The Powder Blues Band is a Canadian musical band formed in 1978 in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. Its first album ''Uncut'' went double platinum in Canada. The second album ''Thirsty Ears'' was similarly popular. Their best known songs include: "Boppin' with the Blues", "Doin' It Right", "Thirsty Ears", "Hear That Guitar Ring", and "What've I Been Drinkin".

History

The Powder Blues was founded in 1978 as a

house band A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. The band was founded by brothers

Tom Lavin Tom Lavin is an American, Chicago-born musician and record producer and founding member of the 1981 Juno Award winning Canadian group, Powder Blues. Leader, Tom Lavin has written many of the band's best-known songs including "Doin' It Right", a ...

(guitar, vocals), Jack Lavin (bass, vocals), and Willie MacCalder (keyboards, vocals). After playing in local clubs for 18 months, the band released their self-financed and self-produced debut album, ''Uncut'', in 1980, followed by a tour of Canada and the US. The band won the

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 ...

for " Most Promising Group of the Year" in 1981. ''Uncut'' went

double platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music Sound recording and reproduction, recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video ...

in Canada in 1982, selling over 200,000 copies.Powder Blues
" ''

CRIA A ''cria'' (pronounced ) is a juvenile llama, alpaca, vicuña, or guanaco. Etymology The term comes from the Spanish word , meaning "baby". Its false cognate in English, ''crya'' (pronounced ), was coined by British sailors who explored Chil ...

Database''. Their second album, ''Thirsty Ears'', was released in 1981 and was certified

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

in Canada. In 1986, the band won the American W.C. Handy Award for "Foreign Band of the Year". The band's

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

album ''First Decade'' was released in 1990 and was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

. The band is now known as Tom Lavin and the Legendary Powder Blues. They were still touring as of 2024. The initial lineup of the band consisted of: *

– guitar, vocals * Jack Lavin – bass * Duris Maxwell – drums * Wayne Kozak – saxophone * Gordon Bertram – saxophone * David Woodward – saxophone * Will MacCalder – keyboards, vocals

Discography

Singles

* "Doin' It Right" – 1980 #40 Can * "Boppin' with the Blues" – 1980 #88 Can * "What've I Been Drinkin" – 1980 #28 CanAC * "Hear That Guitar Ring" – 1981 #22 Can-CanCon #22 Can-AOCanCon * "Lovin' Kissin' & Huggin'" – 1981 #47 Can * "Thirsty Ears" – 1981 #17 Can * "Farmer John" – 1983 * "I'm on the Road Again" – 1985

Albums

* 1979 '' Uncut'' (Blue Wave) (#5 Can.) * 1980 '' Uncut'' e-issue(RCA) * 1981 '' Thirsty Ears'' (Liberty/Capitol-EMI) (#11 Can.) * 1982 ''Party Line'' (Liberty/Capitol-EMI) #36 Can. * 1983 ''Powder Blues'' (Liberty/Capitol-EMI) * 1983 ''Red Hot/True Blue'' (RCA) #88 Can (4 weeks) * 1984 ''Live At Montreux'' (Blue Wave) * 1990 ''First Decade/Greatest Hits'' (WEA) * 1993 ''Let's Get Loose'' (WEA) * 1997 ''Live At Montreux'' D re-issue(Peerless) * 1997 ''

Lowell Fulson Lowell Fulson (March 31, 1921March 7, 1999) was an American blues guitarist and songwriter, in the West Coast blues tradition. He also recorded for contractual reasons as Lowell Fullsom and Lowell Fulsom. After T-Bone Walker, he was the most i ...

with the Powder Blues Band'' (Stony Plain) * 2002 ''Swingin' the Blues'' (Blue Wave) * 2004 ''Blues + Jazz = BLAZZ!'' (Blue Wave)

Albums on Compact Disc

* As of 2024, their three most commercially successful albums are not on Compact Disc: ''Uncut'' (1979), ''Thirsty Ears'' (1981) and ''Party Line'' (1982).

Awards

* 1981 –

for " Most Promising Group of the Year" * 1986 –

W. C. Handy William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 – March 28, 1958) was an American composer and musician who referred to himself as the Father of the Blues. He was one of the most influential songwriters in the United States. One of many musician ...

Award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be d ...

for Blues, Best Foreign Band

References

External links

Tom Lavin & the Legendary Powder Blues Band official siteCanConRox bioTom Lavin & the Legendary Powder Blues Fan Page
*
Entry for Powder Blues at 45cat.comEntry for The Powder Blues at 45cat.com
* *
Article at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
{{Authority control Canadian blues musical groups Canadian blues rock musical groups Juno Award for Breakthrough Group of the Year winners Musical groups established in 1978 Musical groups from Vancouver 1978 establishments in British Columbia