Billy Bryans
| Billy Bryans | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | William Taylor Bryans |
| Born |
September 15, 1947 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Died | April 23, 2012 (aged 64) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Funk, rock, world |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, drums, percussions |
| Years active | 1967–2012 |
| Labels | RCA, Current WAVE-2 |
| Associated acts | Parachute Club, Dutch Mason, Downchild Blues Band, M.G. & The Escorts |
William Taylor "Billy" Bryans (September 15, 1947 – April 23, 2012) was a Canadian percussionist, songwriter, music producer and DJ, known as one of the founders of The Parachute Club, among other accomplishments in music. As a producer, he worked on projects for artists as diverse as Dutch Mason, Raffi, Lillian Allen and the Downchild Blues Band. He was born in Montreal, but spent most of his adult life in Toronto, and was particularly supportive of world music as both a promoter and publicist, focusing on bringing Caribbean, Cuban and Latin American music to a wider audience.
Bryans' childhood was spent in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, where he was associated with his first professional band, M.G. and The Escorts. This band released three singles, and primarily played in the area bounded by Montreal, Ottawa, Brockville and Kingston, including gigs at Expo 67 and as the opening act at a Montreal concert by The Beach Boys. Bryans was also a high school friend of Jack Layton, whom Layton credited with giving him the advice that led to his successfully being elected president of their high school student council.
After graduating with a degree in English literature from Sir George Williams University, Bryans moved from Montreal to Toronto with his group Theodore's Smokeshop in 1970, and soon developed a reputation as a musician, engineer and record producer in the burgeoning counterculture scene around Rochdale College. He quickly became associated with the Downchild Blues Band, including as producer of the band's first notable hit single, "Flip, Flop and Fly", and as the engineer on the band's seminal debut album, Bootleg (1971), thought to be the first artist-produced and independently distributed album in Canadian history. In 1972, Theodore's Smokeshop, now renamed Horn, recorded its only album, On the People's Side, with Bryans performing as percussionist, sound remixer and co-producer.
...
Wikipedia