Trooper is a Canadian rock band formed by singer Ra McGuire and guitarist Brian Smith in 1975. The group is best known for their 1970s hits " Raise a Little Hell", " We're Here for a Good Time (Not a Long Time)", "The Boys in the Bright White Sports Car", " Round Round We Go", "General Hand Grenade", "3 Dressed Up as a 9", "Janine", "Two for the Show", "Oh, Pretty Lady" and "Santa Maria".

History

Winter's Green, Applejack, and the 1970s

In 1967, Ra McGuire and Brian Smith played in a band called Winter's Green, which recorded two songs, "Are You a Monkey" and "Jump in the River Blues", on the Rumble Records Label. "Are You a Monkey" later appeared on a rock collection: 1983's "The History of Vancouver Rock and Roll, Vol. 3". In the early seventies, Winter's Green changed their name to Applejack and added drummer Tommy Stewart and bassist Harry Kalensky to their line-up. Applejack became a very popular band in the

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 ...

area, and began touring extensively in

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 played a few original tunes such as "Raise a Little Hell" and "Oh, Pretty Lady", as well as Top 40 songs by artists such as

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

and

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. After hearing Applejack perform, Randy Bachman of Bachman–Turner Overdrive and The Guess Who signed the band to his "Legend" label. The band changed their name to Trooper, and Bachman produced the band's self-titled debut album, '' Trooper'', which contained the Canadian hits "Baby Woncha Please Come Home" and "General Hand Grenade". Managed by Sam Feldman, Trooper began touring extensively in both Canada and the United States. TrooperLiveIn75

After moving from Legend Records to

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

, Trooper added Frank Ludwig on keyboards. Their 1975 debut album was followed by '' Two for the Show'' in 1976, which was certified Gold in Canada. The album contained the hits "Two for the Show", and "Santa Maria". The latter of the two hits was inspired from a trip by boat to Tugwell Island, near Prince Rupert, British Columbia. Bassist Harry Kalensky was replaced by Doni Underhill before the recording of Trooper's third studio album. '' Knock 'Em Dead Kid'', was released in 1977 and became the group's first Canadian Platinum record. This album contained the hits "We're Here for a Good Time (Not a Long Time)", and "Oh, Pretty Lady". In 1978, '' Thick as Thieves'' went double-platinum and featured the group's only successful U.S. single, "Raise A Little Hell". This album also contained the hits "Round, Round We Go" and "The Moment That It Takes", both of which were sung by keyboardist Frank Ludwig. The band's 1979 album, '' Hot Shots'', broke all records for Canadian sales of a Canadian album, reaching Quadruple-Platinum status. ''Hot Shots'' was a greatest hits album containing original tracks of the most popular songs that had been released as singles for Trooper's first four studio albums, as well as a remixed version of "The Boys in the Bright White Sports Car". (originally released on '' Two for the Show'' in 1976), which became a hit single upon the release of ''Hot Shots''. Trooper's fifth studio album, '' Flying Colors'', was released in 1979, and contained the hits "Three Dressed Up as a Nine" and "Janine", the band's highest-charting single to date, which pushed the album to attain Double-Platinum status. Also in 1979, Frank Ludwig left the band and was replaced by Rob Deans, who performed on the next two albums.

1980s

In April 1980, Trooper was honoured with a

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 " Group of the Year". Two of their albums ('' Hot Shots'' and '' Flying Colors'', both released in 1979) were also nominated that year for " Album of the Year". Trooper's self-produced seventh album '' Untitled'' released in October 1980, and '' Money Talks'' was released in 1982 and produced by

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 ...

producer Mike Flicker and released on the RCA Label. In 1980, Trooper severed their artist–producer relationship with Randy Bachman. In 1983, Tommy Stewart left the band and was replaced on drums by Marc LaFrance. In October 1985, bassist John Dryden and drummer Ronnie Baran joined the band replacing Doni Underhill and Marc LaFrance respectively. In 1986, Trooper was without a permanent keyboardist, and Frank Ludwig re-joined the band as a temporary replacement on their summer tour. '' The Last of the Gypsies'' was released in 1989 on the band's self-owned ''Great Pacific Records'' label and distributed by Warner Music Canada. This was Trooper's first studio album in six years, and was certified Canadian Gold. It appeared on the RPM Top 100 Albums chart that year. It contained the hits "Boy With the Beat", and "The Best Way (to Hold A Man)".

