Downchild

Trackimage Playbut Trackname Playbut Trackname
I Need A Hat 03:18 Tools
This Must Be Love 02:52 Tools
Rendezvous 03:55 Tools
What Was I Thinking 05:23 Tools
(I Got Everything I Need) Almost 02:42 Tools
Some More Of That 02:57 Tools
El Stew 03:14 Tools
Down In The Delta 05:55 Tools
Come On In 04:12 Tools
There's A Blues Band There 05:06 Tools
Time To Say Good-bye 03:46 Tools
It's Been So Long 03:27 Tools
Droppin' Like Flies 05:45 Tools
Scars 05:14 Tools
Don't Leave It Too Long 04:03 Tools
Somebody Lied 06:08 Tools
Stagger Lee 03:27 Tools
You Don't Love Me 04:29 Tools
How Long 06:20 Tools
Can You Hear The Music? 03:27 Tools
Going Dancing 03:01 Tools
Mr. Confused 04:42 Tools
Dew Drop Inn 03:53 Tools
Sad Sad Day 04:56 Tools
Wednesday Night Blues 05:16 Tools
I Need A Woman 04:47 Tools
I've Been A Fool 03:41 Tools
What You Gonna Do 03:27 Tools
Madison Blues 02:55 Tools
Blue Moon Blues 04:10 Tools
My Mississippi Queen 05:04 Tools
Gonna Tell Your Mother 02:27 Tools
Soaring 05:30 Tools
It's A Matter Of Time 03:50 Tools
Flip, Flop, Fly 03:04 Tools
Caledonia 03:10 Tools
Goin' Dancin' 02:58 Tools
For Pete's Sake 04:11 Tools
When I Say Jump 04:47 Tools
Let's Go Strollin' 03:25 Tools
Bring It On Home 02:53 Tools
One More Chance 02:22 Tools
Dig Myself A Hole 02:38 Tools
Jump Right Up 04:10 Tools
Somebody Lied (Feat. Colin James And Wayne Jackson Of The Memphis Horns) 06:07 Tools
These Thoughts keep marching 03:52 Tools
This Road 03:36 Tools
Messin' With The Kid 03:23 Tools
You Don't Love Me (Feat. Colin Linden And Dan Aykroyd) 04:28 Tools
Rock It 03:58 Tools
You Don't Have To Go 03:08 Tools
Down In Virginia 03:36 Tools
One In A Million 03:55 Tools
You Don't Love Me feat. Colin Linden & Dan Aykroyd 04:27 Tools
Just A Little Bit 03:06 Tools
Fasten Your Seatbelt 03:08 Tools
I'm Sinkin' 03:02 Tools
Don't You Bother My Baby 04:07 Tools
Change My Way Of Livin' 05:09 Tools
That's All Right 04:55 Tools
These Thoughts Keep Marching (Feat. Wayne Jackson Of The Memphis Horns) 03:55 Tools
Now You're Hooked 04:54 Tools
Somebody Lied feat. Colin James & Wayne Jackson of The Memphis Horns 06:05 Tools
Tonight I Want To Dance With You 04:07 Tools
Next Time You See Me 02:52 Tools
Scattered 05:01 Tools
I’m Always Here For You 05:01 Tools
A Garden In Her Front Yard 05:01 Tools
Worn In 05:01 Tools
Cotton In My Ears (Instrumental) 05:30 Tools
Shoot That Moon 03:46 Tools
Lucky 13 02:24 Tools
All Over 04:03 Tools
Take Me Back Annie 04:34 Tools
Last Chance To Dance 04:04 Tools
I Know You're Lyin' 04:11 Tools
When The Morning Comes 05:03 Tools
Don’t Wait Up For Me 03:46 Tools
Screamin' 04:30 Tools
These Thoughts Keep Marching feat. Wayne Jackson of The Memphis Horns 03:54 Tools
Flip, Flop & Fly 03:54 Tools
Can You Hear The Music 03:50 Tools
Don't Wait Up For Me 03:11 Tools
Cruisin' (Instrumental) 03:15 Tools
Good Times Guaranteed 03:10 Tools
My First Letter 03:50 Tools
Changed My Ways 03:29 Tools
I'm Always Here For You 03:29 Tools
Time To Say Good Bye 03:46 Tools
Flip Flop And Fly 03:11 Tools
Big Hill 05:42 Tools
I Am Mister Downchild 03:50 Tools
I'm Mixed Up 05:15 Tools
Annie's Got A Sister 03:31 Tools
I Can't Stand It 03:26 Tools
Master Chef 03:54 Tools
I'm Finished 03:16 Tools
Hook, Line, & Sinker 04:07 Tools
Time To Say Goodbye 03:50 Tools
Dusty Road 04:42 Tools
Caldonia 04:42 Tools
Soaring (Instrumental) 04:42 Tools
