Sixty-Six

Websites:  https://citizenfreak.com/artists/99248-mccaw-craig, https://roundhouseproductionsshows.com/craigmccaw/
Origin: Vancouver, British Columbia, 🇨🇦
Biography:

Sixty-Six Six formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1974, bringing together a group of musicians whose varied backgrounds gave the band a distinct place in the city’s mid-70s rock underground. The lineup featured drummer Gary Glacken, bassist Curt Klassen, lead guitarist Craig McCaw, keyboardist and vocalist John Mitchel, guitarist and vocalist Chris Raines, and sisters Kendra and Roz Sprinkling on vocals. Though the group only lasted until 1976, its members arrived with enough pedigree to draw immediate attention on the Vancouver circuit.

The band’s origins tied together two notable threads from the previous decade: Chris Raines came from Python, a respected Vancouver name, while Craig McCaw had helped shape the sound of the Poppy Family, the top-selling Canadian group of the late sixties and early seventies. Their presence gave Sixty-Six Six a level of musicianship that set them apart from other local groups just emerging from the garage-dancehall scene. The addition of John Mitchel and the Sprinkling sisters brought strong vocal and instrumental depth, with Kendra’s lead vocals giving the band a soulful edge uncommon among rock outfits of the period.

Working primarily in the city’s clubs and regional venues, Sixty-Six Six developed a tight, melodic sound rooted in guitar-driven rock but coloured by the members’ diverse influences. Their sole commercial release, the 1975 single Put You Out b/w Life’s On Fire on Honeymoon Records (HR 1438), was written and produced by Chris Raines and Craig McCaw and stands as the band’s only known studio document. Issued in small quantities and seldom seen outside Western Canada, the single has since become a collector’s item among enthusiasts of mid-70s independent Vancouver rock.

Although the group dissolved in 1976, its members continued to leave footprints across the local music landscape. Gary Glacken moved on to the Out of Hand Jive Band; John Mitchel and Kendra Sprinkling provided backing vocals for the dance-music project Sweet 202; and Kendra later sang backup for Denise McCann during McCann’s late-70s run of disco and rock releases. Craig McCaw entered a more experimental and production-oriented phase that would eventually lead to his long career as a composer for film, television, and planetarium shows.

While short-lived, Sixty-Six Six captured a transitional moment in Vancouver’s mid-70s music scene, linking the city’s psychedelic and pop legacy to the evolving independent rock culture of the decade. Their lone 45 remains the clearest record of a group whose members went on to shape a surprisingly wide range of creative paths.
-Robert Williston

Craig McCaw: lead guitar
Kendra Sprinkling: lead vocals
Roz Sprinkling: vocals
John Mitchel: vocals, keyboards
Chris Raines: vocals, guitar
Curt Klassen: bass
Gary Glacken: drums