Last month's post by Alan Hardiman C'68 entitled CCHS Bands of the Late 60’s has elicited further recollections from our Alumni. So here are more CCHS Bands from the 50's, 60's & 80's.
Jeff Brown C'54 at the keyboard and the late Bob Deegan C'54
playing the ukulele made easy-listening music
and appear here as part of the 1953 Christmas concert. (A. Little)
A popular band in the late 50's was the Hi Fi Five.
Bob Parry C'58, G. Young, G. Jardine, Doug Stride C'59, Hugh Hartwell C'61
St. Lambert newspaper clipping courtesy of Doug Stride.
The Scimitars
One of the very popular dance bands in Montreal in the early 60s was a group called, "The Scimitars" – Later to be re-named, "The Pentagons." Lead Guitar, Trombone & Vocals – Bill Welburn - CCHS - C'57", Rhythm Guitar and Lead Vocalist – John Stanley (deceased), Bass – Andre Racicot, Drums – Claude Lecours, Trumpet & Vocals – Dave Foreman
The secret of the Scimitars / Pentagons' success was their versatility. The group had many sides, being equally at home playing the latest rock tunes, jazz standards or Latin American favourites. They could also, with the aid of Bill Welburn's trombone, grind out some great Dixieland. Another difference between the group and other bands of the day, was that they had no predetermined sets. They quickly "got a read" on what the audience wanted to hear and went with that. This enabled them to please almost any type of crowd. They played weekends in the Laurentians and evenings in the city of Montreal and at clubs on the South Shore.
Our group, the Scimitars, played a couple of times at CCHS in the late 50s and early 60's. For more information on the band go to Scimitars. - Bill Welburn C'57
The Sceptres
Montréal's mid-Sixties bilingual answer to the 4 Seasons. Tim Hewlings (guitars, vocals), Marty Butler (lead vocals, guitar), Bill Tyler (drums, vocals) , Bill Ott (bass, vocals) Personal Manager Bob Hopkins. Bands like these often played school dances and at the Youth Centre in St. Lambert. Photo submitted by Larry Llewellyn C'65
