Sceptres, The
Websites:
http://www.thesceptres.ca/
Origin:
Montréal, Québec
Biography:
1959 – 1960
Bill started a group in 1959 with friends Juri Pill (guitar and banjo) and Stewart Budden (drums). Not long after school started in 1960, Bill heard Tim playing guitar at a school sock hop, and immediately asked him to join his new group and that he was going to call it The Sceptres. (Tim was the best guitar player in school at the time.) The boys began playing at local school, YMCA and church dances the following spring. Stewart decided he was not cut out to be a drummer and left soon after and became the group’s manager for a time.
As both Tim & Bill played guitars, Tim (lead), and Bill (rhythm), it was evident they needed a drummer. Doug Deruchie joined The Sceptres in mid 1960. This was an era of many Instrumental Groups in North America, and much of The Sceptres repertoire was devoted to the “Hit” instrumental artists of the time: Duane Eddy, The Champs, Johnny and the Hurricanes, The String-A-Longs, The Ventures etc.
1961
Doug left the group in mid 1961, and was replaced by Danny Gorman, who was an excellent drummer whose first love was Big Band and jazz repertoire. Juri left to go away to university in the fall of that year as well.
The Sceptres continued to play local engagements around Montreal as an instrumental trio. In 1962, Danny left the group to pursue his love of jazz and to teach percussion.
1962
With Danny’s departure, Bill & Tim were prompted to expand their choice of repertoire beyond Instrumentals and brought in 2 new band members: Jens Grotkopp (vocals), Gerry Wood (drums).
Later that year Steve Truax, another High School classmate, became the keyboard player. The Sceptres continued to play High School, and Community Center dances as a 5 piece group, and saw an increase in the number of engagements. Performing was also becoming quite lucrative for a bunch of teenagers.
At school Bill was invariably the best dressed. In those days, bands all dressed the same, whether it was matching suits or togas. Some even dyed their hair. So, it went without saying that Bill would want us to look spiffy on stage with our own uniforms. The first one consisted of a white shirt, black tie, black pants and a red paisley vest. (Budgets were tight.)
In 1962, The Sceptres landed a Summer/Fall engagement at the Rockcliff Inn resort in Morin Heights, 80 km North of Montreal. The Sceptres played at the Rockcliff Inn every weekend throughout the summer. The regularity of the gig, coupled with an increasing demand on the group to perform one-night engagements, helped the group develop their music and presentation skills.
1963 saw another change of direction for The Sceptres. Jens, Gerry, and Steve left the band. In looking for a new lead vocalist, Bill and Tim met with Ron Dykhof (another classmate), who joined with great enthusiasm. Ron had a voice reminiscent of Gene Pitney. He also played keyboards and was a songwriter. This had the advantage of making the group a tight unit instead of back up musicians for a lead vocalist. Ron brought along a friend, Ian Bernard, who was a fine drummer and was studying classical percussion at the Conservatoire de musique et arts dramatiques du Quebec (The Quebec Conservatory of music and dramatic arts). The Sceptres were now a 4-piece group with multi instrument capability.
At this point, it was decided that Bill would switch from guitar to bass to round out the group’s instrumental sound. Using Ron's distinctive vocal sound as lead, Bill, Tim and Ian began to add background vocal harmonies. The Sceptres were now morphing into a 4-piece harmony vocal group with instrumental backing.
1964
In 1964, the current Sceptres lineup, Ron Dykhof, Bill Ott (Bill Garry), Tim Hewlings, Ian Bernard, began to develop their recording studio skills, recording several demos at Monticana and Stereo Sound Studios. The songs were never released on record, but proved an invaluable asset in promoting the band, as well as giving studio experience to the group.
The Sceptres expanded the scope of their live shows to include Eastern Ontario, Northern Vermont and Quebec. The Sceptres became regular TV guests on the CBC program “New Generation”, as well as CTV’s “Like Young” and also appeared in French on Radio-Canada's "Jeunesse Oblige".
