Graham Lear

Last updated
Graham Lear
Graham Lear.png
Lear performing with Santana in 1977.
Background information
Born (1949-07-24) 24 July 1949 (age 74)
Plymouth, England, United Kingdom
Origin London, Ontario, Canada
Genres Hard rock
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Drums, Percussions
Years active1960s to present
Formerly of Freedom North, Natural Gas, Truck, Riverson, Santana, REO Speedwagon

Graham Lear (born July 24, 1949) is an English-born Canadian rock drummer, best known for his time with Gino Vannelli, Santana and REO Speedwagon. He was born in Plymouth, United Kingdom.

Contents

Background

In 1952 his family moved to London, Ontario, Canada. He began his professional career at the age of 13 with the London (Ontario) Symphony Orchestra. During his teenage years he practised, played and toured with several bands in Canada and the United States. Gino Vannelli was the first major recording artist to recognize Graham’s talents and he recorded with Gino on some of his most important work (Powerful People, Storm at Sunup, The Gist of the Gemini). He has toured and/or recorded worldwide with Carlos Santana, Paul Anka, REO Speedwagon, and Saga. He has also worked with TV/film composers Henry Mancini, Domenic Troiano, Jimmy Dale (Pianist/arranger Boss Brass), David Foster, Mexican jazz/fusion group Sacbe, and recorded jingles for Nike, Molson and Avia.

His recordings credits include Moonflower, Inner Secrets, Marathon, Zebop, Shango and Viva (Santana); Swing of Delight, Havana Moon and Blues for Salvador (Carlos Santana); The Gist of the Gemini, Powerful People, Storm at Sunup, Yonder Tree, and Slow Love (Gino Vannelli); Second Decade (REO Speedwagon); Instinct (Tom Grant).

Modern Drummer interviewed Graham (July 82, Feb.99) The solo "Heads Hands and Feet" from Santana's Moonflower CD and the track "Where Am I Going?" from Gino Vannelli's Storm At Sunup CD were transcribed for Modern Drummer issues. Other publications include two cover features in the German publications Drums and Percussion (Jan '84) and Sticks (April '90).

His sampling and loop CD, Latin Rock Drumscapes featuring Orestes Vilato on percussion, released by Northstar Productions, received a 4.5 (out of five) rating in the Dec.98 issue of Electronic Musician.

1960s to 1970s

Natural Gas

He was a member of the group Natural Gas [1] which released their self-titled album on the Firebird label in 1970. He co-arranged the track "Rameses I" with Brian Wray and Carl Watral. [2]

Truck

He was drummer in the group Truck which had evolved out of the group, Sound Spectrum. The group Sound Spectrum came from Ingersoll, Ontario. Formed in 1966, the line up included Bill Caldwell, Sandy MacKay, Dave Borland, Rob Oliver and Bruce Fleming.

In 1969, they changed their name to Truck. [3] [4] By May, 1972, they were signed to Sundog Productions. A celebration was held at Thunder Sound Studios to celebrate the acquisition of the group. Much of the organization and public relations to get key industry people to the April 19th event was handled by Michele Frank. Lighthouse's Skip Prokop also attended the event. The group's manager at the time was Peter Francey. [5] When their 1972 album was released, the line-up included Lear on Drums and Percussion, Larry Ernewein on Bass and Backing Vocals, Bill Usher on congas and bongos, Joey Miquelon (aka Joey Roberts [6] ) on guitar, Brian Wray on Keyboards, Flute, Backing Vocals, Michael Curtis on Lead Vocals, Flute, Acoustic Guitar and percussion and James Roberts on Tenor Saxophone, Flute and Organ. [7]

The group released two singles in 1972, "Canada" bw "Rain" on Capitol 72679, and the Latin flavored "Get It Together" bw "Can’t Wait Until Tomorrow" on Capitol 72687. Their self-titled album was also released that year [8] which included the track "Rollin's On My Mind" which he co-wrote with keyboardist Brian Wray. [9] [10] During their time they opened up for ELP, Deep Purple and Fleetwood Mac. The biggest gig they played was to 20,000 people at the Rockwood Music Festival in Orangeville, Ontario. [11] After a series of line-up changes the group broke up in 1974. [12]

