverboy is a Canadian rock band formed in 1979 in Calgary, Alberta. Loverboy's hit singles, particularly " Turn Me Loose" and "Working for the Weekend", have become arena rock staples and are still heard on many classic rock and classic hits ...

, who made their live debut opening for

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

at Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, B.C. on November 19, 1979. Shortly after this show, Clench was replaced by Scott Smith.

With April Wine (second run)

In 1992, April Wine reformed and Clench accepted an invitation to rejoin. He then took part in four more studio albums recorded after the reformation. Those albums include; ''

Attitude Attitude may refer to: Philosophy and psychology * Attitude (psychology), an individual's predisposed state of mind regarding a value * Metaphysics of presence * Propositional attitude, a relational mental state connecting a person to a prop ...

'' (1993), '' Frigate'' (1994), ''

Back to the Mansion ''Back to the Mansion'' is the fifteenth studio album by the Canadian rock band April Wine, released in 2001 (see 2001 in music). Track listing All tracks written by Myles Goodwyn unless otherwise noted. # "Won't Go There" – 3:29 # "Talk t ...

'' (2001), and ''

Roughly Speaking ''Roughly Speaking'' is the sixteenth studio album by the Canadian rock band April Wine, released in November 2006. The album was recorded without computerized modern digital recording techniques. Instead, the group employed the same type of au ...

'' (2006). Clench also appears on April Wine's ''

Greatest Hits Live 2003 ''Greatest Hits Live 2003'' is a live album by the Canadian rock band April Wine, released in 2003. Track listing All tracks written by Myles Goodwyn unless otherwise noted. # "Oowatanite" ( J. Clench) – 4:57 # "Wanna Rock" – 2:40 # ...

''. In late 2006, Clench once again left April Wine, and was replaced by former

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 Ser ...

/ Offenbach bassist Breen LeBoeuf at the beginning of 2007.

Death

On November 3, 2010, Clench died in a

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- ...

hospital after battling stage 4

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clench, Jim April Wine members Bachman–Turner Overdrive members Canadian rock bass guitarists 1949 births 2010 deaths Deaths from lung cancer Deaths from cancer in Quebec 20th-century Canadian bass guitarists