Lauri Conger | |
---|---|
Origin | Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada |
Genres | Pop, dance |
Occupation(s) | Songwriter, keyboardist |
Instrument(s) | Keyboard |
Years active | 1970s–1988 |
Lauri Conger is notable primarily as the keyboardist and one of the principal co-writers of most of the songs of The Parachute Club.
Conger is a native of Thunder Bay, Ontario, where she began her professional music career in the 1970s. She received early piano and dance training in Port Arthur, Ontario, prior to its merger into Thunder Bay, and was a graduate of Hillcrest High School. [1]
Conger moved to Toronto, where she and Lorraine Segato were members of Mama Quilla II. In 1982, Conger and Segato, along with percussionist Billy Bryans, formed the nucleus of what would become The Parachute Club. [2] Concurrently, in the early 1980s, Conger was developing a reputation as a solo and duo performer on the Canadian folk music circuit. [3]
Conger and Lorraine Segato, together with other band members and lyricist Lynne Fernie, wrote of most of the group's songs, including the song for which the group is best known, "Rise Up".
Conger was a band member during the production of its three albums, released between 1983 and 1986, but left the group in mid-1987. Her final performance was before the Duke and Duchess of York in Toronto. [1] She then trained in Santa Fe, New Mexico to become a registered massage therapist. She rejoined the band in July, 1988, for what would be its final performances [4] [5] at Toronto's Ontario Place. [2]
Following her departure from the group and despite her significant contributions to music, Conger did not continue in a prominent role as a professional musician or songwriter.
Release date | Title | Chart peak | Album |
---|---|---|---|
Canada RPM | |||
July 1983 | "Rise Up" | 9 | The Parachute Club |
1983 | "Alienation" | ||
1984 | "Boy's Club" | ||
October 1984 | "At The Feet Of The Moon" | 11 | At The Feet of the Moon |
February 1985 | "Act Of An Innocent" | 61 | |
June 1985 | "Sexual Intelligence" | ||
October 1986 | "Love Is Fire" | 24 | Small Victories |
February 1987 | "Love And Compassion" | 81 | |
May 1987 | "Walk To The Rhythm" | 90 | |
Lorraine P. Segato is a Canadian pop singer-songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist for and a principal songwriter of new wave and pop rock group The Parachute Club, with which she continues to perform.
The Parachute Club was a Canadian band formed in Toronto in 1982. They released three top 40 hits in Canada between 1983 and 1987, including "Rise Up", "At the Feet of the Moon" and "Love Is Fire". The band was well known for being one of the first mainstream pop acts in Canada to integrate world music influences, particularly Caribbean styles such as reggae and soca, into their sound.
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