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
McPeek, Ben Gypsies, Tramps And Thieves Peace Train
Amaro, Eugene The Shadow Of Your Smile Eugene Amaro
Laurie Bower Singers Everybody's Reachin' Out for Someone Love and Maple Syrup b/w Everybody's Reachin' Out for Someone
Van, Billy Singers Why Oh Why ST
Laurie Bower Singers You You
Spitfire Band What Kind Of Fool Am I Big Time
Spitfire Band At Last 'S Wonderful
Cowell, Johnny with the Laurie Bower Singers The City Bridge Over Troubled Waters
Laurie Bower Singers You Needed Me You
Laurie Bower Singers Wish I Was A Plane Wish I Was A Plane
Laurie Bower Singers You're The One That I Want You
Van, Billy Singers You Don't Really Know ST
Laurie Bower Singers Sunshine On My Shoulders Back Home Again
Spitfire Band Elmer's Tune ST
Spitfire Band Caravan ST
Spitfire Band Skyliner Big Band Swing Things
McPeek, Ben Talk It Over In The Morning Peace Train
Laurie Bower Singers Simple Song Back Home Again
Laurie Bower Singers Hold On to a Little Bit of Love Morning Has Broken
Laurie Bower Singers Epilogue Morning Has Broken
Spitfire Band It's Been A Long, Ling Time Big Time
Laurie Bower Singers The Way I Want Got a Feelin' for Love
Spitfire Band Marie Big Band Swing Things
Laurie Bower Singers Out Here On My Own It Goes Like It Goes
Cowell, Johnny with the Laurie Bower Singers Here Comes Another Day Bridge Over Troubled Waters
Amaro, Eugene Niños Del Sol Eugene Amaro
Laurie Bower Singers Put Your Hand In The Hand Look What They've Done to These Songs, Ma.....
Laurie Bower Singers Rhumba Girl It Goes Like It Goes
Spitfire Band Witchcraft Big Time
Spitfire Band I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart 'S Wonderful
Laurie Bower Singers The Rose Laurie Bower
Van, Billy Singers You're Wrong ST
McPeek, Ben Admiral Halsey Peace Train
Laurie Bower Singers Don't Give Up On Us Baby Looks Like We Made It
Laurie Bower Singers Sundown Back Home Again
Laurie Bower Singers Everybody's Reachin' Out For Someone Take Me Home Country Roads
Laurie Bower Singers Thorn In My Shoe Look What They've Done to These Songs, Ma.....
Van, Billy Singers You've Got the World by the Tail ST
Spitfire Band Laura 'S Wonderful
Mutual Understanding Out of This World In Wonderland
Spitfire Band Thou Swell Big Band Swing Things
Laurie Bower Singers Rock With You When You Say Goodbye
Laurie Bower Singers Fool That I Am It Goes Like It Goes
Laurie Bower Singers I Wish That I Was Making Love (To You Tonight) Laurie Bower
Spitfire Band Just In Time Big Time
Spitfire Band If I Were A Bell Big Band Swing Things
Mutual Understanding Little Girl Blue In Wonderland
Spitfire Band Something's Gotta Give Big Band Swing Things
Amaro, Eugene Georgia Eugene Amaro
Amaro, Eugene Jade Eyes Eugene Amaro
Laurie Bower Singers Magnificent Sanctuary Band Morning Has Broken
Laurie Bower Singers Why Is Forever Taking So Long When You Say Goodbye
Laurie Bower Singers Daniel Wish I Was A Plane
Laurie Bower Singers Rainy Day People Got a Feelin' for Love
Laurie Bower Singers Morning Has Broken Morning Has Broken
Laurie Bower Singers Evergreen Looks Like We Made It
Mutual Understanding Always True to You, Darling, In My Fashion In Wonderland
Van, Billy Singers There Must be a Reason ST
Cowell, Johnny with the Laurie Bower Singers For the Very First Time Bridge Over Troubled Waters
Spitfire Band Santa Claus is Coming to Town Home for the Holidays
Van, Billy Singers Where Were You ST
Laurie Bower Singers Everything Old is New Again Looks Like We Made It
McPeek, Ben Superstar Peace Train
Spitfire Band Reprise Radio And Fan Salute 'S Wonderful
Laurie Bower Singers Wedding Cake Feelin'
Spitfire Band But Not For Me 'S Wonderful
Laurie Bower Singers Just a Little Song Back Home Again
Mutual Understanding Rain Rain Go Away In Wonderland
Spitfire Band Days of Wine and Roses Big Band Swing Things
Mutual Understanding Pretty People In Wonderland
Laurie Bower Singers I Go To Rio It Goes Like It Goes
Laurie Bower Singers Song Sung Blue Morning Has Broken
Laurie Bower Singers Didn't We? Feelin'
Compilation Teach Me Toronto: What Other City Calls its Main Street Yonge?
Laurie Bower Singers Up On Cripple Creek Look What They've Done to These Songs, Ma.....
Spitfire Band Frenesi ST
Spitfire Band As Time Goes By Big Time
Compilation Woodland City Toronto: What Other City Calls its Main Street Yonge?
Mutual Understanding Look Around In Wonderland
Spitfire Band Chattanooga Choo Choo Big Band Swing Things
Spitfire Band Time After Time Big Time
Laurie Bower Singers Feelin' Feelin'
Laurie Bower Singers You Never Done It Like That You
Amaro, Eugene Lucia Eugene Amaro
Laurie Bower Singers Do You Know Got a Feelin' for Love
Laurie Bower Singers Ready To Take A Chance You
Spitfire Band Baubles, Bangles & Beads Big Time
Compilation Lizzie Simcoe Toronto: What Other City Calls its Main Street Yonge?
Laurie Bower Singers Stop And Smell The Roses Back Home Again
Compilation Laurie Bower Singers - Surrounded By The Night 1968 CBC Song Market featuring Colors of the Rainbow
Spitfire Band Caravan Big Band Swing Things
Laurie Bower Singers Happy Dreamer Wish I Was A Plane
Laurie Bower Singers Circle Round The Sky Back Home Again
Laurie Bower Singers Take Me Home Country Roads Take Me Home Country Roads
Spitfire Band Near You ST
Laurie Bower Singers Sweet Ginger Bread Man Look What They've Done to These Songs, Ma.....
Spitfire Band Marie ST
Laurie Bower Singers Don't Cry Out Loud It Goes Like It Goes
Compilation Episode 7-Oh! Toronto: What Other City Calls its Main Street Yonge?
Laurie Bower Singers Too Much Is On The Line When You Say Goodbye

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