Jack London and the Sparrows
| Jack London & The Sparrows | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Oshawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Beat, blues rock |
| Years active | 1964–1965 |
| Labels | Capitol, RCA, EMI |
| Associated acts |
Steppenwolf The Sparrows The Mynah Birds |
| Past members | Jack London Dennis Edmonton Dave Hare Brent Maitland Jerry Edmonton C.J. Feeney Bruce Palmer Nick St. Nicholas Art Ayre |
Jack London and The Sparrows were a 1960s “Toronto British invasion” band, and are best known for including future Steppenwolf members, Jerry Edmonton, John Kay, Goldy McJohn and Nick St. Nicholas and future Buffalo Springfield member, Bruce Palmer.
The original Jack London and The Sparrows line-up was formed in Oshawa, Ontario in early 1964 by British émigré Dave Marden (A.K.A. Jack London), (born February 16, 1944 in London, England), guitarist Dennis Edmonton (born Dennis McCrohan, April 21, 1943 in Oshawa, Ontario) and keyboard player Dave Hare, who later played with Everyday People.
Jack London and The Sparrows began as a beat group and played heavily on Dave Marden’s English background. Their early repertoire reflected the influence of the “British invasion” and London even went as far as coaxing the others to “fake” English accents, in order to convince the audience that they had just arrived from England. Shortly afterwards, Dennis’ brother Jerry (born Jerry McCrohan, October 24, 1946 in Oshawa, Ontario) replaced the original drummer and Brent Maitland (stage name: Bert Enfield) joined on bass. The group began to build up a local following, playing at various venues, such as the local Jubilee Auditorium (which was owned by the Edmonton brothers’ father).
After moving to Toronto later that year, C.J. Feeney joined on organ. A short while later, Bruce Palmer (born September 9, 1946 in Toronto), who'd played in Billy Clarkson’s band replaced Maitland who went to university. This line-up signed to Capitol Records and scored a #3 hit on the RPM chart with debut single “If You Don’t Want My Love”. Palmer, however, soon tired of “affecting” an English accent and was traded for The Mynah Birds’ member, Nick St. Nicholas (born Klaus Karl Kassbaum, September 28, 1943 in Plön, Holstein, Germany) in January 1965. Around the same time, local jazz musician Art Ayre (born March 18, 1942 in Toronto) replaced Feeney, who formed a new version of his former band, The Spellbinders.
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