1965
In February of 1965, The Sceptres played a milestone date. The band appeared on “The New Generation Scholarship Variety Show”, hosted by CBC TV. This marked the first time a “rock” band had ever graced the stage of Montreal’s premier concert Hall “Place des Arts”, normally reserved for the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, opera and ballet productions.
Late in the Summer of 1965, Ian left the group to continue his studies in percussion. This would eventually lead Ian to the post of principle percussionist with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa.
That year Don “Bob” Hopkins, who had been the leader and trumpet player of the Bob Hopkins Orchestra, a Montreal dance band of the 40’s & 50’s, joined The Sceptres team as manager. Bob’s experience and leadership was invaluable in retaining the support of the band’s teenage followers while expanding the performance opportunities and financial stability of these adult audiences.
The Sceptres were looking for someone to replace the departing Ian Bernard. Bob’s daughter, a student at Sir George Williams University (now Concordia) found a candidate who was a classmate. This drummer, (W.F.) Tyler William, had played in several bands in Ontario and Quebec. He was graduating from university and was looking for a group to join.
Tyler was a perfect fit for the group. He was multi-talented, played drums, percussion, could sing harmony, was dynamic and had the same ambition for success as the other members of the group.
Tyler joined the group in the October of 1965. This latest version of The Sceptres (Ron, Bill, Tim & Tyler), played their first date that same month at Father MacDonald High School in Ville St-Laurent, Quebec.
In keeping with the times, the band also now had made-to-measure tuxedos with burgundy jackets by St. Laurent tailor Zeke Posman. Note as well, the patent-leather shoes.
The new Sceptres lineup worked at developing their stage presence and musical presentation skills, now featuring 4 part harmony arranged by Tim, along with strong instrumental backup.
As was the case with most music artists of the day, the badge of success was a recording contract and a record release. This event would elevate a group’s prestige, as well as, increase their monetary value at the gate.
Late in the summer of 1965, after discussions with the band’s management, Bill Fisher, a respected record executive in Montreal and President of Fi-Sound Records, went to see the band perform. The show was a free concert at a major downtown department store and nearly 3000 kids turned up to hear The Sceptres. In October, after seeing the group perform at this and several other live venues, Bill Fisher signed The Sceptres to Fi-Sound Records.
In November, The Sceptres recorded 2 songs at RCA Victor Studios in Montreal. The record was produced by The Sceptres themselves. The A-side was a song written by lead singer Ron Dykhof called “It’s All Over Now”. The B-side called “A Boy Like Me” was a song written by the group members.
“It’s All Over Now” was released in January 1966 in Canada on Fi-Sound Records (FSS-101). “It’s All Over Now” had moderate chart success in Canada and Eastern USA.
66
In the Spring of 1966, The Sceptres returned to the RCA Victor studios in Montreal, and recorded another Ron Dykhof song “Can’t Get You Off My Mind”. The B-side was Rogers & Hammerstein’s standard “Be My Love”. The record was released in June of 1966 on the Fi-Sound label (FSS-104), distributed by Allied Records. Once again, the record was produced by The Sceptres, with Bill Fisher as Executive Producer.
“Can’t Get You Off My Mind” received moderate airplay with chart success in some markets. However, the production did pave the way for the vocal harmonies and large orchestral arrangements, which would become a trademark of The Sceptres recordings. The Sceptres were now playing more dates which would see them travel extensively throughout Eastern Ontario, Quebec and Northern Vermont.
Ron decided that he could do better as a solo act, and left the group in mid-1966 so the search was on for a new lead vocalist. Bill, Tim and Tyler began the search for a replacement who possessed a strong voice that would raise the bar for The Sceptres 4-part harmony arrangements to the next level.
