Chad Allan (musician)
| Chad Allan | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Allan Peter Stanley Kowbel |
| Also known as | Allan Kobel |
| Born |
March 29, 1943 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
| Origin | Winnipeg |
| Genres | Rock, Soft Rock, Country Rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Singer/songwriter |
| Instruments | vocals, rhythm guitar, bass, piano, harmonica, accordion |
| Years active | 1958–present |
| Labels | Canadian-American, Quality, Scepter, Birchmount, Reprise, GRT, Seabreeze, Regenerator |
| Associated acts | The Guess Who, Brave Belt |
Chad Allan, OM (born Allan Peter Stanley Kowbel, March 29, 1943) is a Canadian musician who was the original lead singer, and founding member of The Guess Who.
Allan's first band, Allan and the Silvertones, was formed while he was attending Miles MacDonell Collegiate in 1958. Then Allan brought notable Winnipeg musicians Bob Ashley, Jim Kale, Randy Bachman and Garry Peterson into the band, which was now going by the name Chad Allan and the Reflections, with Allan taking his stage name from one of his favorite singers, Chad Mitchell of the Chad Mitchell Trio. They released their first two singles, I Just Didn't Have the Heart and Tribute to Buddy Holly on the Canadian-American label in 1962. In 1963, the band changed their name to Chad Allan and the Expressions after signing with Quality Records and releasing several singles that were minor hits in Canada.
In January 1965, Quality released their single, a cover of the Johnny Kidd song "Shakin' All Over". As a promo stunt, Quality released promo copies of the single credited to "Guess Who?". This became the band's new name, although throughout 1965 they were being credited as Chad Allan & the Expressions (Guess Who?).
In December 1965 Bob Ashley left the band and Burton Cummings of The Deverons replaced him. Shortly before Cummings' arrival, the band dropped the name Chad Allan & the Expressions and began incorporating harder R&B material into their sets and became The Guess Who. In early 1966 Allan was starting to experience some voice challenges that made it difficult for him to sing. After the recording of the group's third album, It's Time, Allan left the band.
Allan initially went back to college for a brief period of time, but continued performing. In 1967 he was chosen to host CBC-TV's weekly music program Let's Go. Coincidentally, the house band chosen for the show was The Guess Who. The show lasted two seasons before being cancelled. Allan, still under contract to Quality Records (signed in 1963), released a number of singles. The first solo attempt by Allan after leaving The Guess Who was first issued as Looking Through Crystal Glass. In the summer of 1968, Producer Bob McMillan began recording tracks with Allan, Karen Marklinger & Corrine Cyca for CBC TV's lineup of music shows. The trio sounded great together and he approached the Birchmount label to repackage the album under the group name The Metro-Gnomes. The album was released in late 1969.
...
Wikipedia