Chester (band)

Last updated
Chester
Origin Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres pop rock
bubblegum pop
Years active1972-1975, 1977
LabelsCelebration Records
Past members Jim Mancel
Mel O'Brien
Mike Argue
Wedge Monroe
Glen Morrow
Fran Cheslo

Chester was a Canadian bubblegum pop band, active primarily from 1972 to 1975. [1] Although they released only two singles in their original form before breaking up, the single "Make My Life a Little Bit Brighter" was a Top 10 hit on the Canadian pop charts in 1973 and the band garnered a Juno Award nomination for Most Promising Group at the Juno Awards of 1974. [2]

Contents

Background

The band was formed by keyboardist Glen Morrow in 1972, [1] and included vocalist Jim Mancel, guitarist and backing vocalist Mike Argue, bassist Mel O'Brien and drummer and pianist Wedge Monroe. [1]

Mancel had some success with his 1970 single, "I Could Give You the World" which won him an award at the 3rd Olympiad of Song in Greece. [3] [4] [5] It was also a hit on the Top 30 MAPL Canadian Chart. [6] [7]

Career

In summer 1973, their single "Make My Life a Little Bit Brighter" premiered on RPM magazine's RPM100 and Adult Contemporary charts, eventually peaking at #10 in the RPM100 the week of September 22, 1973, [8] and at #8 in the AC chart the week of October 27, 1973. [9]

The record managed to chart in the United States. Entering the Cash Box Looking Ahead chart on October 6, 1973, it had seven weeks run with one of those weeks (September 1 [10] ) just making it into the Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart. The last position was at #114. [11] [12] It also entered the Record World 100 - 150 singles chart at #114 on September 8, 1973. [13] It peaked at #101 on October 6. [14] [15]

The follow-up single "Start a Dream", released in 1974, did not chart. [1]

Post Chester

Argue left the band in 1974 to pursue a solo career. [1] Although the remaining band members initially continued as Chester, they released no further recordings before breaking up in 1975. [1] Mancel recorded a solo single under his own name; in 1977, Mancel and Morrow each separately revived the band name Chester for two singles. [1] New vocalist Fran Cheslo performed with Morrow's version of the band. [1]

Argue recorded the single, "Dancing With Your Lady" bw "Oh Yeah" that was released on Celebration CEL 2101X in 1975. The song also got onto the K-tel compilation, Sounds Spectacular that was released that year. [16] He became involved with Scientology but left after twelve years. [17]

Jim Mancel went on to have a hit in 1975 with "Let the Phone Ring". [18] [19]

Later years

In 1996 the band received a Classics Award from SOCAN, to mark "Make My Life a Little Bit Brighter" having been played 100,000 times on Canadian radio. [20]

A compilation album, containing the singles released by Chester and those released by Argue and Mancel as solo artists, was released in 2006 on Unidisc Music.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Chester at Jam!'s Canadian Pop Encyclopedia.
  2. ↑ "Juno Award Nominees Listed". Billboard , March 9, 1974.
  3. ↑ Billboard, August 1, 1970 - Page 58 International News Reports, From The Music Capitals of the World, Yugoslavia's 'Adio' Captures Greece Olympiad of Song
  4. ↑ Popular Song Festivals, Tuesday, April 26, 2011 - 1968 - 1973 - WORLD SONG OLYMPIAD IN ATHENS – GREECE, 1970 - III WORLD SONG OLYMPIAD IN ATHENS – GREECE, Final standings:
  5. ↑ Photo Journal , Vol. 34 - No. 14 - Semaine Du 20 Au 26 Juilett 1970 - 29 Le 3e prix est revenu aux
    Etats-Unis pour la chanson
    "I Could Give You The World ”
    interprétée par Jim Mancel. II
    a reçu une médaille d'honneur
    et un prix de $300.
  6. ↑ RPM Weekly, Volume 14 No. 10 October 24, 1970 - Page 7 TOP 50 MAPL CANADIAN CHART
  7. ↑ RPM Weekly, Volume 14 No. 11 October 31st, 1970 - Page 7 TOP 30 MAPL CANADIAN CHART
  8. ↑ RPM100 Singles. RPM , September 22, 1973.
  9. ↑ "Pop Music Playlist". RPM , October 27, 1973.
  10. ↑ Cash Box, September 1, 1973 - Page 2 CashBox Top100/Singles
  11. ↑ Ultimate 70s.com - Song: "Make My Life A Little Bit Brighter", Artist: Chester Peak position on the Cashbox Singles chart: #100, Number of weeks on the Cashbox Singles chart: 7 (1 week in the Top 100)
  12. ↑ Cash Box, October 6, 1973 - Page 19 LOOKING AHEAD
  13. ↑ Record World, September 8, 1973 - Page 24 101 - 150 SINGLES CHART
  14. ↑ Record World, September 29, 1973 - Page 24 101 - 150 SINGLES CHART
  15. ↑ Record World, October 13, 1973 - Page 26 101 - 150 SINGLES CHART
  16. ↑ Hitparade.ch - Michael Argue – Dancing With Your Lady
  17. ↑ Scientology 101 - A
  18. ↑ RPM Weekly, Volume 23 Nos 2 & 3 March 15, 1975 - Page 22 RPM 100 Top Singles (51-100)
  19. ↑ RPM Weekly, Volume 23 No. 4 March 22, 1975 - Page 23 - 24 RPM Top Singles, RPM 100 Top Singles (51-100)
  20. ↑ "SOCAN Awards Canada's Songwriters". Billboard , December 7, 1996.
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