Information/Write-up
Randy Bachman ~ Jim Kale ~ Chad Allan ~ Gary Peterson ~ Bob Ashley.
THE EARLY ROCK AND ROLL GROUP THAT WAS THE FOUNDATION OF CANADA'S GREATEST ROCK GROUP-THE GUESS WHO liner notes: Four and a half years ago, Allan Kobel, a young grade 12 student at Miles MacDonnel Collegiate, got together with some friends and formed a rock and roll group called Al and the Silvertones.
This particular group was not too much different from the hundreds of small groups which had formed before or have formed since; they were simply a group of young men who were playing and writing music they liked.
The difference was that a lot of other people like their sound too.
Today this group, now renamed Chad Allan and the Expressions, with Bob Burns looking after the managerial side is finding that this popularity has spread from a local fervor to international recognition through the release of their hit record, Shakin' All Over.
The members of the group, Allan Kobel (Chad Allan), Randy Bachman, Gary Peterson, Bob Ashley and Jim Kale, are five devoted young men who know well that this success just didn't happen.
"We're where we are today because a lot of people believed in us," says Allan.
"The applause of school audiences, the encouragement of family and friends, the incentive of recording, and the support of local DJs have been the only things that made up keep on working," he said. Station CKAY-TV Winnipeg in particular has been a big help to the group in this respect.
This support, however, is not the reason for its musical ability. This has come only through long and painstaking hours of work.
This work began in early 1962 when the group first got together in a small room packed beside the staircase in Bob Ashley's home; it continued through weeks of rehearsal until their first show at Melrose Junior High, and it is still going on.
From their first show, they worked hard to build a name for themselves. They played at school and community club dances throughout Winnipeg and by 1963 they had become the best known group in Winnipeg.
They released Shy Guy and Stop Teasin' Me on the Quality label. These records reaffirmed their success and led to a tour last summer of western Canada.
At the completion of the tour, they returned to Winnipeg, well established as one of Canada's best groups.
Allan is a third year science student at United College. He writes material for the group, plays rhythm guitar, and sings.
Randy Bachman, the lead guitarist, also writes and sings. He is 21 and in his final year of an accelerated course in business administration at MIT.
Jim Kale plays bass guitar and sings. He is married and works for a lumber firm in St. Vital.
Gary Peterson handles the drums and plays saxophone. He is in second year science at the University of Manitoba.
Bob Ashley is the pianist and organist for the group.
Together, they make up the sound which Winnipeggers have been acclaiming for years and which, since the beginning of this year, has gained international prominence.
Michael Maunder ~ Winnipeg Free Press
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