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(You can also see 'Downchild Blues Band' on Last.fm here: http://www.last.fm/music/Downchild+Blues+Band ) Early History: 1969-1982 (Donnie) Walsh has been called the 'father of Canadian blues' and with good reason. He is a blues pioneer on the Canadian scene. It was Walsh who paid the highest dues so that later Canadian blues acts, such as the Jeff Healey Band, the Colin James Band, the Powder Blues, Sue Foley, The Sidemen and The Highliners could also enjoy their success. The Canadian blues scene, which has blossomed nicely in the last few years, was relatively barren in the late 1960s when The Downchild Blues Band first started out. The Downchild Blues Band was formed in Toronto in 1969 and continues to perform today. The band's international fame is partially due to three of its songs, the originals I've Got Everything I Need (Almost) and Shot Gun Blues, and its adaptation of Flip Flop and Fly, all from its 1973 album, Straight Up, being featured on the first Blues Brothers album, Briefcase Full of Blues (1978). The band's musical style is described as being "a spirited, if fundamental, brand of jump-band and Chicago-style blues". The band name came from the Sonny Boy Williamson II song, "Mr. Downchild".The initial band membership was Donnie ("Mr. Downchild") Walsh, who remains the sole constant band member, with younger brother Rick "Hock" Walsh on vocals, accompanied by Dave Woodward, Cash Wall and Jim Milne. Classically-trained pianist Jane Vasey joined the band in 1973. The initial blues musical influence on Donnie Walsh was Jimmy Reed. He was later greatly influenced by James Cotton, both in terms of musical style and band format. Walsh and Cotton later became personal friends. Donnie Walsh described these early influences as follows: "Jimmy Reed. I heard him at my girlfriend’s birthday party. Some guys brought a Jimmy Reed album over and that was it, for me. ...I’d put him on the record player, and when I went to sleep at night, it would still be playing when I’d get up in the morning. Then I’d play him all day, and it was unreal. Then, of course, I spread out to Sonny Boy Williamson, Little Walter, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, and Albert King. Then, I got a job in a record store. A blues record store that stocked 45s only. All alphabetical all around the whole room. You’d go to the Muddy Waters section, and there would be eight Muddy Waters singles. You’d go to the Sonny Boy Williamson section, and there would be five Sonny Boy Williamson singles." The band's first album, Bootleg, is regarded as one of the first independent albums ever produced in Canada. It was recorded over two nights in 1971, in a makeshift studio at Toronto's Rochdale College. Donnie Walsh and others distributed the album by hand. It was welcomed by major Toronto music retailer Sam Sniderman, of Sam The Record Man renown, who was very much disposed to promoting Canadian music. The record was soon acquired by RCA Records Canada for more general distribution. According to Donnie Walsh, more than 120 musicians have been associated with Downchild since its 1969 founding. The band has never lost its focus on blues music. While certain band members have left to pursue what was perceived to be a more lucrative rock music career, Donnie Walsh has a different perspective: "Just around when I started here were all these guys in blues bands and of course they were impatient and they wanted to make some more money so they became rock bands. I played the blues then and I play the blues now. That's what I love. ... It's a living thing, it's living music. By living and breathing it goes on and what that means is that instead of being the same kind of music somebody else wrote years ago, it lives and evolves. Blues is serious stuff, it's a heavy kind of music in your soul. You show up with the blues I play, you lighten up. That's what it's all about. It's like medicine." 