Tommy Solo's famous friends

Larry Mercey is a seminal figure in the Canadian Country music scene. He started out as a solo act, singing on radio in the late 1950s. His Mother documented every show he played in her own journal & that journal of hers was instrumental in inspiring Larry to write his autobiography "Have Mercey My first 60 years making music". In this episode, we discuss how he started out & ultimately brought hi...

Jeff Alexander is a two time Grand prize winning guitarist who was on his way to fame & fortune, having opened for Trooper, April Wine & Honeymoon Suite. In his prime as a virtuoso guitarist, he rubbed shoulders with Steve Vai & George Lynch. Sadly, he caught a flu bug that weakened his immune system to the point where he became afflicted with Multiple Sclerosis. In this episode, we discuss his jo...

Henry Small is one of North America's most under rated singers. He started playing violin & piano as a young boy & went from playing in early bands from Upstate New York to his first successful band, Scrubbaloe Caine (a band that also included Paul Dean of Loverboy fame) out of Calgary Alberta, Canada. It didn't take Henry too long before being noticed by Burton Cummings & being invited by Burton'...

After 36 episodes, I thought I'd introduce myself to anyone who enjoys this show ....but may not know who I am or where I came from. This episode will hopefully explain just how I met some of my famous guests. This is the story of a kid from a small town in North Bay Ontario, Canada who started playing professionally at 17 years old & what happened after I left my small pond, seeking my own fame &...

Kim Berly is most recognized as the Drummer with the iconic Canadian band, The Stampeders. He got his first set of drums at the young age of 15, and was a member of The Stampeders soon after. The original six members of the band left Calgary for Toronto to launch their historic career when Kim was only 17 years old. There first show in Ontario was at the Blue Spruce Hotel in North Bay Ontario in t...

This is my special Christmas Edition featuring warm wishes from Darby Mills, Bruce Good, Ronnie King, Kim Berly, Sarah Smith, Christine Newland, Keith Hampshire, Holly Woods, Rainer & Cindy Wiechmann, Frank Soda, Robb Reiner, Ellen Mcilwaine, Walter Zwol, John Rowlands, Terry Draper, Dee Long, Ken Tobias, Henry Small, David Henman & Tommy Hunter. We all know that 2020 has been a tough year filled...

Terry Draper was one third of the infamous Canadian band who the world thought was really the Beatles. As a young boy, he shared a room with his Uncle who was only a few years his senior & the two would spend a lot of time listening to early rock & roll records together after school. So he was already a fan of the music by the time the Beatles stormed North America on the Ed Sullivan show, & like...

Christine Newland is a celebrated Cellist from London, Ontario. She has been a principle Cellist in both the old disbanded & the new London Orchestra. She has performed on CBC TV in Canada & on the BBC overseas. A respected session player, she has worked with many artists from symphonic to pop & rock acts. Having toured the world, her career started at 17 years old & she's seen & done it all as a...

Dee Long was a founding member & one of the front men with the notorious Canadian band, Klaatu. Even though their debut album took three years to record, it was initially a flop....until rumours spread around the globe that Klaatu was secretly a reunited Beatles. Over the years, Dee has worked in studio with some of the very best including George Martin, Duran Duran, Strange Advance, Lisa Dalbello...

Brian Gagnon is a singer/songwriter/multi instrumentalist who made a name for himself in the 1970s & 80s singing & playing bass with classic Canadian bands Dillinger, The Hunt & Frank Soda. Since then, he's been doing a lot of studio work as an audio engineer, producer & writer of commercials & demos for others. He recorded demos for Shania Twain that she took to Nashville & got her career on trac...

Bruce Good along with his twin Brother Brian were influenced by their musically talented parents to start playing music when they were very young. Their talent as multi instrumentalists, coupled with the good fortune of being in the right place & the right time caught the attention of promoters Kenny Walker & Thor & George Eaton (famous Eaton family) who booked them to open for Bonnie & Delaney &...

Steve "Lips" Kudlow has enjoyed a long & illustrious career as lead singer/song writer & lead guitarist with Canadian metal band Anvil. His band is well documented for influencing some of the best selling Metal acts in the world including Metallica, Anthrax etc. . We discuss the keys to good song writing, what we'd do without music & the mutual struggle due to Covid-19 among other things. In this...

