The Revols
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The Revols was a Canadian band from Stratford,
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 Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, formed in 1957, with
Richard Manuel Richard George Manuel (April 3, 1943 – March 4, 1986) was a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as a pianist and one of three lead singers in the Band, for which he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of F ...
on piano and vocals, John Till on guitar, Ken Kalmusky on bass, Doug Rhodes on vocals and Jim Winkler on drums. Fourteen- and fifteen-year-old kids at the time, they were taken under the wing of
Ronnie Hawkins Ronald Cornett Hawkins (January 10, 1935 – May 29, 2022) was an American rock and roll singer, long based in Canada, whose career spanned more than half a century. His career began in Arkansas, United States, where he was born and raised. He ...
, and, together and individually, they made music history in the years to come.


Early career

The band started in 1957, in Kalmusky's parents' basement, on Queen St. in Stratford. They performed the very first songs Manuel wrote, and were invited into the studio to record "My Eternal Love", Manuel's first original song. As the Revols gained popularity in the Ontario area, one of their first gigs was opening for Hawkins in
Port Dover Port Dover is an unincorporated community and former town located in Norfolk County, Ontario, Canada, on the north shore of Lake Erie. It is the site of the recurring Friday the 13th motorcycle rally. Prior to the War of 1812, this community ...
,
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 ...
. According to
Levon Helm Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for The Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Hel ...
's autobiography, '' This Wheel's on Fire'' (p. 87), the next time Hawkins came to Stratford, the Revols were on the bill, but this time they followed Hawkins. Till, 15 at the time, was reluctant to quit school and was replaced by Garth Picot, of Goderich, Ontario. David "Dave Mickie" Marsden, another Stratford native, joined as the band's manager. The Revols, working for Hawkins, went to
Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, Arkansas, Washington County, and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. The city ...
, and played a house gig at Hawkins's club.


The Fab Four

By the end of 1961, the Revols returned to Stratford. Manuel remained with Hawkins until 1964, when Hawkins's backing group, the Hawks (Manuel along with Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, and Robbie Robertson), left him and formed Levon and the Hawks, later known as the Band. Kalmusky reunited with Till to form the Fab Four—the original Fab Four—at the top of 1962. The Fab Four were the house band on the weekly television show "Mickie A Go Go" from the Hamilton Ontario station
CHCH-TV CHCH-DT (channel 11) is an independent television station in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Channel Zero (company), Channel Zero, the station maintains studios on Innovation Drive in the west end of Hamilton; prior to 2021, it was located ...
. The host of the show was David "Dave Mickie" Marsden. On April 25, 1965, when they opened for the
Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
at
Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church and Wellesley, Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was originally constructed in 1931 as an indoor arena to host ice hoc ...
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 ...
, the ''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...
'' ran an advertisement with the Fab Four's picture and the words "''not'' the Rolling Stones". Kalmusky stated in an interview with Stratford's '' Beacon Herald'', "They thought we were
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
, girls were diving at the car, piling on, as we were driving out of the stadium". In fact, the picture in the ''Toronto Star'' did look a whole lot like the Beatles. It has been speculated that the Beatles' nickname became "The Fab Four" as a result of this event. Some authors, and articles, over the last few decades, have cited this story, referencing the parallels, stating "Could 5 boys from Stratford, Ontario really influence the nickname of the Beatles?" By 1966, Till and Kalmusky paralleled the same move Manuel had made after their trip to Arkansas, leaving the Revols, the Fab Four, and Stratford behind, to be full-time members of Hawkins's band. Hawkins's band was famously "picked clean" by
Albert Grossman Albert Grossman (May 21, 1926 – January 25, 1986) was an American entrepreneur and manager in the American folk music and rock and roll scene. He was famous as the manager of many of the most popular and successful performers of folk and folk ...
, manager for
Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful Rock music, rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and her "electric" ...
,
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
, and
Ian & Sylvia Ian & Sylvia were a Canadian folk and country music duo which consisted of Ian and Sylvia Tyson. They began performing together in 1959 (full-time in 1961), married in 1964, and divorced and stopped performing together in 1975. History Early ...
. The first of the former Revols to be plucked out by Grossman was Kalmusky, who subsequently played bass with
Ian & Sylvia Ian & Sylvia were a Canadian folk and country music duo which consisted of Ian and Sylvia Tyson. They began performing together in 1959 (full-time in 1961), married in 1964, and divorced and stopped performing together in 1975. History Early ...
's group, Great Speckled Bird ; Todd Rundgren;
Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008), known professionally as Jerry Reed, was an American country singer, guitarist, composer, songwriter and actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Gui ...
; and others. Then, in 1969, the
Summer of Love The Summer of Love was a major social phenomenon that occurred in San Francisco during the summer of 1967. As many as 100,000 people, mostly young people, hippies, beatniks, and 1960s counterculture figures, converged in San Francisco's Haig ...
, Till joined Janis Joplin's Kozmic Blues Band, and in 1970 he stayed on to become a member of what became Joplin's last band, the Full Tilt Boogie Band, and recorded the album ''Pearl'', her last record. Two of the original Revols, Manuel and Till, performed at the Woodstock Festival in August 1969, Manuel with the Band and Till with Janis Joplin's Kozmic Blues Band.