1982-1990: Vasey, Hock and Flaim Gone In 1982, the band suffered a major setback with the untimely death of keyboard player Jane Vasey, who succumbed to leukemia at the age of thirty two. Donnie Walsh, who was living with Vasey at the time, took a period of time off to reflect on his future and that of the band. The band came back in the fall of 1982, with both a new singer and a new keyboard player, by way of a live recording from Toronto's historic El Mocambo club, But I'm On The Guest List. Despite being closely identified with the band's initial sound and also being the co-writer, with brother Donnie Walsh, of "Shot Gun Blues", later recorded by the Blues Brothers, Hock Walsh would leave, rejoin and be replaced as lead singer in the band on several occasions. He was first fired from the band in 1974, shortly before work began on the band's third album, Dancin'. At that time, he was replaced by Tony Flaim. Hock rejoined the band in 1977 and 1985. He was fired by his brother Donnie for a final time in 1990, and replaced by Chuck Jackson. Chuck Jackson has remained the lead singer of Downchild since that time. Notwithstanding their strained relationship, Donnie Walsh assessed his brother's ability as follows: "He was a fabulous singer; he could sing the blues better than anybody I've ever heard. He had the timing, the phrasing, a fabulous voice… he was just great."] Hock Walsh died on December 31, 1999, at the age of 51, of an apparent heart attack. Performing on his own and with his own bands since 1990, he had been scheduled to perform a New Year's Eve concert with blues singer Rita Chiarelli. His last recordings were three tracks on 4 Blues, the 1998 debut album of Toronto's Big Daddy G Review. Tony Flaim, the initial replacement for Hock Walsh in Downchild and featured on six of the band's albums, also died of a heart attack, on March 10, 2000, less than three months after Hock Walsh. He was 52. Flaim's near nine year association with Downchild covered the 1975 to 1982 period, plus 1986 to 1988. During the 1982-1986 period, Flaim was replaced by John Witmer, former lead singer of the well-respected Toronto blues band Whiskey Howl. One of Tony Flaim's last public performances was at a tribute to the late Hock Walsh, in February of 2000, at Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern. The band is still commonly known as the Downchild Blues Band, though the actual band name was shortened to "Downchild" as of the early 1980s. 1990-Present Most of the current lineup has been together since 1990, when Chuck Jackson (vocals) and Michael Fonfara (keyboards) joined Donnie Walsh (guitar and harmonica) and Pat Carey (sax). Sax player Pat Carey was the first to join the current Downchild lineup, in 1985, a year after arriving in Toronto and commencing his Toronto musical career playing with both Hock Walsh and Tony Flaim.] Bass player Gary Kendall joined Downchild for a second time in 1995, after first playing with the band during the 1979-1983 period. They were later joined by drummer Mike Fitzpatrick, who first recorded with the band on the Come On In album (2004). Recent accolades include a Juno Award nomination for "Blues Album of The Year" in 2005, plus winning the Maple Blues Award[24] as "Entertainers of The Year" in both 2005 and 2006. In addition, the band's connection to The Blues Brothers has continued. In 2005, when Dan Ackroyd and Jim Belushi toured as The Blues Brothers, Donnie Walsh joined them onstage at Ontario's Casino Rama. Donnie Walsh's song, "I've Got Everything I Need (Almost)" was recently selected as one of 125 "essential" Canadian songs, and the only blues song on the list. Band Awards * 1991 Juno Award, Best Roots and Traditional Album (Gone Fishing) * 