Quick, Roger - The Southern Ontario Farmboy Parkhill

Tracks

Side 1

		Track Name	Length
	1	Movin' On	02:36
	2	Hired Men	02:05
	3	It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels	02:35
	4	One More Chance	02:19
	5	Cryin' Time	02:30
	6	Somebody Done Somebody Wrong	03:04
	7	Young Love	02:17

Side 2

		Track Name	Length
	1	Southern Ontario Farm Boy	02:41
	2	Let Me be There	02:39
	3	I'm a Fool to Care	02:14
	4	Daydreams About Night Things	04:00
	5	Don't Cry Joni	04:00
	6	Change Your Name to Mine	03:18

Photos

Videos

No Video

Information/Write-up

Roger Quick: Country Gentleman of Lambton County
Born in 1940 in Warwick Village, Lambton County, Ontario, Roger Quick began his lifelong journey in music at just five years old, taking piano lessons before switching to Hawaiian guitar—and eventually settling on the Spanish guitar by age twelve. This early love for music would blossom into a storied career spanning over six decades, rooted deeply in family, community, and country tradition.

Roger's first professional performances took place in the late 1950s around Watford and Warwick, where he played alongside local musicians Ross Campbell, Bob Howson, and Mugs Miller. In 1959, he joined Ross Campbell’s Rainbow Band, a group that would eventually evolve into Roger Quick & The Rainbows, with Roger taking the lead role thanks to his charisma, vocals, and stage presence. The band became a regular fixture at local dances, including a celebrated five-year Saturday night residency at the Ipperwash Casino.

By the mid-1960s, Roger’s wife Norma Quick joined the Rainbows on bass and vocals, solidifying the band as a family affair. Their chemistry both onstage and off only added to the band’s appeal. In 1966, Roger Quick & The Rainbows received a major nod at the Michigan Award Night in Detroit, taking home the award for Top International Country Band—a milestone in their growing cross-border popularity.

In the early 1970s, Roger and Norma continued as a duo until drummer Bill Knapp revitalized the lineup in 1973. This period marked a new creative chapter. With encouragement from singer Ross Loft and technical support from Fanshawe College’s recording program, Roger recorded four full-length albums between 1975 and 1980, including a solo LP for John A. Wurm. He signed with Thunderbird Recordings in 1976 and later established NRG Records and his own publishing company, No-Ro Productions.

Roger's entrepreneurial drive extended beyond music. When he wasn’t performing, he was managing a 300-acre farm, booking gigs, producing other artists in his basement studio, or even piloting his private plane. In 1978, he launched the first Jamboree in the Stix at the West Williams Community Centre and Park—a grassroots country music celebration that quickly became a beloved annual tradition. The third edition in 1980 drew nearly 3,000 fans to the Thedford Arena and featured performances by national artists like Walter Ostenak, Stu Phillips, and Joyce Seamone.

By the late 1970s and into the early 1980s, The Rainbows had become a full-fledged family band. Their children Jerry, Donny, Cindy, and Connie Quick, along with neighbors Joanne and Maryjane McLinchey, joined the group. The band toured extensively, playing as far afield as Nashville, Regina, and Wisconsin, and sharing stages with the likes of Hank Snow, Ronnie Milsap, Charlie Pride, Tammy Wynette, George Jones, and Brenda Lee.

Even after relocating to Georgia in the 1980s, Roger and Norma stayed connected to their Canadian roots. In July 2012, they returned to Parkhill, Ontario, for a reunion concert—their first performance in the town in nearly 20 years. Despite a power outage on the hottest night of the year, the show went on, thanks to Roger’s determination and a borrowed generator. Billed as The Return of Roger and Norma Quick, the sold-out event raised funds for the Parkhill Order of the Eastern Star and drew the largest crowd ever recorded at the Parkhill Community Centre.

Over the years, Roger Quick & The Rainbows released four studio albums, three gospel cassettes, and a compilation CD. Roger remained active into the 2010s, producing music, planning video releases, and continuing to perform with his signature blend of sincerity, humour, and deep respect for the roots of Canadian country music.

With a legacy marked by family, faith, and homegrown country charm, Roger Quick stands as a quintessential figure in Ontario's grassroots music history—a working-class troubadour who turned rural dance halls into stages and life’s moments into song.
-Robert Williston

Roger Quick: vocals
Norma Quick: vocals
Bill Knapp: vocals
Sylvia Bell: vocals
Jeff Newman: steel guitar, banjo
Jimmy Capps: lead guitar
Jerry Whitehurst: piano
Billy Linneman: bass
D. J. Fontana: drums
Johnny Gimble: fiddle, rhythm guitar
Sound 70’s: backing vocals

Produced and arranged by Roger Quick
Engineered by Gene Lawson and Billy Linneman
Recorded at Hilltop Studio, Nashville, Tennessee, USA, 1976

Front photography by Simon “Sam” Willemsz
Back photography by Don James (The London Free Press)
Jacket design by Creative Services Department, The London Free Press

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