1990s

'' Ten'', released in 1991, contained the regional hit "American Dream", and was the group's tenth studio album. Drummer John Stoltz played with the band from 1990 to 1995, when Lance Chalmers took his place and played with the band for eight years. In 1995, Gogo replaced Blaine Smith, becoming Trooper's keyboardist and in 1996, bassist Scott Brown joined the band. Both Gogo and Brown continue to tour and perform with Trooper today. In 1998, Trooper guest starred on '' This Hour Has 22 Minutes'' '' New Year's Special''. Their songs were also played in numerous episodes of ''22 Minutes'' throughout the 8th season (2000–01). At the 1999 SOCAN Awards, Trooper songwriters Brian Smith and Ra McGuire received SOCAN Classic Awards for "We're Here for a Good Time" and "Santa Maria", presented for songs that have received over 100,000 documented radio plays, becoming deeply embedded in the fabric of Canadian radio and culture. Ra McGuire also received a Classic Award for the Trooper hit "Two for the Show".

2000s

In 2001, ''Shot Spots'', a punk tribute to Trooper, was released on Visionary Records. It contains 30 Trooper songs performed by 30 Canadian punk bands ( D.O.A., SNFU, Dirty Bird, Dayglo Abortions and others) and an introduction by Canadian comedian Rick Mercer. As detailed in a four-page 2004 photo essay by Todd Korol in Maclean's Magazine and a two-page 2005 story in ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' by Peter Cheney, Trooper is still very active and popular as a touring band, performing as many as 100 shows a year across Canada. Trooper songwriters Brian Smith and Ra McGuire received a fourth SOCAN Classic Award in 2005, for "Oh, Pretty Lady." In April 2006, Trooper singer and songwriter, Ra McGuire, released his first book, published by Insomniac Press, ''Here For a Good Time – On the Road With Trooper, Canada's Legendary Rock Band''. In Fall 2006, drummer Clayton Hill joined the band, and continues to tour and perform with Trooper today.

2010 onwards

2010 saw Trooper celebrating their 35th Anniversary – starting with their performance at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics Victory Ceremony on February 21, which was broadcast across Canada and the world on networks such as CTV and MuchMusic, and ending with their performance on November 28 at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton for the 98th

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

, with shows throughout the year and coast to coast, many which broke attendance records. Trooper's first official compilation album '' Hits From 10 Albums'' was released on July 1, 2010. The totally updated and re-mastered collection featured songs spanning the entirety of their recording career. John Kereiff of Gonzo Magazine called it "THE summer album of 2010."

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

's official Press Release named Trooper as "one of Canada's top five selling bands of all time". On August 11, 2010, the members of Trooper enjoyed a private tour of the Gatineau Preservation Centre to see where

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...

houses its collected Trooper archives. The Trooper archives consist of 401 photographs and a stack of textual records such as financial records, which McGuire and Smith donated in 2004, hoping to provide some insight to the Canadian music industry of the '70s and '80s. McGuire, "now 60, bald, and bespectacled" had a chance to laugh when he read aloud from an old

Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices are located at Pos ...

clipping among the collection which described McGuire as "a new teen idol." The band later made another donation to the archive, including some of their early demo recordings, lyrics sheets, and master tapes. The band has also donated the massive 32-foot sign bearing Trooper's logo, complete with strobe-lit stars once used to illuminate their shows, to the

Canadian Museum of Civilization The Canadian Museum of History () is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of Canada, as well as support related res ...

. Trooper's visit to the archive was covered by almost every major newspaper in Canada. In 2012, Ra McGuire and Brian Smith were presented with the SOCAN National Achievement Award, which is presented to members who have had outstanding success, predominantly in the Canadian music industry, over the span of their career. They also received three SOCAN Classic Awards for "Raise a Little Hell", "General Hand Grenade", and "Janine". In November 2019, Brian Smith was presented with the Fraser Valley Music Lifetime Achievement Award.

2021

In November 2021, founding members Ra McGuire and Brian Smith announced their retirement.

2023

On May 18, 2023 at the

National Music Centre The National Music Centre (NMC; ) is a non-profit museum, performance venue, and recording studio located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The centre's permanent building, branded Studio Bell, is located at 850 4th Street S.E. in Downtown East Villag ...

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Trooper was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. Trooper was also inducted into

Canada's Walk of Fame Canada's Walk of Fame () in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of Canadians who have excelled in their respective fields. It is a series of maple leaf-like stars embedded in 13 de ...

at the Rock of Fame event on September 28, 2023 at Massey Hall, Toronto.

2024

Trooper was inducted into the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame and unveiled their StarWalk star in front of the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver B.C. on September 6, 2024. Twenty former and current band members attended.

Current

With Smith and McGuire's encouragement and blessing, Trooper continues to perform with Gogo, Scott Brown, and Clayton Hill, the longest running members of the band. Longtime west coast musician and Trooper guitar tech Steve Crane takes the lead guitar position, and international recording artist Paul Laine performs lead vocals.

