The Laurie Bower Collection

The Laurie Bower Singers – Canada’s Studio Soundtrack

The story of the Laurie Bower Singers is less about chart hits than it is about presence. For more than two decades, their voices seemed to be everywhere in Canadian life—on radio jingles, television themes, variety shows, commercials, and an unbroken run of albums that defined the sound of smooth, professional harmony. Behind it all was trombonist, arranger, and choral leader Laurie Bower, whose knack for marrying jazz sophistication with pop clarity made his singers indispensable to broadcasters and record producers alike.

Born in Kirkland Lake in 1933, Lawrence “Laurie” Bower studied trombone and choral technique at the University of Toronto and cut his teeth in the dance bands of Benny Louis, Ozzie Williams, and Mart Kenney. He was soon a regular in CBC studios, part of a generation of musicians who moved fluidly between jazz clubs at night and commercial sessions during the day. Bower’s reputation grew not only as a player but also as an arranger with a gift for clarity—he could take any group of singers and give them a polished, unified sound.

The Laurie Bower Singers came together in 1969, first as a compact vocal quintet and then gradually expanding into a rotating ensemble of Toronto’s finest session singers. At a time when the CBC and the Canadian Talent Library were commissioning music to fill airwaves with homegrown content, Bower’s group was perfectly placed. They were versatile, reliable, and fast. The group could cut a full album of covers in a matter of days, record a pair of jingles in the morning, and back a jazz orchestra on television the same evening.

Their albums, issued steadily through the 1970s—often on the Canadian Talent Library imprint—captured their lush, easy-listening style: re-voiced pop and folk hits arranged with orchestral sweep. But their real influence went far beyond LPs. By their own estimate, the singers recorded hundreds, even thousands, of commercials. Cal Dodd, one of the later members, once joked that they were doing “two jingles a day, every day, for 25 years.” If you turned on Canadian radio or television during those decades, chances are you heard the Laurie Bower Singers without knowing it.

What set them apart was Bower’s insistence on precision without losing warmth. His charts gave the singers the silky quality of American groups like the Ray Conniff Singers, but with a flexibility that allowed them to slip into jazz, folk, country, or advertising work without missing a beat. They became the “house sound” of countless CBC productions and a model of professionalism for younger singers breaking into the Toronto studio scene.

By the end of the 1970s the group had even reached the U.S. market, with three albums released stateside, but the tides of popular taste were shifting. While disco and rock dominated commercial radio, the Laurie Bower Singers remained most valuable in the worlds of broadcasting, jingles, and live television. Bower himself branched out in the early 1980s, co-founding the Spitfire Band and continuing to play trombone with big bands led by Guido Basso, Peter Appleyard, and Jim Galloway.

The group wound down its activities in the late 1980s, formally retiring around 1990. Yet their legacy is less about one big hit and more about saturation. They were part of the fabric of Canadian sound during a formative period, when broadcasters and advertisers relied heavily on live studio talent. The Laurie Bower Singers brought polish and consistency, ensuring that Canadian music—whether on a prime-time CBC variety show or in a thirty-second toothpaste jingle—always sounded world-class.

Today their records are prized as artifacts of the Canadian Talent Library era, and Laurie Bower himself is remembered as a linchpin of Toronto’s studio culture: a musician who quietly shaped the way Canada sounded during a quarter century of rapid change.
-Robert Williston

