Initial success as The Staccatos (1963–1968)
The band The Staccatos was formed in Ottawa [5] in 1963. [6] It initially included singer Dean Hagopian, guitarist Vern Craig, bass player Brian Rading and singer/drummer Rick Bell (born Rick Belanger). Hagopian left after about a year and was replaced by vocalist and guitarist Les Emmerson, who would become the band's prime songwriter, while Bell and Emmerson split lead vocal duties.
The Staccatos made their debut as a recording act in 1965, with their early singles being written by Craig and Emmerson. After releasing a non-charting single on a small independent label, the group signed to Capitol Records of Canada, and their second single, "Small Town Girl", [7] made it into the Canadian top 20. Several follow-ups also cracked the top 40, and The Staccatos were rising stars in their native country. Their debut album, Initially, came out in 1966 and featured their hits to that point as well as several new recordings. [8]
In the summer of 1966, Mike Bell (Rick's brother) joined the group as a second drummer and third vocalist. Shortly thereafter, the group had their biggest hit to date with "Half Past Midnight", which rose to No. 8 on the Canadian charts. [9] [10] It was the second Staccatos single written solely by Emmerson, who by this point was writing most of the band's original material. Also in 1968, The Staccatos issued a joint album, A Wild Pair, with The Guess Who?, each band taking up one side of the LP. [11]
The Staccatos follow-ups to "Half Past Midnight" did not meet with as much success in Canada. In the US, the situation was worse – the band's singles (released by Capitol and Tower) failed to chart at all. Looking for a new direction, at the end of 1968, Ted Gerow was added to the line-up on keyboards, and shortly thereafter, Vern Craig left. Around the same time, while recording their second full album, the band was prompted to change their name by producer Nick Venet's comment that the name The Staccatos sounded "dated". [12] After discussing various possibilities, bassist Rading seized upon a song Emmerson had written called "Five Man Electrical Band", claiming it's exactly what the group was. The band's name was duly changed: Five Man Electrical Band released their self-titled album in early 1969. [13] [14]
Rebirth as Five Man Electrical Band (1969–1975)
The group's new single "It Never Rains On Maple Lane" [15] with B side "Private Train" [16] was a mild success in Canada; the A-side appeared at No. 67 on the charts, but after two weeks on the charts the single was flipped over and B-side "Private Train" made it into the top 40, peaking at No. 37. The album, meanwhile, contained a mixture of new material and older recordings originally released under the Staccatos name (including "Half Past Midnight") and was similarly successful in Canada. But when follow-up singles failed to chart, the band ended their relationship with Capitol, at the end of 1969, and moved back to Ottawa from Los Angeles.
They eventually decided to try it again back in L.A. and hooked up with Dallas Smith and his company Renaissance Productions, who was partnered with Canopy, a production company co-owned by writer Jimmy Webb. The band then set about recording some demos, though nothing was released right away. By November 1969, Canopy had signed a deal with MGM Records, whose parent company, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, placed one of the songs recorded, "Moonshine (Friend Of Mine)", in a movie, The Moonshine War , that featured Alan Alda.
MGM records then released the group's 1970 album Good-byes and Butterflies, which created a minor controversy with a front cover picture that featured a marijuana plant; the album was withdrawn and subsequently reissued with a new cover. [17]
Next came the single "Hello Melinda, Goodbye" with "Signs" on the "B" side. But after the single failed, MGM dumped the band, who once again returned to Ottawa.
By this time, Dallas Smith had met Clive Fox, who had a connection to Lionel, LLC, makers of model railroading equipment, who was forming a record label in conjunction with them, Lionel Records (later called Lion Records). In February 1971 MGM assigned all rights to the group over to the Lionel Entertainment Corporation. And in May 1971, Lionel re-released the album "Goodbye And Butterflies" and the song "Signs", now on the "A" side. [5]
Disc jockeys and the public immediately took to "Signs"; it reached No. 4 in Canada, No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and went to No. 1 in Australia for nearly two months. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in August 1971. [18]
In the next few years a number of charting singles were released: "Absolutely Right" (#3 in Canada, 26 in the U.S.), "Money Back Guarantee" (No. 17 in Canada, 72 in the U.S.), "Werewolf" (No. 28 in Canada, 64 in the U.S.) and a few others, all written by Emmerson. Outside of Canada the band continued with a steady flow of concert dates.
In January 1972 the band issued Coming Of Age, their third album as Five Man Electrical Band. But Emmerson, who was more interested in recording in the studio than in playing live, also established a parallel solo career in 1972.
Mike Bell, now going by his birth name of Michael Belanger, left the group partway through the recording of their 1973 album Sweet Paradise and bassist Brian Rading left just as the album was being finished. Bassist Joe LaManno and drummer John Raines were brought in to finish up the record, which produced several hit singles, including "I'm A Stranger Here", their highest-ever charting hit in Canada (at No. 2, but it only managed No. 76 in the U.S.). Emmerson, Gerow and Rick Belanger attempted to keep things going with new players for a time, producing singles in 1974 and '75, with minimal chart success outside of Canada.
Rick Belanger left the group in 1974, leaving Emmerson and Gerow as the only remaining permanent members of the ostensibly "Five Man" band. Shortly thereafter, when 1975's "Johnny Get A Gun" peaked at a lowly No. 69 in Canada, Emmerson and Gerow decided to disband the Five Man Electrical Band.
Reunions
In 1986 Emmerson reformed the band for a series of concert and festival appearances, and continued to tour with them over the following decades. From 1986 through about 2019, the band typically played a few shows a year as a sextet, usually consisting of Les Emmerson (guitar, lead vocals), Ted Gerow (keyboards), Brian Sim (lead guitar), Rick Smithers (bass), Steve Hollingworth (drums, vocals), Mike Belanger (drums, vocals) and Wes Reed (Percussion).
Emmerson also retained the rights to the band's recordings, and licensed several best-of compilations on CD.
Tesla scored a hit with a cover of the song "Signs" on their album Five Man Acoustical Jam in the 1990s. In 2005, Fatboy Slim released a single called "Don't Let the Man Get You Down", based mostly on a looped sample from "Signs", specifically the opening line, "And the sign said long-haired freaky people need not apply."
Brian Rading, bassist and founding member, died of cancer, age 69, on 8 June 2016 at his home in Hull, Quebec. [19] [20] [21]
Les Emmerson died at his home in Ottawa at age 77 on 10 December 2021 of COVID-19 after suffering from several other health issues that weakened his resistance to the virus, according to his family. [22]
