Counts Four

Websites:  https://citizenfreak.com/artists/94587-edwards-cliff
Origin: Montréal, Québec, 🇨🇦
Biography:

The Counts Four were an early 1960s Montreal rhythm & blues and rock ’n’ roll group that helped define the city’s pre-British Invasion club circuit. Active during a transitional period in Canadian popular music — when American R&B covers dominated dance halls and school hops — the band built a fast local reputation for high-energy performances and tight musicianship.

The lineup featured Cliff Edwards (vocals, guitar), Gord McLeod (Hammond organ), Al Ridler (bass), and Yvan Pratt (drums). The group’s self-titled LP captures a repertoire rooted firmly in the American R&B songbook, including “Boom Boom,” “Hi Heel Sneakers,” “Watermelon Man,” “Monkey Time,” and “Walking the Dog,” alongside Cliff Edwards’ original “Time Out to Count.” The record presents what the jacket proudly described as a “triple treat group” capable of solos, duets, blues, or straight rock ’n’ roll — a reflection of the era’s live dance-band versatility.

According to contemporary accounts printed on the LP sleeve, the band’s ascent was rapid. Within a single year they progressed from one-night stands and school dances to major engagements across Canada and the United States. Though their recorded legacy is limited, the album stands as an authentic document of Montreal’s early-1960s R&B scene, before folk-rock and psychedelia reshaped the city’s sound.

Bassist Al Ridler had earlier worked with Allan Nicholls in a group called The Monterays, and later performed in The Green Men around 1965. He would eventually co-found the St. Marc Street Band, a group that became a force in Montreal’s rock scene in the early 1970s. Drummer Yvan Pratt — remembered by family as “Smiley” — also remained active in regional music circles. These later connections place The Counts Four squarely within the evolving network of Montreal musicians who bridged early R&B, mid-1960s garage rock, and the city’s subsequent progressive and rock movements.

Cliff Edwards would soon move on to greater national recognition, forming The Five Bells (later The Bells) with Frank Mills, Ann Ralph, and Jacki Ralph — a pivotal development that launched one of Canada’s most successful pop acts of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
-Robert Williston

Lineup:
Cliff Edwards: lead vocals, guitar (Leader of the group. Spent a number of years in advertising. Sings and plays guitar)
Gord McLeod: Hammond organ (Had his own milk route. Prefers ballads)
Al Ridler: bass guitar (Used to be a machinist. Is the “Hamlet” of the quartet)
Yvan Pratt: drums (Was an expert mechanic before joining Counts Four. Also known as Smiley)