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In Wonderland

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Tracks

Artist Track Title
Laurie Bower Singers Oh My Lady Wish I Was A Plane
Spitfire Band Skyliner Big Band Swing Things
Laurie Bower Singers Sing Me a Rainbow Feelin'
Cowell, Johnny with the Laurie Bower Singers Here Comes Another Day Bridge Over Troubled Waters
Laurie Bower Singers Pretty Lady Look What They've Done to These Songs, Ma.....
Compilation Indian Summer City Toronto: What Other City Calls its Main Street Yonge?
Laurie Bower Singers Magnificent Sanctuary Band Morning Has Broken
Spitfire Band Laura 'S Wonderful
Spitfire Band Baubles, Bangles & Beads Big Time
Van, Billy Singers You're Wrong ST
Spitfire Band By Myself Big Band Swing Things
Laurie Bower Singers Country Comfort Take Me Home Country Roads
Laurie Bower Singers Boney Fingers Back Home Again
Laurie Bower Singers Guitar Man Wish I Was A Plane
Laurie Bower Singers Look What They've Done To My Song, Ma Look What They've Done to These Songs, Ma.....
Laurie Bower Singers Song Sung Blue Morning Has Broken
Laurie Bower Singers The Young New Mexican Pupeteer Morning Has Broken
Laurie Bower Singers Pussywillow Cat-tails Morning Has Broken
Cowell, Johnny with the Laurie Bower Singers The City Bridge Over Troubled Waters
Mutual Understanding You Fascinate Me In Wonderland
Laurie Bower Singers I Wish That I Was Making Love (To You Tonight) Laurie Bower
McPeek, Ben Everything's Alright Peace Train
Spitfire Band If I Were A Bell Big Band Swing Things
Laurie Bower Singers Stop And Smell The Roses Back Home Again
Laurie Bower Singers Put Your Hand In The Hand Look What They've Done to These Songs, Ma.....
Spitfire Band Marie Big Band Swing Things
Compilation Teach Me Toronto: What Other City Calls its Main Street Yonge?
Spitfire Band Mrs. Robinson 'S Wonderful
Laurie Bower Singers Do You Know Got a Feelin' for Love
Spitfire Band Hey There Big Time
Laurie Bower Singers Don't Go Breaking My Heart Feelin'
Cowell, Johnny with the Laurie Bower Singers Gentle as a Breeze Bridge Over Troubled Waters
Laurie Bower Singers Rock With You When You Say Goodbye
Compilation Laurie Bower Singers - Surrounded By The Night 1968 CBC Song Market featuring Colors of the Rainbow
Laurie Bower Singers Happy Dreamer Wish I Was A Plane
Laurie Bower Singers I Go To Rio It Goes Like It Goes
Laurie Bower Singers Silver Bird Look What They've Done to These Songs, Ma.....
Laurie Bower Singers The Importance of the Rose Feelin'
Mutual Understanding Little Girl Blue In Wonderland
Laurie Bower Singers The Way I Want Got a Feelin' for Love
Laurie Bower Singers Just To Be Alone With You You
Spitfire Band Brazil Big Band Swing Things
Spitfire Band Song of India ST
Laurie Bower Singers Mississippi Look What They've Done to These Songs, Ma.....
Van, Billy Singers You Don't Really Know ST
Laurie Bower Singers Sir Duke Looks Like We Made It
Laurie Bower Singers I've Found a New Baby Feelin'
Laurie Bower Singers If You Feel Got a Feelin' for Love
Laurie Bower Singers 50 Ways Got a Feelin' for Love
Laurie Bower Singers When You Say Goodbye When You Say Goodbye
Spitfire Band Don't Be That Way 'S Wonderful
Spitfire Band Medley: Winter Wonderland - Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow! - Home for the Holidays Home for the Holidays
Van, Billy Singers Where Were You ST
Spitfire Band Marie ST
Laurie Bower Singers It Goes Like It Goes It Goes Like It Goes
Laurie Bower Singers Lotta Love When You Say Goodbye
Laurie Bower Singers Minute To Minute When You Say Goodbye
Laurie Bower Singers Is Someone Listening? Morning Has Broken
Laurie Bower Singers Woman Got a Feelin' for Love
McPeek, Ben Imagine Peace Train
Laurie Bower Singers Morning Has Broken Morning Has Broken
Amaro, Eugene Boss-Ann-A Eugene Amaro
Compilation Woodland City Toronto: What Other City Calls its Main Street Yonge?
Laurie Bower Singers Southern Nights Looks Like We Made It
Laurie Bower Singers Didn't We? Feelin'
Amaro, Eugene Grace-Ful Eugene Amaro
Van, Billy Singers How Can Anyone ST
Spitfire Band It's Been A Long, Ling Time Big Time
Laurie Bower Singers Sunshine On My Shoulders Back Home Again
Laurie Bower Singers Angie Baby Back Home Again
Laurie Bower Singers Sweet Ginger Bread Man Look What They've Done to These Songs, Ma.....
Van, Billy Singers Tammy's Gone ST
Cowell, Johnny with the Laurie Bower Singers Honeybee Bridge Over Troubled Waters
Laurie Bower Singers Thorn In My Shoe Look What They've Done to These Songs, Ma.....
Laurie Bower Singers Everything Old is New Again Looks Like We Made It
Laurie Bower Singers You Don't Bring Me Flowers You
Laurie Bower Singers Una Paloma Got a Feelin' for Love
Compilation This Train Toronto: What Other City Calls its Main Street Yonge?
Laurie Bower Singers Penny Lane Feelin'
McPeek, Ben He's So Fine Peace Train
Van, Billy Singers You've Got the World by the Tail ST
McPeek, Ben Superstar Peace Train
Mutual Understanding Wonderland In Wonderland
Van, Billy Singers You're Hanging Me Up ST
Laurie Bower Singers Theme From Ice Castles - Through The Eyes Of Love Laurie Bower
Cowell, Johnny with the Laurie Bower Singers For the Very First Time Bridge Over Troubled Waters
Laurie Bower Singers How The Singers Sing Morning Has Broken
Amaro, Eugene The Shadow Of Your Smile Eugene Amaro
Laurie Bower Singers Just a Little Song Back Home Again
Spitfire Band Tuxedo Junction ST
Laurie Bower Singers I Got a Name Back Home Again
Laurie Bower Singers I Think It's Gonna Rain on Me Today Take Me Home Country Roads
Laurie Bower Singers Out Here On My Own It Goes Like It Goes
Spitfire Band The Tender Trap 'S Wonderful
Spitfire Band Near You ST
Spitfire Band Elmer's Tune ST
McPeek, Ben Talk It Over In The Morning Peace Train
McPeek, Ben Admiral Halsey Peace Train
Mutual Understanding Out of This World In Wonderland
Spitfire Band Medley: Here Comes Santa Claus - Sleigh Ride Home for the Holidays

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