Bobby Kris & The Imperials
| Bobby Kris & The Imperials | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | J.S & The Imperials |
| Origin | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Folk, rock |
| Years active | 1963–1967 |
| Past members | Jim Snowdon Pat Riccio Jr Marty Fisher Al Waugh Brian Sefchek Jerry Shymanski John Crone Gordon MacBain Gene Martynec Rick Haynes Bobby Kris Dave Konvalinka Rick Loth Wayne Davis Jimmy Oskirko |
Bobby Kris & The Imperials were a 1960s Toronto folk-rock band, that had a local hit with Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "Walk On By".
This musically interesting band was originally called J.S. & The Imperials and was led by singer Jim Snowdon and featured pianist Pat Riccio Jr, who was replaced in 1964 by Marty Fisher (born December 26, 1945, Vancouver, British Columbia). The other original members comprised guitarist Al Waugh, bass player Brian Sefchek, saxophone players Jerry Shymanski (aka Mann) and John Crone (born February 4, 1945, Toronto), and drummer Gordon MacBain (born August 5, 1947, Toronto). During the early part of 1965, the group underwent further changes in personnel, which saw Gene Martynec (born March 28, 1947, Germany) replace Waugh and Rick Haynes replace Sefchek.
Around May 1965, the group changed name when Bobby Kris (real name: Bob Burrows), who was studying philosophy at the University of Toronto, joined as lead vocalist. (Originally the band had asked Jay Smith of The Majestics but he declined the offer).
During August, Dave Konvalinka aka Dave Wayne (born July 4, 1944, Gimli, Manitoba) succeeded Haynes on bass and Rick Loth came in on saxophone to replace Crone who left to join The Majestics. Haynes later played with Gordon Lightfoot. One of the new line up's first shows was the Purple Candle Club, Wasaga Beach in Ontario on August 7, 1965.
The group's debut single, a cover of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "Walk On By" was released in November 1965 and reached No. 8 on Canada’s RPM chart early the following year. The follow-up 45 was a Bob Dylan cover but was not as successful. The group also did an orange juice commercial, which was never released, around this time.
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