Sheriff was a Canadian
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band in the early and mid 1980s, best known for their 1982 song "
When I'm with You" which became a ''Billboard'' No. 1
hit upon re-release in early 1989.
Biography
The band was formed in 1979 in
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
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 ...
, Canada, and consisted of vocalist
Freddy Curci
Federico "Freddy" Curci is a Canadian singer and songwriter. He was lead vocalist for the rock band Sheriff, and is the founder, frontman, and lead singer for the band Alias.
Curci provided lead vocals on the Sheriff song " When I'm with You", ...
, guitarist
Steve DeMarchi, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist
Arnold Lanni, bassist Wolf Hassel and drummer Ric Dowhan, later replaced by Rob Elliott.
The band's only full-length release was a self-titled 1982 album, that featured a Canadian
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...
hit, "You Remind Me" as well as their most famous song, "When I'm with You", which reached No. 8 in Canada and No. 61 in the United States in 1983. Five years later it was re-released and hit No. 1 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the U.S.
The band split up in 1985, citing internal tensions.
Lanni and Hassel went on to form
Frozen Ghost
Frozen Ghost, stylized as Frōzen Ghōst, was a Canadian rock band formed in 1985 in Toronto by Arnold Lanni and Wolf Hassel, who were previously with the band Sheriff. The band received a Juno Award for " Most Promising Group of the Year" ...
and racked up several hits in Canada, the biggest of which was "Should I See," which reached No. 69 in the U.S.
Six years after "When I'm with You" had been a chart hit in Canada, Las Vegas DJ Jay Taylor began playing the song. KRXY DJ Gabe Baptiste also started playing "When I'm With You," and listener response was positive. As a result,
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
re-released the song. It subsequently became No. 1 in the United States in February 1989.
While Curci and DeMarchi made efforts to re-form Sheriff, a reunion was not to be. The lack of interest from other Sheriff bandmembers eventually led Curci and DeMarchi to team up with several former members of
Heart
The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...
to form
Alias,
who in the early 1990s had two popular singles, with "
Waiting for Love" and their No. 2 success, "
More Than Words Can Say."
[
Meanwhile, Lanni and Hassel continued to work with Frozen Ghost until they split up in 1993.]
Later years
Curci and DeMarchi resurrected the Alias name in 2009 with new members, and they released their second album (which had been shelved seventeen years prior). They continue to tour with Alias.
Lanni has become a producer, having worked with Our Lady Peace
Our Lady Peace (sometimes shortened to OLP) is a Canadian alternative rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1992. Led by lead vocalist Raine Maida since its formation, the band currently also features Duncan Coutts on bass, Steve Mazur on guit ...
, Finger Eleven
Finger Eleven is a Canadian Rock music, rock band from Burlington, Ontario, formed in 1990. They have released seven studio albums (six as Finger Eleven and one as Rainbow Butt Monkeys), with their album ''The Greyest of Blue Skies'' bringing th ...
, and Simple Plan
Simple Plan is a Canadian rock band formed in Montreal, Quebec, in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of Pierre Bouvier (lead vocals, studio bass guitar), Chuck Comeau (drums), Jeff Stinco (lead guitar), and Sébastien Lefebvre (rhyt ...
, among others.
At an Alias concert on December 30, 2011, at Cosmo Music in Ontario, original Sheriff bassist, Wolf Hassel joined Curci and DeMarchi on stage for the first time in 26 years for a full set, which included a performance of "When I'm with You."
Discography
Studio albums
* ''Sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...
'' (1982)
* ''Sheriff Live'' (Promo Only) (1983)
Singles
References
External links
Alias official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheriff
1979 establishments in Ontario
1985 disestablishments in Ontario
Canadian hard rock musical groups
Canadian pop rock music groups
Musical groups established in 1979
Musical groups disestablished in 1985
Musical groups from Toronto