Keith Hampshire's story begins as his family immigrated from England to Canada & landed eventually in Alberta. His singing started in the church choir & that's where his 1st pro gig came from....singing at a funeral. As a young man, his band Keith & the Variations built a solid following in Alberta, BC & Saskatchewan culminating with them opening for Roy Orbison. Feeling like he had reached his po...

Joey Hollingsworth grew up in London Ontario along with his lifetime pal, Tommy Hunter. They both left London for Toronto in search of their fame & fortune & eventually both would make their mark. Joey was the 1st Black man to appear on CBC television & would continue to break the colour barrier through out his long and illustrious career. He dealt with racism along the way, but never let it slow...

As an immigrant to Canada from Holland as a young boy, Ronnie King quickly adapted to life as a Canuck. His journey as an iconic rock & roller started early. In this episode, we discuss his learning to play guitar on a used guitar with one string that his Dad brought home to him as a gift, along with the early years with the original six piece version of the Stampeders, driving from Calgary to Tor...

Holly Woods spent years developing her craft before she broke onto the Canadian musical scene with the highly successful band, Toronto. We discussed how she started out in music & how she & an early band called Sass would come to Canada from Upstate New York & stay at Larry's Hide away in Toronto while playing gigs at other local venues. She tells us how the band Toronto came together & talks abou...

Ken Tobias is a singer/songwriter with decades of accolades & achievements under his belt. From his days singing duets with Anne Murray in the early 1960s on CBC TV, being signed to a major record label by Bill Medley of Righteous brothers fame and on. One of Ken's biggest claims to fame was writing the multi million selling hit "Stay awhile" as recorded by the Bells. We talk about these things an...

Jim Corbett is known as the bass player in the classic Canadian rock band Thundermug. A veteran of the golden years of rock & roll, he has a lot of stories to tell & we discuss a lot of musical history in this interview. We talk about the early years when Thundermug hobbled together an old 1958 one ton school bus & moved from London, Ontario to Toronto & were eventually signed to a record deal. Ji...

Brian Allen has been involved in many aspects of the music biz over the years. From playing the bars to selling out arenas with the hugely successful band Toronto & then thriving as a music executive. We discuss his early years moving around in a military family from base to base, spending years on the road before hitting it big with multiple platinum selling band Toronto & a lot more. As a produc...

Danny Marks has a long resume in the music business having joined Classic Canadian band Edward Bear at 16 years old & since then shared stages with diverse artists including Tiny Tim, Ken Tobias, Rick James, Burton Cummings etc. He's an award winning blues man & Canadian radio staple. We discuss his early beginnings on a Disney Mouskeetar, his time in LA, the current state of the music business &...

Ellen McIlwaine is a multi talented singer/guitarist whose connections musically & spiritually are unparalleled. She was raised in a multi cultured environment & was exposed to a venerable cornucopia of musical flavours at an early age. In the heady days during the late 1960s & early 1970s she counted among her personal friends & shared the stage with the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Jack Bruce etc. She...

Sarah Smith is a multi award winning singer songwriter who has toured the world over & is a tireless, independent self promoter. We discuss her time spent in the Royal military academy, her mentors, giving back to the community and a lot more. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tommy-solo-s-famous-friends--4318572/support .

Bill Durst is an award winning Canadian blues rocker and iconic classic rock singer/songwriter & guitarist who blazed trails through Canadian music history starting in the 1960s. We talk about the early years before Thundermug & their history through two breakups & a reunion in the mid 2000s at the Jack Richardson awards gala. He talks about his time earning top dollar in his role as Billy Gibbons...

I met Frank Soda back in the early days of his tenure with Thor & the Imps. His amiable & generous personality along with a huge boatload of talent & ingenuity opened several doors for him since our first meeting....all those years ago. He went on to be signed with Quality records & also helped to launch the career of Canada's "Metal Queen" Lee Aaron ...among other things. Frank's recorded music w...

Jaimie Vernon started playing electric guitar in 1978 & quickly went from just a player in the band to band manager & since has become well known as a record company executive as president of Bullseye records. He started publishing at first to promote his own band & then his magazine Great White Noise became a voice for indie artists nationwide. He re launched several Canadian artists' careers as...