1992 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Great Canadian Blues Award * 2005 Maple Blues Award, Recording of the Year (Come On In) * 2005 Maple Blues Award, Electric Act of The Year * 2005 Maple Blues Award, Entertainers of The Year * 2006 Maple Blues Award, Entertainers of The Year Band Member Awards Donnie Walsh * 1990 Blues With a Feeling Award, Toronto Blues Society, honouring distinguished career Chuck Jackson * 1999 Maple Blues Award, Male Vocalist of The Year * 2002 Blues With a Feeling Award, Toronto Blues Society, honouring distinguished career * 2007 Maple Blues Award, Male Vocalist of The Year Pat Carey * 1999 Maple Blues Award, Horn Player of The Year * 2000 Maple Blues Award, Horn Player of The Year * 2001 Maple Blues Award, Horn Player of The Year * 2002 Maple Blues Award, Horn Player of The Year * 2004 Maple Blues Award, Horn Player of The Year * 2007 Maple Blues Award, Horn Player of The Year Gary Kendall * 1993 Blues With a Feeling Award, Toronto Blues Society, honouring distinguished career * 1997 Maple Blues Award, Bassist of The Year * 1999 Maple Blues Award, Bassist of The Year * 2000 Maple Blues Award, Bassist of The Year * 2002 Maple Blues Award, Bassist of The Year * 2002 Thunder Blues Award, Thunder Bay Blues Society * 2002 Keeping The Blues Alive Award, Thunder Bay Blues Society * 2005 Maple Blues Award, Bassist of The Year * 2007 Maple Blues Award, Bassist of The Year Michael Fonfara * 2000 Maple Blues Award, Piano/Keyboard Player of The Year * 2004 Maple Blues Award, Piano/Keyboard Player of The Year * 2007 Maple Blues Award, Piano/Keyboard Player of The Year Mike Fitzpatrick * 2005 Maple Blues Award, Drummer of The Year * 2007 Maple Blues Award, Drummer of The Year Discography The list is based on the Canadian Pop Encyclopedia, with subsequent additions and amendments. Singles * 1973 "Flip, Flop And Fly" * 1974 "Flip, Flop And Fly" [re-issue] (Special) * 1974 "I've Got Everything I Need" (Almost) * 1974 "Tell Your Mother" (Special) * 1975 "Goin' Dancin" * 1976 "Old Ma Belle" * 1980 "I've Been A Fool" (Attic) * 1980 "Tryin' to Keep Her 88's Straight"/"Oh Oh" (Attic) * 1981 "Hey Hey Little Girl"/"Drivin' Blues" (Attic) * 1981 "Blood Run Hot"/"Coulda Had All Your Loving" (Attic) Albums * 1971 Bootleg (Special) * 1973 Straight Up (Special) * 1974 Dancin' (Special) * 1975 Ready To Go (Special) * 1977 So Far (Posterity) * 1979 We Deliver (Attic) * 1980 Bootleg [re-issue] (RCA); also later re-issue by Downchild Music * 1980 Road Fever (Attic) * 1980 Double Header (Attic) (double album reissue of Straight Up and We Deliver) * 1981 Blood Run Hot (with Spencer Davis) (Attic) * 1982 Dancin' [re-issue] (Attic) * 1982 Straight Up [re-issue](Attic) * 1982 But I'm On The Guest List (Attic) * 1987 It's Been So Long (Stony Plain/BMG) * 1988 We Deliver/Straight Up [double album re-issue] (Attic) * 1989 Gone Fishing (Stony Plain/WEA) * 1992 Dancin'/Road Fever [double album re-issue] (Attic) * 1994 Good Times Guaranteed (Downchild Music) * 1997 Lucky 13 (Downchild Music) * 1997 It's Been So Long/Ready To Go [double album re-issue] (Stony Plain) * 1998 A Case Of The Blues - The Best Of Downchild (Attic) * 2000 A Matter Of Time - The Downchild Collection (Blue Wave - US) * 2003 Body Of Work - The Downchild Collection Volume 2 (Blue Wave - US) * 2004 But I'm On The Guest List [re-issue] (Unidisc) * 2004 Blood Run Hot [re-issue] (Unidisc) * 2004 Road Fever [re-issue] (Unidisc) * 2004 We Deliver [re-issue] (Unidisc) * 2004 Straight Up [re-issue] (Unidisc) * 2004 Come On In (Downchild Music) * 2007 Live At The Palais Royale (Downchild Music) Read more on Last.fm. 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