Jim Morrison (and The Stripes)

On April 30, 1957, radio station CJOR filled the Orpheum Theatre with young singers competing to be Vancouver's answer to Elvis Presley. CJOR was the only local station playing rock and roll at the time, the contestants were judged by audience applause, and Les Vogt was among the hopefuls. A kid named Jimmy Morrison won. The prize was a chance to make a record.

He cut it for Al Reusch's Aragon label, at its small studio in an office building at 615 Hastings Street, where sessions ran after hours with the desks pushed aside and the band gathered around a single microphone. Morrison chose Guy Mitchell's 1956 hit 'Singin' The Blues' for the A side and Hank Williams' 'Your Cheatin' Heart' for the flip. Aragon issued it as 45-AR.300, credited to Jimmy Morrison and The Stripes. Played in a raw rockabilly style with a strong country feel, it was later identified by Michael Willmore as Vancouver's first rock and roll record.

The Stripes were Gerry Fiander on lead guitar and vocals, with the O'Bray brothers: Gary on drums, Garth on piano and Blain on bass. Morrison sang with them as a guest and played rhythm guitar. Ian Tyson had played guitar with the group early on, and Fiander came in when Tyson left Vancouver to pursue commercial art. In 1958 Morrison and The Stripes appeared on the Canadian Bandstand show, with Red Robinson as emcee.

Morrison's second and last record was 'Ready To Rock', a Fiander song taped with The Stripes in 1958. It came out on Arctic, a short-lived label run by Les Vogt and Red Robinson, as 45-ARC 5001, credited to Jim Morrison. The other side, 'So Long, Goodbye', went to Fiander, with The Stripes again backing him uncredited, so each side of the single named a different artist. The label promised 'the coolest on wax', and the record became one of the most sought-after Vancouver singles of its era.

The original Arctic 45 features a slightly different mix of Gerry Fiander's 'So Long, Goodbye' than the version included on The History of Vancouver Rock and Roll, particularly the handclaps.

Morrison kept performing around Vancouver until his interest in being the city's Elvis faded. He later moved to Prince George and worked in the logging industry.

-Robert Williston