Grant Smith & The Power - 99½ (1968)

Grant Smith & The Power are one of the cornerstones of Toronto's thriving R&B scene. The band was a training ground (much like Ronnie Hawkins band) for up and coming local musicians. Members of Grant Smith's group went on to be in Motherlode, McKenna Mendelson Mainline Jericho and Dr. Music; among others. Along with The Mandala, David Clayton Thomas' bands, Bobby Kris & The Imperials, Jon-Lee & The Checkmates, Robbie Lane & The Disciples and more; they were instrumental in developing what later became known as "The Toronto Sound." During its first year, the band established a solid fan base on southern Ontario’s dance circuit, billed either as E. G. Smith & The Power or as Grant Smith & The Power. Their popularity continued to grow, many wondered why the group had yet to record. The truth was, there had been no interest from labels up until this point; something was clearly missing. They hired a new manager and under his direction, officially renamed the group to "Grant Smith & The Power." Shortly after a June 27th show at the Broom & Stone in Scarborough, Charlie Miller left the band. With the lineup reduced to a single drummer, Wayne Stone cut his teeth in the solo drummer chair at a week-long summer resort gig in Grand Bend, Ontario. With the departure of original drummer Charlie Miller and remaining group featuring Grant Smith on lead vocals, Mike Harrison on bass, Wayne Stone on drums, Ralph Miller on trumpet, Brian Ayers on sax, and Val Stevens on organ and keyboards, the line-up was solidified. This line-up would stay together for six months, playing any and every club they could, around Toronto; including eight bookings at Ronnie Hawkins' famed Hawk's Nest club that year alone. They planned a tour of the eastern U.S. in July-August and managed to secure label interest, both locally and abroad. They spent the remainder of summer 1967 working clubs in the Boston area and in upstate New York. Upon their return to Toronto, around September 1967, guitarist Jim Pauley decided to quit the group frustrated with the lack of success. He was swiftly replaced with the talented Jon Palma. With a repertoire of material ready to go, they hooked up with producer John C. Irvine in Toronto and headed into Art Snider's Sound Canada Studios. They recorded a number of songs during the recording sessions in November including "Keep On Running, Her Own Life, You Got What I Want and Thinkin' About You." The latter two songs were recorded a week later and made up their second single later that year. The second sessions saw them paired with back-up singers "The Tiaras" and Toronto's chief purveyor of "Northern Soul," songwriter Al Rain. The result was a fantastic soul/funk double sider that has since become a collector's item among fans of the genre. One thing that both these sessions had in common was, Steve Kennedy (then of Eric Mercury & The Soul Searchers) was hired to play saxophone. John C. Irvine convinced the band to release their debut single on his newly founded Boo label; they'd go on to be label mates with "A Passing Fancy." "Keep on Running" (made famous by The Spencer Davis Group a few years prior), paired with the original "Her Own Life" [written by Grant Smith and Val Stevens] came out in January 1968, and was a minor hit; cracking #20 on the local charts. Seeing the success of "Keep On Running," the band booked another small tour of the eastern U.S. for March; trying to capitalize and expand their audience. On March 17, 1968, between U.S. dates, Grant Smith & The Power opened for The Hollies and Spanky & Our Gang at Toronto’s O’Keefe Centre. Their knock out live show paired with the success of "Keep on Running" caught the attention of MGM A&R rep Tony Orlando at one New York gig. He brought them to the attention of MGM who signed them to a deal after hearing the demos of their second single. They loved the songs and planned on releasing it on both sides of the border. As the months rolled on, their sophomore single was readied for release. The single was planned to drop during May 1968 in Canada and August 1968 in the United States. Unfortunately, it failed to chart abroad but found minor success in Canada. Interestingly, "You Got What I Want" was the A-side in Canada, while "Thinkin' About You" was the A-side in America. Summer saw the band gigging frequently in Toronto (playing The Hawk's Nest twice) as well as touring around Ontario, in promotion of their second single. Seeing futility in the process and looking for a change in musical direction, Mike Harrison left at the start of October; soon to join McKenna Mendelson Mainline. The group decided to not replace him, instead having keyboardist Val Stevens cover bass on Hammond Organ. Unbeknownst to everyone else however, Val had been experiencing mixed feelings about his place in the band. The departure of Mike was the final straw, seeing him leave a few days afterwards.