After auditioning many candidates, The Sceptres found the perfect piece of the vocal puzzle in Marty Butler, who had a strong tenor voice, played keyboards and was a song writer. Marty was finishing his last year of a B.A. at Sir George Williams University, and had been singing with classmates Anne and Jackie Ralph, who went on to form the “Bells”. Marty would later be a co-writer of the Bells hit “Fly Little White Dove Fly”. With Marty as lead singer, The Sceptres completed the transition from the instrumental group Bill and Tim had started in 1959, to a 4-part harmony group with self contained instrumental backing.
The Sceptres: Marty, Bill, Tim & Tyler, as they would come to be known, to the public and the trade, began rehearsals and played their first show in October of 1966.
For the rest of 1966, The Sceptres would continue to perfect their 4-part harmony sound while performing throughout Quebec and Ontario.
1967
Early in 1967, Bill Fisher introduced the group to record producer Martin Hillman aka “Martin Martin”.
Martin Martin had a strong commercial sense and was invaluable in helping the group choose commercial repertoire for recording. While The Sceptres featured 4 part harmony in their live performances, Martin Martin provided a 5th harmony voice on many of the vocal arrangements that Tim scored for the studio recordings.
As the group members were bilingual, Bill Fisher suggested the group record in French as “Les Sceptres”.
This was the era that became known in Quebec as “Ye-Ye”. Local rock groups recorded French versions of American records as soon as they hit the charts. We were no exception.
In March 1967, “The Sceptres/ Les Sceptres” recorded a French version of the Tommy James hit “I Think We’re Alone Now” called “Enfin seul ensemble” at Stereo Sound Studios in Montreal. The B-side was the Becaud-Delanoe standard “Et maintenant”. The record was produced by Martin Martin, with Bill Fisher as Executive Producer. It was released in April 1967 on the Alliance label. “Enfin seul ensemble” was well received by the Quebec media, both radio and press. “Les Sceptres” began radio and press interviews throughout Quebec and were recognized as Quebec’s first bilingual group.
In the spring of 1967, The Sceptres began rehearsing for their next English release while waiting for Marty to finish his last year at university. In June, the band went on the road full time with an extensive touring schedule, to support their record releases.
In May and June of 1967, The Sceptres returned to Stereo Sound and recorded “I Never Had A Love Like That”, a song written by John Carter & D. Beadle. The B-side was a ballad written by Martin Martin called “One Lonely Tear”. Both songs featured The Sceptres 4-part harmony with the addition of a woodwind & brass section orchestrated and conducted by Norm Bigras. Tim did the vocal arrangements. Once again, the record was produced by Martin Martin, with Bill Fisher Executive Producer. “I Never Had A Love Like That” was released on the RCA Victor International label in June of 1967 and became The Sceptres first #1 Hit with major radio stations in Eastern Canada (Ottawa to St John’s, Nfld.). The Sceptres had airplay across Canada and had a top 10 hit when it rose to #6 on the RPM Canadian Hits Chart and #62 with a bullet on the RPM National Chart in September of 1967. This was before Canadian content regulations (Cancon as it became known) governing Canadian radio stations, at a time when hits from “home grown” artists tended to be regional in scope.
The Sceptres heard about the success of “I Never Had a Love Like That” in Canada, while rehearsing for the road at a club located 60 miles North of the Nation’s Capital, Ottawa.
Following on the heels of the success of “I Never Had A Love Like That”, The Sceptres / Les Sceptres recorded a French adaptation of it called “Moi, je pense toujours à toi”, at Stereo Sound in July and August of 1967. The B-side was the French version of “One Lonely Tear” titled, “Rien qu’une larme”. The record was produced by Martin Martin with Executive Producer Bill Fisher and released in September 1967 on the RCA Victor International label (57-5778).
The French media in Quebec embraced both sides of the record and Les Sceptres continued to support the record with interviews and live appearances throughout Quebec.
The band was becoming very popular around Montreal and two of the group’s major performing accomplishments in 1967 were; the invitation to appear at the Montreal World’s Fair EXPO 67 at the Garden of Stars (Jardin d’Etoiles) in the International Theatre for the Performing Arts at La Ronde and a live concert in front of 10,000 fans at Montreal’s Place Ville Marie hosted by local top 40 radio station CFOX.