Backing

1970s to 1990s

By 1974, he was a member of Gino Vannelli's backing band. Having played to crowds in clubs in Vancouver and Toronto etc., they returned to Montreal for a break in September. [13] By late September, 1976, Lear and keyboard player Richard Baker had left Vanelli's band. It was suggested that this was due to the way that Vannelli took control of the music, how it should be played and creating a situation where musical freedom wasn't given to the musicians. [14]

Also in 1976 he was playing with Domenic Troiano who was booked to play at the Colonial Dance Palace from November 1 to 6. [15] He was also asked to do an album with guitarist Toriano.

His association with Carlos Santana was sparked off when Santana heard him playing on Gino Vannelli's Storm at Sunup album and liked what he heard. It took some time for Santana to get hold of Lear who was previously at Los Angeles as he had moved back to Toronto. He was rehearsing there to do an album with Troiano. However he got a phone call to audition with Santana and flew to San Francisco to do it and ended up getting the job. He had to ring up Troiano with the words "maybe next time". [16]

2000s

In 2007, Graham was touring internationally with Paul Anka, performing with Menopause The Musical in Portland, Oregon plus teaching, recording and performing in the Portland area with local artists.

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">REO Speedwagon</span> American rock band

REO Speedwagon, or simply REO, is an American rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial success throughout the 1980s. Its best-selling album, Hi Infidelity (1980), contained four US Top 40 hits and sold more than ten million copies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gino Vannelli</span> Canadian singer, songwriter and jazz musician (born 1952)

Gino Vannelli is a Canadian rock singer and songwriter who had several hit songs in the 1970s and 1980s. His best-known singles include "People Gotta Move" (1974), "I Just Wanna Stop" (1978), "Living Inside Myself" (1981) and "Wild Horses" (1987).

<i>The Ballads</i> (REO Speedwagon album) 1999 compilation album by REO Speedwagon

The Ballads is a 1999 compilation album by REO Speedwagon. It features some of the band's previously recorded hit ballads as well as two additional songs, Just For You and Til The Rivers Run Dry.

<i>Moonflower</i> (album) 1977 studio album / Live album by Santana

Moonflower is a double album released in 1977 by Santana. The recording features both studio and live tracks, which are interspersed with one another throughout the album. It is perhaps the group's most popular live album, because the 1974 album Lotus did not receive a U.S. domestic release until 1991. It displays a mix between the fusion of Latin and blues rock styles of the late 1960s and early 1970s, and the much more experimental and spiritual jazz fusion sound that characterized the band's mid-1970s work. The live material was recorded during the supporting tour for the Amigos album.

<i>Inner Secrets</i> 1978 studio album by Santana

Inner Secrets is the tenth studio album by Santana. It was released in 1978 and, unlike the fusion of Latin, jazz, rock, blues and spirituality that characterized previous records, it was considered an album-oriented rock album.

Mark Craney was an American rock and jazz drummer.

Motherlode was a Canadian pop rock group formed in 1969 in London, Ontario. The group scored some success in the US with their single, "When I Die", which hit #1 in Canada and #18 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1969. The group didn't have a bass guitarist. William Smith would play the bass notes on his keyboard. They did however use bass players on their studio recordings.

<i>The Gist of the Gemini</i> 1976 studio album by Gino Vannelli

The Gist of the Gemini is the fourth studio album by Italian-Canadian singer Gino Vannelli. The album was released in 1976 and was produced by Gino and his brother Joe Vannelli, together with Geoff Emerick.

<i>Powerful People</i> 1974 studio album by Gino Vannelli

Powerful People is the title of both the second studio album of Canadian singer Gino Vannelli, and the sixth track on this album. The album was released in 1974, and was produced by Gino and his brother Joe Vannelli. Herb Alpert is credited as associate producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Vannelli</span> Musical artist

Joe Vannelli is a Canadian musician, composer and record producer. He was credited on most records of his brother, Gino Vannelli, and in collaboration with youngest brother Ross Vannelli, the three have won many awards.

