Luke & The Apostles was a 1960s blues group from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The band is known for their 1967 hit "Been Burnt".[1][2] Band members included Canadian guitarist Mike McKenna, Luke Gibson, Peter Jermyn, Jim Jones, and Pat Little.[3] The band is considered to be innovators of the electric blues in the Toronto music scene of the sixties.[2]
Luke & The Apostles emerged from the blues band Mike's Trio in 1964. The group was the brainchild of school friends, guitarist Mike McKenna (born April 15, 1946, in Toronto), who had previously played in Whitey & The Roulettes (which also featured drummer Pentti "Whitey" Glan), and bass player Graham Dunsmore. Joining forces with drummer Rick McMurray, Mike's Trio started gigging at the Cellar club in Toronto's Yorkville Village playing Jimmy Reed covers, "Walkin' the Dog", etc.
Sometime in late 1964, McMurray introduced singer Luke Gibson (born October 5, 1946, in Toronto), who was joined soon afterwards by classically trained keyboard player Peter Jermyn (born November 6, 1946, in Kingston, Ontario).
After Jermyn coined the name, Luke & The Apostles – a reference to a very successful local group called Robbie Lane and the Disciples – became a regular fixture on the local club scene, first working at the El Patio and then later the Purple Onion.
The group signs to Elektra
Shortly before the band started playing at the Purple Onion, a new bass player, Jim Jones, was brought in to replace Graham Dunsmore while Ray Bennett augmented the lineup on harmonica for several months (later joining The Heavenly Government) and ended up composing "Been Burnt", the A-side to Luke & The Apostles’ solitary single for Elektra Records. One evening in September 1965, Elektra talent scout, Paul Rothchild caught the band at the Purple Onion and asked singer Luke Gibson to audition the band for his label boss, Jac Holzman by singing over the phone!
After signing a deal with Elektra, the band flew down to New York and recorded two tracks, Bennett's "Been Burnt" backed by McKenna's "Don’t Know Why" for a prospective single. The two recordings were readied for release but then disaster struck. Paul Rothchild was arrested for marijuana possession and the single was delayed for a year while he served a prison sentence.
Over the summer Jim Jones left the band and was replaced for five months by Dennis Pendrith (born September 13, 1949, in Toronto). On July 21, 1966, Luke & The Apostles found a new home at Boris’ in Toronto, where the band continued to play throughout 1966 and until the summer of 1967. During this period, the group also played occasional dates at the El Patio and the Gogue Inn among other venues. ("I don't remember the Gogue Inn, but I do remember a lot of high schools and northern 'tours': Elliot Lake, Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay, etc., and Montreal and Ottawa." - P. Jermyn)
One of the most prestigious shows the group played during this time was a 14-hour-long rock show held at Maple Leaf Gardens on September 24, 1966, alongside the cream of the city's local bands. The following month, however, Jim Jones returned to the group's ranks and Pendrith returned to his previous employer Simon Caine & The Catch. At the same time, Pat Little came in to replace Rick McMurray on drums.
On October 15, 1966, Luke & The Apostles joined local bands, The Counts, The Big Town Boys and The Canadian Del-Tones for a show at the recently opened Club Kingsway in Toronto opening for Neil Diamond. Soon afterwards, Peter Jermyn briefly left the band for a few months and was replaced by Bob Kendall, who joined The Bedtime Story in December 1966 when Jermyn returned.
Albert Grossman and Bill Graham’s interest
On January 6, 1967, Luke & The Apostles played at the newly opened, Boris’ Red Gas Room, upstairs from Boris’.
Although the group's single had still not been released, the opportunity to return to New York in mid-April to perform at the Cafe au Go Go for a week bode well for the future. While Elektra had decided not to release the single, the label still expressed an interest in recording the band. During its time at the Cafe au Go Go, Elektra booked the group into its New York studios for a day to record an album's worth of material, including the tracks, "I Don’t Feel Like Trying" and "So Long Girl".
In its first stand at the Cafe au Go Go, Luke & The Apostles backed folkie Dave Van Ronk but were so well received that the club owner asked the band to return for on a second week in late May, opening for The Grateful Dead.
Unable to reconcile differences over the potential offers as well as differences in personal ambitions, the group returned to Toronto to reassess its future. Shortly afterwards, Bill Graham approached Luke & The Apostles and asked them to open for Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead at Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square on July 23, 1967 in front of 50,000.
Luke & The Apostles repeated their support act at the O’Keefe Centre from July 31-August 5, during which the group performed a version of Neil Young’s "Mr Soul", as well as covers of blues favourites "Good Morning Little School Girl" and "You Can’t Judge A Book By The Cover".
However, following a show at Boris’ Red Gas Room on August 6, Luke Gibson accepted an offer to join the progressive folk-rock outfit, Kensington Market and the rest of the band members went their separate ways.
After passing on an offer to join The Blues Project, Peter Jermyn moved to Ottawa to join the band Heart, which evolved into The Modern Rock Quartet. Jim Jones meanwhile played with several Toronto bands, including The Artist Jazz Band.
