Rockin’ on the Rideau
, part 3
The Staccatos: The long way home
TOP TO BOTTOM: LES EMMERSON, VERN CRAIG, MIKE BELL, RICK BELL AND BRIAN RADING.
By JIM HURCOMB On a warm summer night in 1963, Vern
Craig was doing what most red-blooded young men enjoy doing at the drive-in. He was writing songs. By the time James Bond had triumphed over the evil Dr. No, Vern had finished a song for his new band. The song was called “It Isn’t Easy”. His
band was The Staccatos. Normally rock bands evolve from
relationships between musicians. Members leave and are replaced, names are changed, and eventually, when the chemistry is right, you take your shot. It was different with the Staccatos. The
original idea came from popular CKOY DJ Dean Hagopian. Dean had already recorded a single backed by The Regals, but now he wanted to put together a full- time rock and roll band. He persuaded Vern and Jack McDonald
to leave Hughie Scott’s band to join his venture. “Dean wanted to call it the Stillettos,”
remembers Vern, “but I didn’t think too much of that idea. We played as the house band at the Oak Door on Bank. We would back up all the singles that came in, like Brian Hyland and Gene Pitney. That’s what made the Staccatos what we were. We were playing the Green Door at the Chaudiere five nights a week, plus rehearsals. That’s what really honed us.” The band at that time included Brian
Rading from The Regals on bass, and drummer Rick Bell (Belanger). His brother, Mike, came in later as a second
20 BOUNDER MAGAZINE
drummer and vocalist. But the key piece to the band’s ultimate success was Les Emmerson. Les had followed the usual path in
school, playing with several bands before finding a degree of success with The Profiles. The Profiles were popular enough to open for Ronnie Hawkins at Pineland in 1962. “That was one of the most profound
events of my life,” says Les. “I never knew live music could sound so good.” Les was playing in the Hughie Scott
Band when he had his “Eureka!” moment. It was a cold Sunday night in February 1964, a gig on the Hull side. The boys took a break to watch a new band called the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show. The impact of that performance is as
fresh for Les today as it was then. “It was an earth-shattering moment for
me, like when I first saw Elvis on TV,” he says. “I knew at that moment I had to get into a band that was playing that stuff.” That opportunity came a few months
later when Vern called his old friend to invite him to join the Staccatos. Dean had decided to pack it in and
move to Montreal. “I had been at it for about a year and a
half,” he remembers. “I was pulling a radio shift from four to eight, then playing with the band and socializing after the gigs − and I was a new dad. It was too much, it was killing me.” Although it meant a substantial pay cut,
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COCA-COLA USED THE STACCATOS ON A PROMOTIONAL ALBUM WITH THE GUESS WHO CALLED “A WILD PAIR”. IN 1967, “HALF PAST MIDNIGHT” WON A JUNO AWARD, AS HAD “LET’S RUN AWAY” IN 1966.
Les jumped at the chance when he heard Vern’s plans, which included writing original songs and recording. Vern recalls: “We told him that
we wanted to do some recording and that we had a recording date, and that pretty well got Les to join the band.” That recording date was set for
mid-January,1965, in Buffalo, N.Y. They drove in blizzard-conditions, but the trip was worth it. When the first edition of Doug McKeen’s “Swing Set” singles chart hit the streets in April,1965, “It Isn’t Easy” was #1 in Ottawa. Released on the small Allied
label, “It Isn’t Easy” sold well enough to attract the attention of Capitol Records, and soon The Staccatos joined the Esquires on the recording home of the Beatles and Beach Boys. With the managerial clout of
Ottawa Journal music writer Sandy Gardiner behind them, the Staccatos polished their sound and their image.
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They quickly evolved from a tight club band covering The Beatles, Roy Orbison and The Beach Boys to a slick, professional concert band with a string of hit singles. Sandy Gardiner was a key player
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very much a jukebox band,” Sandy recalls. “I kept saying to them that the only way you’re going to break through the clutter is if you have some originality − what you can do that’s different from other bands. We thought that having two drummers (brothers Rick and Mike Bell) gave them that originality.” But it was their stellar studio
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“Let’s Run Away” in 1966 and their continued on page 65
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BOUNDER MAGAZINE 21
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