Members

Current members

* Gogo – keyboards, harmonica, acoustic guitar (1995–present) * Scott Brown – bass (1996–present) * Clayton Hill – drums (2006–present) * Steve Crane – guitar (2021–present) * Paul Laine – vocals (2024–present)

Former members

* Ra McGuire – vocals, harmonica, acoustic guitar (founding member, 1975-2021) * Brian Smith – guitar (founding member, 1975-2021) * Tommy Stewart – drums (1975-1983) * Harry Kalensky – bass (1975-1976) * Frank Ludwig – keyboards (1976-1979) * Doni Underhill – bass (1976-1985) * Rob Deans – keyboards (1979-1986) * Marc LaFrance – drums (1983-1985) * Ronnie Baran – drums (1985-1988) * John Dryden – bass (1985-1992) * Richard Sera – keyboards (1988) * Aaron Anderson – drums (1989) * Blaine Smith – keyboards (1987-1995) * Larry Church – bass (1989-1992) * Mike Schmidt – drums (1988-1989) * John Stoltz – drums (1989-1990, 1990-1992) * Skip Prest – guitar (1992) * Tony Ferraro – drums (1990) * Timothy B. Hewitt – bass (1992-1996) * Lance Chalmers – drums (1995-2002) * Frankie Baker – drums (2003-2006) * David Steele – vocals (2022-2024)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:90 bottom:80 top:10 right:0 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1975 till:01/01/2025 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals id:guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:keyboards value:purple legend:Keyboards id:lines1 value:black legend:Albums Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:3 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1975 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1975 BarData = bar:McGuire text:Ra McGuire bar:Steele text:David Steele bar:Laine text:Paul Laine bar:Smith text:Brian Smith bar:Crane text:Steve Crane bar:Kalensky text:Harry Kalensky bar:Underhill text:Doni Underhill bar:Dryden text:John Dryden bar:Church text:Larry Church bar:Hewitt text:Timothy B. Hewitt bar:Brown text:Scott Brown bar:Ludwig text:Frank Ludwig bar:Deans text:Rob Deans bar:BSmith text:Blaine Smith bar:Gogo text:Gogo bar:Stewart text:Tommy Stewart bar:LaFrance text:Marc LaFrance bar:Baran text:Ronnie Baran bar:Schmidt text:Mike Schmidt bar:Anderson text:Aaron Anderson bar:Stoltz text:John Stoltz bar:Ferraro text:Tony Ferraro bar:Chalmers text:Lance Chalmers bar:Baker text:Frankie Baker bar:Hill text:Clayton Hill PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:McGuire from:start till:11/08/2021 color:vocals bar:Steele from:01/01/2022 till:01/01/2024 color:vocals bar:Laine from:01/01/2024 till:end color:vocals bar:Smith from:start till:11/08/2021 color:Guitar bar:Crane from:11/08/2021 till:end color:Guitar bar:Kalensky from:start till:10/01/1976 color:Bass bar:Underhill from:10/01/1976 till:10/01/1985 color:Bass bar:Dryden from:10/01/1985 till:01/01/1989 color:Bass bar:Church from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/1992 color:Bass bar:Hewitt from:01/01/1992 till:01/01/1996 color:Bass bar:Brown from:01/01/1996 till:end color:Bass bar:Ludwig from:01/01/1976 till:10/01/1979 color:keyboards bar:Deans from:10/01/1979 till:01/01/1986 color:keyboards bar:Ludwig from:01/01/1986 till:01/01/1987 color:keyboards bar:BSmith from:01/01/1987 till:01/01/1995 color:keyboards bar:Gogo from:01/01/1995 till:end color:Keyboards bar:Stewart from:start till:01/01/1983 color:Drums bar:LaFrance from:01/01/1983 till:10/01/1985 color:Drums bar:Baran from:01/01/1985 till:01/01/1988 color:Drums bar:Schmidt from:01/01/1988 till:01/01/1989 color:Drums bar:Anderson from:01/01/1989 till:04/01/1989 color:Drums bar:Stoltz from:04/01/1989 till:05/01/1990 color:Drums bar:Ferraro from:05/01/1990 till:09/01/1990 color:Drums bar:Stoltz from:09/01/1990 till:01/01/1995 color:Drums bar:Chalmers from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/2003 color:Drums bar:Baker from:01/01/2003 till:10/01/2006 color:Drums bar:Hill from:10/01/2006 till:end color:Drums LineData= at:07/01/1975 color:lines1 layer:back at:06/26/1976 at:06/08/1977 at:06/19/1978 at:09/04/1979 at:10/04/1980 at:04/01/1982 at:05/29/1989 at:06/05/1991

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

At least one unauthorized compilation album has been released featuring Trooper's hits. Trooper's second official compilation album was released on July 1, 2010, celebrating the band's 35th anniversary.

Singles

References

External links

* * * *
Bio at CanadianBands.com

Article at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trooper 1975 establishments in British Columbia Canadian hard rock musical groups Juno Award for Group of the Year winners Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups from Vancouver