<i>Storm at Sunup</i> 1975 studio album by Gino Vannelli

Storm at Sunup is the third album and opening track of Italian-Canadian jazz-pop singer-songwriter, Gino Vannelli, and was produced by Vannelli and his brother Joe. Unlike his other albums, Storm at Sunup is a jazz fusion album with much less pop influence, though earlier hits such as People Gotta Move and Powerful People do show jazz influences. The album features contributions by Graham Lear, who would go on to be Santana's drummer in the 1980s.

Truck was a 1970s Canadian rock group with a musical style similar to Natural Gas and Lighthouse. Signed to the Capitol label, they released two singles and an album. The outfit started out as Sound Spectrum in 1966 and by the early 1970s they had absorbed experienced musicians from groups Natural Gas and Motherlode. Their name had also been changed to Truck! The 1970s lineup was completely different to what it was when the group began. A busy live attraction, they did reasonably well with their album Truck which had an unbroken run for about a month-and-a-half in the charts.

Natural Gas was a Canadian rock music group featuring a horn section. Consisting of eight members, it was formed by George Olliver. They released an album and a single in 1970. They had hit that year with "All Powerful Man". Their self-titled album also made the charts.


Brian Wray was a veteran Canadian musician and musical arranger. He had been a member of three major Canadian bands, Natural Gas in the late 1960s, Motherlode and Truck in the early 1970s. He also worked with Lisa Hartt, Freedom North, Moe Koffman, David Johannesson and other artists. In later years he moved more towards the jazz genre.

Magic Management was a music management company that managed Canadian acts such as Jay Telfer, Truck, Christopher Kearney, Terry Dee and The Good Bros. during the 1970s. They also managed English group Hit & Run which was based in Toronto. They became involved with an exercise involving Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to encourage young people to vote. They became one of the few music-related companies at the time who were able to incorporate management and creative requirements for their acts. Their subsidiary Slic Brothers was nominated three times for a Juno Award in the mid-1970s.

Larry Ernewein is an active jazz musician and a pilot. During the 1970s he was a member of the Canadian jazz-rock group, Truck. He is also the owner, operator of Innerkip Aerodrome. He is also a judge and competitor in aerobatic competitions.

<i>Truck</i> (Truck album) 1973 studio album by Truck

Truck is the debut album by Canadian jazz rock band, Truck. Consisting of original compositions, it was produced by Dennis R. Murphy of Sundog Productions. Released in early 1973 on the Capitol label, it made the Canadian charts and hung around for about a month and a half.

Freedom North was a Canadian rock group that was active in the 1970s. Recording for Aquarius Records, they had hits with "Doctor Tom" and "Losing You".

Lisa Hartt is a Canadian singer and Juno Award nominee. She was the lead singer of The Lisa Hartt Band during the 1970s. They had a hit with "Old Time Movies". As a solo artist, she also had a radio hit with the single "Touch Me".

References

  1. The History of Canadian Rock 'n' Roll, By Bob Mersereau - FOREWORD A Life in Canadian Rock
  2. Discogs - Natural Gas (2) – Natural Gas
  3. The Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedia - TRUCK
  4. Rock My World Canada! - Truck (jazz rock)
  5. RPM Weekly , Volume 17 No. 12 May 6, 1972 - Page 5 SUNDOG PRODUCTIONS SIGN TRUCK
  6. citizenfreak.com (© Museum of Canadian Music) - MOTHERLODE
  7. Discogs - Truck (9) – Truck
  8. The Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedia - TRUCK
  9. Therevue.ca, November 29, 2013 - VINTAGE VINYL – TRUCK
  10. Discogs - Truck (9) – Truck
  11. citizenfreak.com (© Museum of Canadian Music) - Truck - ST, Information/Write-up
  12. Therevue.ca, November 29, 2013 - VINTAGE VINYL – TRUCK
  13. Billboard, September 14, 1974 - Page 58 A&M Push on Vannelli
  14. The Varsity , Friday September 24, 1976 - Page 16 Vanelli Vannelli shows verve and vitality by Steven Freedman
  15. The Varsity], Friday October 15, 1976 - Page 9 reviews, COLONIAL DANCE PALACE
  16. Modern Drummer, July, 1982 - Page 12 - 14 Forward Progression With Santana's Graham Lear by Susan Alexander