In November of that year, The Sceptres returned to Stereo Sound and recorded another English record “Something’s Coming Along”. The B-side was “What’s The Matter with Juliet?” The Executive Producer was Bill Fisher, and the producer Martin Martin. Once again, the songs featured a woodwind and brass section, conducted by Norm Bigras, with vocal arrangements by Tim Hewlings. The Sceptres’ Manager, Bob Hopkins, played horns and Marty’s brother Steve played chimes on the sessions.
“Something’s Coming Along” was released in January of 1968 on Allied Records (AR 6353) in Canada, on Spark Records (SRL.1006) in the UK
“Something’s Coming Along” received critical acclaim with music reviewers and made it to the Top 10 music charts in many towns east of Toronto. The prestigious Canadian Music magazine RPM said of the record:”…The Sceptres…latest release “Something’s Coming Along” and “What’s The Matter With Juliet” (Allied 6353)…”It’s both Top Forty and middle of the road, with the best vocal harmonizing we’ve ever heard on a Canadian record…”
The Sceptres were now a full time recording and touring group. Two of the group’s major performing accomplishments in 1967 were; the invitation to appear at the Montreal World’s Fair EXPO 67 in the International Theatre for the Performing Arts at La Ronde and a live concert in front of 10,000 fans at Montreal’s Place Ville Marie hosted by local top 40 radio station CFOX.
1968
In 1968, with the understanding and best wishes of their longtime friend and supporter, “The Sceptres” ended their recording contract with Fi-Sound President Bill Fisher.
Writer, producer, arranger Bob Hahn, who had a formidable reputation as a jingle writer, arranger, composer and musician, saw a Sceptres performance and contacted the group’s management about bringing them to Polydor. He met with The Sceptres’ team, confirmed their mutual vision and offered the band a new recording contract. Although Polydor was relatively new to the Canadian music scene, they were acknowledged as the world’s leading Classical, Jazz, and “Middle of the Road” instrumental company. The company presented an extensive recording schedule and promotion plan to develop distribution not only in the northeast but throughout the United States. The band was finally hoping to be able to break into the US market.
As promised, Polydor Records provided Bob Hahn and The Sceptres with the financial support to record in a first-class Studio environment, engage a world class arranger and song writers, for their next recordings.
Following hours of song selection, arrangement preparation, rehearsals and pre-production, in late June The Sceptres recorded three songs at the Andre Perry Studio on Montreal’s South Shore.
Bob put together a support team that included songwriter Neil Sheppard, and US arranger Artie Schroeck, whose credits included: The Cowsills, The Four Seasons, Spanky and Our Gang, Barry Manilow, Franki Valli, among others.
Bob chose Studio Andre Perry, located on Montreal’s South shore to record two of Neil’s songs: “Juicy Morning” and “Twelfth Night”, as well as “Hey Little Boy”, a song written by R. Murphy and R. Mansfield, that would showcase Marty’s strong tenor voice. The tracks were recorded in June & July of 1968 with Bob Hahn as Executive Producer, and Martin Martin as Producer. Artie Schroeck did the instrumental arrangements and conducted a 16 piece orchestra. Tim did the vocal arrangements which included Martin Martin as the 5th harmony voice. Kathy Hahn and her sister Lucky, as well as Bill’s sister Kathy also supplied some female background vocals.
“Juicy Morning” was the A-side, with “Hey Little Boy” as the B-side of The Sceptres first release for Polydor Records in August of 1968. The Polydor national promotion team promoted “Juicy Morning” from coast to coast. “Juicy Morning” hit the charts in many cities across the Canada and exposed The Sceptres to an ever-increasing audience. “Twelfth Night” was not released.
As winter became spring, The Sceptres continued their rigorous performing schedule in English and French, both one-nighter and club appearances, including their first engagement at The Coq d’Or Tavern on Toronto’s Yonge Street.
