Information/Write-up
Big John Little & The Rockers were based in the Niagara Falls, ON area. By March, 1959 they became The Hot Toddies who immortalized the classic hit single: “Rockin’ Crickets” (which climbed to #57 on the Billboard charts and apparently was one of Jimi Hendrix’s favourite records!). The racially integrated line-up consisted of: Big John Little on vocals & guitar, Bill Parnell, Dennis Lynne on drums, Billy Cardner on bass and Pierre Lévesque from Sherbrooke, QC on organ. As The Hot Toddies, they cut several singles released on both sides of the Canada-US border, with the band touring from Cleveland, OH to the Atlantic coast. They criss-crossed Ontario and Quebec, playing from Val D’Or to Gaspe, during which time that Big John even taught himself to speak French. By early 1962, they were back in Montreal, hanging out and playing at The Esquire Show Bar & Rockhead’s Paradise while recording their sole LP. Released in March 1962 at the height of the twist boom on the budget Montreal label Metro (a subsidiary of Trans Canada Records), the album would also see a second repackaging in 1964 on Rusticana as Big John & The Beetlers at the outbreak of Beatlemania. The LP cover shows a picture of Big John Little laying down with Denny Fox at far left, and left to right: Richard Jordan, Billy Cardner and Pierre Lévesque.
-Alexander Taylor
Big John Little: rhythm guitar, vocals
Bill Pernell: sax
Billy Cardner: bass
Dennis Lynne: drums
Pierre Lévesque: organ
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