Ronald Harry "Skip" Prokop (December 13, 1943 – August 30, 2017) was a Canadian drummer, guitarist and keyboardist. He was also a band leader, was a founding member of the Canadian

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as "rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States and ...

groups the Paupers and Lighthouse.

Early life

Prokop was born in Hamilton, Ontario. He attended G.L. Armstrong elementary and Hill Park secondary schools. He was active in the Navy League and Sea Cadets, and at age 17 performed in a drum corps which won the Canadian National Individual Drumming Competition."Skip Prokop: Hamilton-born Lighthouse drummer dies at 73"
''The Hamilton Spectator'', Aug 31, 2017 by Graham Rockingham

Career

Prokop moved to Toronto and organized a band, the Paupers, who began playing in Yorkville coffee houses, and later performed in New York and at the U.S. Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. The Paupers were managed by Albert Grossman. He introduced Prokop to

Al Kooper Al Kooper (born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt; February 5, 1944) is a retired American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears, although he did not stay with the group long enough to share its popularity. ...

. Grossman asked him to leave The Paupers to play drums with Kooper and Mike Bloomfield for a follow-up recording to ''Super Session''. The result was '' The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper'', a live late-1960s blues-rock album. Prokop played on a number of sessions, including one with

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage presence. ...

at RKO Studios following her parting with Big Brother & The Holding Company. This came about because Grossman had asked him to put a new band together for Joplin. He also did sessions with

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of Rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound feature ...

and Peter, Paul & Mary and other musical artists. In 1969, Prokop co-founded the rock group Lighthouse with Paul Hoffert. The band played its first Toronto concert in May that year. The group was active until 1975; they performed internationally and won several Juno Awards. He wrote the song "I'd Be So Happy", which was recorded by

Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, with founding members consisting of vocalists Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael ...

in 1974, featured on their studio album '' Hard Labor'', and included on their greatest hits compilation, '' Joy to the World: Their Greatest Hits'' later that year. Lighthouse held a reunion concert at Ontario Place in Toronto in 1982. In the mid 1980s Prokop worked for

Roland Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

Canada (Musical Instruments), in Mississauga, Ontario, as a product specialist. He participated in several promotional tours with his own Skip Prokop Band while presenting products made by Roland. Prokop also drummed in a London, Ontario rock/funk/Christian band called Mercy Train, and worked on smooth jazz album with IAM Studios in Brantford, Ontario, released in 2012 titled ''The Smooth Side Of Skip Prokop''. During the years in which Lighthouse was inactive, Prokop turned towards radio for his career. He was host of CFNY-FM's ''Rock and a Hard Place'' program in the Toronto broadcast market. In the early 2000s, he worked for

Astral Media Astral Media Inc. was a Canadian media conglomerate. It was Canada's largest radio broadcaster, with 84 radio stations in eight provinces. Astral was also a major player in premium and specialty television in Canada, with 23 specialty channel ...

radio stations CJBX/ CIQM/ CJBK in advertising sales. As of 2010, he lived in

Aylmer, Ontario Aylmer is a town in Elgin County in southern Ontario, Canada, just north of Lake Erie, on Catfish Creek. It is south of Highway 401. Aylmer is surrounded by Malahide Township. History In October 1817, John Van Patter, an immigrant from New ...

. He died on August 30, 2017 at age 73.

Albums

Singles

;Notes"Fabulous Flip Sides In Memoriam – Lighthouse’s Skip Prokop"
''Goldmine Magazine'', Warren Kurtz, September 3, 2017

Notes

References

External links

* * * *
Skip Prokop at SpiritOfRadio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prokop, Skip 1943 births 2017 deaths Canadian radio personalities Canadian rock drummers Canadian male drummers Musicians from Hamilton, Ontario Canadian jazz drummers Jazz fusion drummers Lighthouse (band) members Canadian male jazz musicians Quality Records artists