The Essentials (band)

The Essentials
The Essentials' (left to right): Dan Speck, Janet Turner, Thom Speck, Joe Oliva
Background information
Origin	London, Ontario Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres	A Cappella Pop
Occupation(s)	Singers Musicians
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1993–2011
Website	www.essentialsmusic.com
Members	Joe Oliva (1993-2011) Dan Speck (1996-2011) Thom Speck (2005-2011) Janet Turner (2009-2011)
Past members	Mike Ferfolia Jimmy Koumanis Joon Nah Phil Papadopoulos Rob Sylvester Bob Van Gieson

The Essentials was a Canadian a cappella group founded in London, Ontario, Canada in 1993, that were based out of Toronto from 2000 onward. Band co-founders Joon Nah and Joe Oliva (sometimes stylized as Jo3 Oliva) attended London Central Secondary School where they co-founded a predecessor a cappella group to The Essentials, called The Humdingers.

The Essentials' first gig was singing a cappella doo-wop songs, weekly during the summer months, in the parking lot of an ice cream parlor called Merla-Mae Ice Cream in London, Ontario.

In 1996, Dan Speck joined the band. Speck had been introduced to the band through The Essentials' then-manager Terry McManus via Emm Gryner. Dan Speck's younger brother Thom, formerly of Streetnix, then joined the band in 2005. Both Speck brothers and Gryner have known each other since their youth in the small town of Forest, Ontario. Janet Turner completed the quartet in 2009.

Since their inception, The Essentials have focused mostly on performances in Canada and the United States, but have also ventured into Europe. They have performed thousands of shows including the national anthems for the Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto Raptors and Toronto Maple Leafs which has garnered them more national television exposure in Canada.

They also appeared in nationally televised ads for Bell ExpressVu in Canada.

In 1999, The Essentials played a singing and speaking role in a CBS movie entitled A Holiday Romance along with Paula MacNeill (who would later become a part of the house band on the U.S. nationally televised game show The Singing Bee). The movie stars Andy Griffith, Naomi Judd and Gerald McRaney.