Lovin' Through the Early Hours

Lee Marlow was the recording name of Léo Cormier, a country singer and songwriter from Bouctouche, New Brunswick, whose brief but notable RCA run in the early 1980s brought him national attention as one of Atlantic Canada’s stronger country voices of the period. A self-taught guitarist from childhood, Cormier was already leading his own band by the age of fifteen, playing local festivals, fairs, and club dates throughout New Brunswick. After several years of developing as both a performer and songwriter, he was spotted at a club appearance by entrepreneur Yvon Roy, who encouraged him to pursue a broader professional career. That turning point led to the adoption of the stage name Lee Marlow, the formation of his backing band Calico, and the launch of a polished, radio-ready country act aimed squarely at the national market.

Marlow entered the studio in October 1980, travelling to Nashville to record his debut album with legendary guitarist and producer Harold Bradley. The result was Lovin’ Thru The Early Hours, released by RCA Victor in 1981 as KKL1-0403. It was a strong commercial introduction, balancing contemporary country polish with a distinctly personal songwriting voice. The album produced his signature song, “Joanne,” written for his wife, along with the title track “Lovin’ Thru The Early Hours,” which became his biggest national hit. RPM confirms the title song charting nationally in September 1981, and the album remains the cornerstone of his recorded legacy.

A second RCA album, Too Long Gone, followed in 1982 as KKL1-0442, continuing the momentum of his first release and extending the Nashville-based sound established on the debut. Like its predecessor, it presented Marlow as a clean, professional mainstream country artist at a time when RCA was still investing in Canadian country talent with serious national ambitions. During this period he was touring actively across the Maritimes and Ontario, appearing on radio and television, and building a profile beyond the East Coast circuit. RPM coverage from 1982 places him in the broader RCA country promotional push, including appearances tied to western Canadian venues such as Ranchman’s in Calgary.

His third and final RCA album, Temptation, arrived in 1984 as KKL1-0546. This release marked a notable shift: instead of returning to Nashville and Harold Bradley, Marlow recorded in Toronto, with Mike “Pepe” Francis producing. That change gave the record a slightly different character within his catalogue, and it stands as the closing chapter of his three-album RCA period. RPM confirms both the album number and the title track’s chart appearance in 1984, documenting that Marlow was still active on the national country charts several years into his recording career.

Across those three albums, Marlow issued 11 RCA singles, with “Joanne” and “Lovin’ Thru The Early Hours” remaining his most successful and most enduringly associated recordings. “Joanne” in particular became the song most closely identified with him, helped further by its inclusion on the 1982 K-Tel compilation Denim Country, which exposed it to a wider audience beyond his own LP buyers. Marlow’s national visibility during these years was substantial enough to earn him Juno Award nominations for Country Male Vocalist of the Year in 1982 and 1983, placing him among the more visible Canadian country performers of that moment, even if his chart run ultimately proved shorter-lived than some of his RCA contemporaries.

Although his national recording profile faded after the mid-1980s, Lee Marlow did not disappear from music. He continued performing in New Brunswick, remaining a familiar regional presence long after his RCA years had ended. In later life he also worked for more than two decades outside the music business, but the records he left behind—especially Lovin’ Thru The Early Hours—preserve a concise and appealing snapshot of early-1980s Canadian country craft: East Coast roots, Nashville professionalism, and a voice that was at its strongest when it leaned into warmth, sincerity, and straight-ahead romantic country songwriting. Léo Cormier passed away in Moncton, New Brunswick, on June 10, 2025, at the age of 70.

-Robert Williston