Information/Write-up
Oscar McLollie was born in Caldwell County, Louisiana in 1924 and rose to prominence in Los Angeles during the 1950s with a string of jump blues recordings that blurred into early rock ’n’ roll. Records like “The Honey Jump,” “Dig That Crazy Santa Claus,” and his 1958 duet “Hey Girl, Hey Boy” with Jeanette Baker carried his name well beyond the West Coast, even if sustained chart success eluded him.
In the late 1960s McLollie took his career in a new direction, moving north to Canada and settling in the Chilliwack Valley of British Columbia. His first Canadian release was the 1970 single So Pleasing Loving You b/w As Long As You Care at All on the New Syndrome label, a soulful and contemporary track that showed him at ease with modern funk stylings. A year later he issued Chilliwack Valley b/w She’s a Child on 6th Avenue Records, a heartfelt tribute to his new home in the Fraser Valley.
The culmination of his Canadian period was a self-titled LP on Big 3 Records in 1973, with cover artwork designed by legendary Vancouver poster artist Bob Masse. For these sessions McLollie drew upon the city’s finest studio musicians: keyboardist Robbie King, bassist Doug Edwards, drummer Kat Hendrikse, guitarists Terry Frewer and Ed Patterson, saxophonists Wayne Kozak and Steve Douglas, and horn players Bob Rerick and Don Clark. Many of them were active in bands like Papa Bear’s Medicine Show, Spring, and Brahman, while Edwards and Hendrikse in particular had already anchored major Vancouver pop hits, including Terry Jacks’ international success Seasons in the Sun. Their presence gave McLollie’s Canadian work a polish and groove that reflected the very best of the city’s studio sound in the early 1970s.
Though he eventually returned to California, where he died in Oakland in 2008, McLollie’s Canadian recordings remain a fascinating and overlooked part of his legacy. They capture an American rhythm and blues pioneer reinvigorated by the Vancouver scene, leaving behind a soulful musical time capsule rooted as much in Chilliwack as in Louisiana or Los Angeles.
-Robert Williston
Oscar McLollie: vocals
Kat Hendrikse: drums
Doug Edwards: bass
Ed Patterson: guitar
Terry Frewer: guitar
Robbie King: keyboards
Steve Douglas: saxophone, flute
Wayne Kozak: saxophone
Bob Rerick: horn
Don Clark: horn
Recorded at Can-Base Studios, Vancouver, British Columbia
Produced by Steve Douglas
Arranged and directed by Robbie King
Album concept & photography by Alan Zenuk
Design by Bob Masse
Notes
Special thanks to Steve Douglas and Robbie King from Oscar McLollie.
“Canada — Oscar’s place of rest. This album comes from the peace he’s found in his Chilliwack Valley.”
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