McKenna joined The Ugly Ducklings before forming the highly respected blues outfit, McKenna Mendelson Mainline in the summer of 1968. Little joined forces with future Blood, Sweat & Tears’ singer David Clayton-Thomas in his group David Clayton-Thomas Combine in February 1968 (appearing on the original version of "Spinning Wheel") and then joined The Georgian IV People (later better known as Chimo!).
The band reforms
Gibson, McKenna and Little discussed the idea of reforming the band in February, 1970. To complete the lineup, they recruited former Transfusion and Leather guitarist Danny McBride on second lead guitar and ex-The Paupers bass player Denny Gerrard (born February 28, 1947, in Scarborough, Ontario).
The new lineup, however, only lasted a few days and former Buffalo Springfield bass player Bruce Palmer (born September 9, 1946, in Toronto) replaced Gerrard. On February 15, the new lineup opened for Johnny Winter at Toronto's Massey Hall. However, due to musical differences and personality conflicts, the lineup remained unsettled.
Former Influence bass player, Jack Geisinger (born March, 1945 in Czechoslovakia) replaced Palmer later that month and Luke & The Apostles performed at Toronto's Electric Circus on March 13–14, before appearing at the Toronto Rock Festival at Varsity Arena on March 26 alongside Funkadelic, Nucleus, Damage and others.
The new lineup recorded a lone single for Bernie Finkelstein’s True North Records, which coupled Gibson, McKenna and Little’s "You Make Me High" with Gibson's "Not Far Off". Arguably one of the best records to come out of the Toronto scene from this period, the single reached #27 on Canada's RPM chart in October 1970.
The end of the reunion
The band embarked on a brief tour of Boston with Mountain in early April. Luke & The Apostles then returned to Toronto to play at the Electric Circus on May 9 after which McKenna left to rejoin his former band, now going by the name Mainline. The group then appeared at the "Peace Festival" at Varsity Arena on June 19–21 with Rare Earth, the SRC, Bush, George Olliver & Natural Gas, Nucleus and others before McBride also departed. He later became a member of Chris De Burgh’s backing band.
Luke & The Apostles turned to Geisinger’s former Influence compatriot, Walter Rossi (born on May 29, 1947 in Naples, Italy), who was playing with The Buddy Miles Express at the time. With Rossi added to the lineup, Luke & The Apostles made a prestigious appearance at the Strawberry Fields Festival at Mosport Park, Ontario over the weekend of August 7–8, 1970. The group also made a number of appearances at the Canadian National Exhibition bandstand later that month.
On September 1, 1970, the group made a one-off appearance at Ungano's in New York before returning to Toronto but the end was in sight. Shortly after a show at Kipling Collegiate on October 9, Luke Gibson left for a solo career followed by Pat Little and the remaining members recruited ex-Wizard drummer Mike Driscoll, performing as The Apostles before splitting in early 1971. Rossi went on to record a heavy rock album as Charlee in early 1972 with help from Geisinger and Driscoll before embarking on a successful solo career.
Gibson recorded a lone album for True North Records with help from Dennis Pendrith, Jim Jones and Bruce Cockburn but later eschewed a singing career. He now works as a film set painter. Little rejoined Chimo! for the band’s final single and then hooked up with Rick James in Heaven and Earth for two singles on RCA Victor in July 1971. He then played with Flag and also reunited with McKenna to record two 45s and an unreleased album with DiamondBack, which has just been released by Pacemaker Records.
1990s revival
In the late 1990s, Gibson, Jermyn, Jones and McKenna reformed the group with future Downchild Blues Band drummer Mike Fitzpatrick for the "Toronto Rock Revival" concert held at the Warehouse on May 2, 1999. Later that year Jermyn, Jones and McKenna became house band at the Yorkville club, Blues on Bellair and were joined intermittently by Gibson.
Current
In 2009 McKenna and Gibson began talking about putting a new band together and playing on a regular basis. The decision was made and the McKenna-Gibson Band was formed featuring David Martin on drums and percussion; William (Bill) Miller on bass; and Frank Sedlak on keyboards, vibes and backup vocals. The set list was made up of a mix of Mainline and Apostles' material, blues standards, and new material penned primarily by Luke Gibson. The band made a successful debut at Toronto's Black Swan Tavern on December 12, 2009.
In 2013 Luke & The Apostles reformed again with 3 original members, Gibson, McKenna, and Jermyn. In 2017, the self-titled album Luke & The Apostles was released on True North Records.[4] Arriving more than 50 years after their first single "Been Burnt," it was the band's first full-length release. Along with Gibson, McKenna, and Jermyn the album also featured drummer Whitey Glan reuniting with McKenna after playing together their early group Whitey & The Roulettes, as well as bassist Uli Bohnet. [5]
Love is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965. Led by Arthur Lee, the band primary songwriter, they were one of the first racially diverse American rock bands. Their sound incorporated an eclectic range of styles including garage, folk-rock, and psychedelia. While finding only modest success on the music charts, peaking in 1966 with their US Top 40 hit "7 and 7 Is", Love would come to be praised by critics as their third album, Forever Changes (1967), became generally regarded as one of the best albums of the 1960s.