Reunion

In 1984, four original members of the Revols, Kalmusky, Manuel, Rhodes and Till, reunited at the Stratford Shakespearean Festival Theatre as the Revols, opening for the Band at two sold-out performances billed as "The Band/Revols Reunion Shows". Not long after that, Rhodes, Till, Kalmusky,
Levon Helm Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for The Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Hel ...
, and Donald "Philbert" Manuel were seen on the cover of ''
People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...
'' magazine, carrying Richard Manuel's casket out of the funeral service after his death on March 4, 1986.


Later developments

Two of the original Revols, Till (with Joplin) and Manuel (with the Band), are shown in the 2004 film, '' Festival Express''. Recently, the Revols' 1958 reel-to-reel recording of "Eternal Love", the first original song ever written by Manuel, was taken to famous Toronto engineer and producer Peter J. Moore (
Bruce Cockburn Bruce Douglas Cockburn ( ; born May 27, 1945) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. His song styles range from folk to folk- and jazz-influenced rock to soundscapes accompanying spoken stories. His lyrics reflect interests in spirit ...
,
Cowboy Junkies Cowboy Junkies are an alternative country and folk rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1985 by Alan Anton (bassist), Michael Timmins (songwriter, guitarist), Peter Timmins (drummer) and Margo Timmins (vocalist). The three Timminses ...
), where it was re-mastered. It is slated to be released on
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 ...
' forthcoming box set ''Levon and the Hawks: The early years''. The Revols have been noted in ''
People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...
'' magazine and have been written about by
Levon Helm Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for The Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Hel ...
, in his autobiography, '' This Wheel's on Fire''; Nicholas Jennings, in ''Before the Gold Rush''; and
Barney Hoskyns Barney Hoskyns (born 5 May 1959) is a British music critic and editorial director of the online music journalism archive Rock's Backpages. Biography Hoskyns graduated from the University of Oxford with a first class degree in English. He began ...
, in ''Across the Great Divide''. On August 4, 2008, the City Of Stratford dedicated a band shell in Upper Queen's Park to the Revols. A plaque that bears the band's name and the names of its Stratford residents, Ken Kalmusky, Richard Manuel, John Till, Doug Rhodes, Jimmy Winkler, Garth Picot, and David "Dave Mickie" Marsden, was unveiled at 12:30 p.m. After the ceremony was a concert by Plum Loco (Kalmusky and Till's band) followed by Ronnie Hawkins.


Photo gallery

Image:revols3.jpg, The Revols in 1957 Image:TheRevols1.jpg, The Revols in 1958 Image:Revols79.jpg, Manuel, Kalmusky, and Till at the Band's studio in Woodstock, New York, 1984 Image:FabFour1.jpg, The Fab Four TV Show Image:fabFourFanClub.jpg, Fab Four concert ticket


References

*http://www.ronniehawkins.com/performances_stories.cfm#rompin * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Revols, The Rock and roll music groups Canadian rock music groups Musical groups established in 1957 Musical groups disestablished in 1962 Musical groups from Ontario 1957 establishments in Ontario 1962 disestablishments in Ontario