The Sceptres were now one of Canada’s most celebrated groups and were considered by many to be the strongest vocal harmony group recording and touring at the time.
Dates at Le Coq d’Or in Toronto and Gentleman Jim’s in Hamilton, exposed audiences in the hub of Ontario to The Sceptres. This also helped the Polydor Promotion team promote “Juicy Morning” on radio and in the press.
1969
In March of 1969, Executive Producer Bob Hahn, took The Sceptres, along with Producer Martin Martin to New York to record 4 songs at the renowned Regent Sound Studios located at 25 West 56th Street. Owner Bob Lifton, who was an accredited “Hit” recording engineer, would preside over The Sceptres sessions. The studio had 16 track capability and exceptional acoustics.
Bob Lifton
Bob hired super arranger Herb Bernstein, who had arranged hits in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, and whose credits included: The Four Seasons, Laura Nyro, Bob Dylan, The Monkees, Tina Turner, The Happenings etc. Herb’s instrumental arrangements were perfectly tailored to The Sceptres’ singing style and harmonies.
Herb arranged and conducted a 20 piece orchestra on the following tracks:
“Good Morning New Day”- written by Arlene King and Ellen Starr, “Walk Hand In Hand” – written by Canadian John Cowell, “Two Different Worlds” - written by Al Frisch, and Sid Wayne, and “Don’t Hang Me Up Girl” - written by Neil Sheppard and Tony Powers.
Vocal arrangements were by Tim Hewlings and included a 5th harmony part sung by Producer Martin Martin.
The sessions were stunning! The arrangements by Herb Bernstein were perfect and The Sceptres’ harmony was at its best.
“Good Morning New Day” was chosen as the A-side with “Walk Hand In Hand” the B-side. “Good Morning New Day” was released in August 1969 on Polydor Records (540.010).
“Don’t Hang Me Up Girl”, arguably the best track from the NY sessions, was never released.
While these sessions represented the best material The Sceptres had recorded and released to date; other forces and individual career choices were at odds with the collective goal of The Sceptres to continue to tour in support of their record releases.
Tim, one of the two founding members of The Sceptres, had decided to return to McGill University to complete his degree in music. At the same time, Marty was being pursued by a prominent artist manager to go solo. Almost a decade of practicing, recording, and touring had taken its toll on The Sceptres, and understanding Tim had a University term to face, Bill, Tyler and Marty, decided to find a replacement for Tim to complete existing performance contracts for one final tour.
The remaining Sceptres found a young guitar-keyboard player from Ottawa, Roddy Elias, who could also sing background harmony. After several weeks of rehearsal, wardrobe fittings, photos, and interviews, the new Sceptres line up: Marty, Bill, Roddy and Tyler, embarked on their last tour, which would take them from Western Ontario to Newfoundland, back to Montreal; and finally to Ottawa for a last concert performance.
The tour was a success, but pop music was changing. Woodstock had signaled a revolution in rock, and the harmony vocal groups of the 60’s had given way to flower power, acid and grunge. Everyone acknowledged it was time to say goodbye and thank management, radio, press, personal supporters, fans, and family for supporting the 4 guys’ collective dream. It was time for The Sceptres / Les Sceptres to close the book.
The Sceptres disbanded officially in October 1969. It had been a decade since Bill Ott (Bill Garry), and Tim Hewlings had started The Sceptres. The “Group”: Marty, Bill Tim & Tyler had been recording and performing since 1966.
The dream did not die. On the contrary, it lives in their accomplishments.
The songs unreleased in the 60s’ - “Twelfth Night” from their June 1968 recording session in Montreal as well as “Don’t Hang Me Up Girl”, and “Two Different Worlds” from their March 1969 recording session in New York City, arguably their finest recorded performances, are now available on the Sceptres’ CD “Long Lost Hits and Rarities” released in 2014.
Marty, Bill, Tim and Tyler
Proudly
CANADA'S PREMIERE VOCAL BAND Of THE 60s