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers are an English blues rock band led by multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter John Mayall. The band has been influential as an incubator for British rock and blues musicians. Many of the best known bands to come out of Britain in the 1960s and 1970s had members that came through the Bluesbreakers at one time, forming the foundation of British blues music that is still played heavily on classic rock radio. Among those with a tenure in the Bluesbreakers are guitarists Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor, bassists John McVie, Jack Bruce and Tony Reeves, drummers Hughie Flint, Aynsley Dunbar, Mick Fleetwood and Jon Hiseman, and numerous others.
Paul Vaughn Butterfield was an American blues harmonica player, singer and bandleader. After early training as a classical flautist, he developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored the blues scene in his native Chicago, where he met Muddy Waters and other blues greats, who provided encouragement and opportunities for him to join in jam sessions. He soon began performing with fellow blues enthusiasts Nick Gravenites and Elvin Bishop.
Outlaws is an American Southern rock band from Tampa, Florida. They are best known for their 1975 hit "There Goes Another Love Song" and extended guitar jam "Green Grass and High Tides" from their 1975 debut album, plus their 1980 cover of the Stan Jones classic "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky".
McKenna Mendelson Mainline was a Canadian blues band that released four albums. In the spring of 1969, the band was signed to Liberty Records.
The Kings are a Canadian rock band formed in 1977 in Oakville, Ontario. They are best known for their 1980 song "This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide", which was a hit in the United States and Canada.
The Paupers were a Canadian psychedelic rock band from Toronto, Ontario, who recorded between 1965 and 1968. They released two albums for Verve Forecast Records and appeared at the Monterey International Pop Festival.
Malcolm Tomlinson was an English musician, particularly active as a recording artist in the late 1970s.
John Finley is a Canadian singer/songwriter who came to prominence with Toronto R&B band Jon and Lee & The Checkmates and later with the Elektra supergroup Rhinoceros.
Mandala was a Canadian R&B and soul band from the 1960s. The band was formed in 1965 in Toronto, Ontario as The Rogues and changed their name prior to their first Canadian Top 40 hit "Opportunity".
Mike McKenna is a professional Canadian rock / blues guitarist noted primarily for his electric slide playing.
Influence was a 1960s Canadian band best known for their mini rock-opera, Mad Birds of Prey.
Simon Caine was a short-lived Toronto funk/soul band, which recorded a solitary album in 1970. Most of the musicians went on to become top session players on the Canadian music scene throughout the 1970s and 1980s working with the likes of Bruce Cockburn, David Wiffen and Murray McLauchlan.
Grant Smith & The Power were a popular Canadian rock-soul outfit from the 1960s that had a hit with a cover of Jackie Edwards' "Keep On Running" and was also a training ground for musicians who went on to the likes of McKenna Mendelson Mainline and Motherlode.
Hughie Flint is an English retired drummer, known for his stint in John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers during the early 1960s, mainly for his contribution towards their album Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton (1966).
The Modern Rock Quartet (MRQ) was a Canadian jazz-rock band put together by former Luke & The Apostles keyboard player Peter Jermyn with several musicians who had played with Bruce Cockburn in the final lineup of The Esquires.
The Tripp, known earlier as The Just Us and later Livingston's Journey, was a Canadian rock band, based in Toronto from the mid-1960s, featuring Neil Merryweather and Stan Endersby.
Rhinoceros was an American rock band established in 1967 through auditions conducted by Elektra Records, rather than organic formation by musicians. The band, while well respected in many circles, did not live up to the record label's expectations. It was also poorly received by fans, producing a slow-selling debut album and two even less successful LPs before breaking up. One reviewer commented, "Despite the fact that the band could not live up to the expectations that were raised by Elektra Records' publicity machine, Rhinoceros' contributions to rock still deserve more credit than subsequent rock histories give it."
Michael Fonfara was a Canadian keyboard player who was most notable for his work as a member of The Electric Flag and Rhinoceros in the 1960s, Rough Trade and Lou Reed's backing band in the 1970s and The Downchild Blues Band, from 1990 to the present. He studied classical piano at The Royal Conservatory of Music. He is a multiple Maple Blues Award winner as Piano/Keyboardist of the year and a Juno Award winner with the Downchild Blues Band. His distinguished musical career was so honoured by the Maple Blues Awards as early as 2000 and a Juno Award in 2014.
Pentti "Whitey" Glan was a Finnish-Canadian rock drummer, best known for his work with Alice Cooper and Lou Reed.
References
The Toronto Telegram's After Four section on Thursdays listed live dates in the city
"Luke and the Apostles join the exodus to US gold fields", Toronto Daily Star, May 20, 1967, page 31
"Luke and the Apostles coming out of their cellar", Toronto Daily Star, February 14, 1970, page 63
"Johnny Winter was stunning for a while", Toronto Daily Star, February 16, 1970, page 23
"Son of Luke & The Apostles", Toronto Telegram, After Four section, February 19, 1970, page 28
"1,500 rock groups in search of smash record", Toronto Telegram, After Four section, September 17, 1970, page 33
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
