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Trooper, called by the Vancouver Sun "Canadian rock heroes of the first order ... the best performing band in Canada", is a Juno Award winning Canadian rock band that developed from a group formed by vocalist Ramon (Ra) McGuire and guitarist Brian Smith in 1965. As the principal songwriters for the group, McGuire and Smith have performed as Trooper from inception to the present day.
History
1970s
By 1974 the group had added drummer Tommy Stewart and bassist Harry Kalensky. After hearing Trooper play, Randy Bachman, of Bachman Turner Overdrive and The Guess Who signed the band to his "Legend" label and produced the band's first album; Trooper, containing the Canadian hits "Baby Woncha Please Come Home" (Smith/McGuire) and "Good 'Ol General Hand Grenade" (Smith/McGuire) in 1975.
After moving from Legend Records to MCA Records, Trooper added Frank Ludwig on keyboards. Their self-titled debut album was followed by Two for the Show(1976) which was certified Canadian Gold. This album contained the hits "Two for the Show" (McGuire) and "Santa Maria" (Smith/McGuire). "The Boys in the Bright White Sportscar" (Smith/McGuire), initially released on this album, later became a hit when it was re-released (with a few modifications) on the Hot Shots greatest hits package. Kalensky was replaced by Doni Underhill prior to the recording of Knock 'Em Dead, Kid (1977) which was the groups first Canadian Platinum. This album contained the hits "We're Here For a Good Time (not a long time)" (Smith/McGuire) and "Oh, Pretty Lady" (Smith/McGuire). Thick as Thieves (which featured the group's only successful US single, "Raise A Little Hell" (Smith/McGuire)) (1978) went double-platinum. This album also contained the hit "Round, Round We Go" (written and sung by Frank Ludwig), and "The Moment That it Takes" (written by Stewart and Underhill and sung by Ludwig). Flying Colors (1979), which contained the hits "Three Dressed Up as a Nine" (Smith/McGuire) and "Janine" (Smith/McGuire) also attained Double-Platinum status. Hot Shots (a greatest hits package) (1979) broke all Canadian sales records for Canadian sales of a Canadian album - reaching Quadruple-Platinum.
1980s to Present
The same year Hot Shots was released, Trooper severed their artist/producer relationship with Randy Bachman and Ludwig was replaced by Rob Deans, who performed on the self-produced album Untitled (1980) and Money Talks (1983) (Produced by Heart producer Mike Flicker and released on (Flicker/RCA). The Last of the Gypsies (1989), released on the band's self-owned Great Pacific Records label and distributed by Warner Music Canada, came after a six year recording absence and was certified Canadian Gold. It contained the hits "Boy With the Beat" (Smith/McGuire) and "Thin White Line" (McGuire). Ten (1991), containing the regional hit "American Dream" (Smith/McGuire), was the group's tenth and last album to date.In 1998, they guest starred on This Hour Has 22 Minutes's News Year '98. However, their songs were played in numerous episodes of 22 Minutes throughout the 8th season (2000-01).
In 2001 "Shot Spots", a Punk tribute to Trooper, was released on Visionary records. It contained 30 Trooper songs performed by 30 Canadian punk bands (D.O.A., SNFU, The Dayglo Abortions and others) and an introduction by Canadian comedian Rick Mercer.
As detailed in a four page 2004 photo essay by Todd Korol in Macleans Magazine and a two page 2005 Globe and Mail story by Peter Cheney, Trooper is still very active and popular as a touring band, performing as many as 100 shows a year across Canada.
In April 2006, Trooper singer and songwriter, Ra McGuire released his first book: "Here For a Good Time - On the Road With Trooper, Canada's Legendary Rock Band". The book was published by Insomniac Press.
Discography
- Trooper (1976)
- Two for the Show (1976)
- Knock 'Em Dead Kid (1977)
- Thick as Thieves (1978)
- Flying Colours (1979)
- Hot Shots (1979)
- Untitled (1980)
- Money Talks (1982)
- The Last of the Gypsies (1989)
- Ten (1991)
Current members
- Ra McGuire (Vocals)
- Brian Smith (Guitar)
- Paul Gogo (Keyboards)
- Scott Brown (Bass)
- Lance Chalmers (Drums)
Past members
- Tommy Stewart (Drums)
- Harry Kalensky (Bass)
- Frank Ludwig (Keyboards)
- Doni Underhill (Bass)
- Rob Dean (Keyboards)
- Marc LaFrance (Drums)
- Ronnie Baran (Drums)
- John Dryden (Bass)
- Richard Sera (Keyboards)
- Aaron Anderson (Drums)
- Blaine Smith (Keyboards)
- Larry Church (Bass)
- Mike Shmidt (Drums)
- John Stoltz (Drums)
- Tony Ferraro (Drums)
- Skip Prest (Guitar)
- Timothy B. Hewitt (Bass)
- Scott Aquino (Drums)
- Frankie Baker (Drums)
External links
See also
Canadian musical groups | Rock music groups | 1970s music groups | 1980s music groups | Canadian rock groups
"Trooper (band)"