The Original Caste
| The Original Caste | |
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| Origin | Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Years active | 1966–present |
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The Original Caste is a Canadian folk group. The band formed in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1966 under the name The North Country Singers. Because the name sounded too much like a folk group, it was changed in 1968. Instrumentally, the group consists of guitar, keyboard and bass.
Songwriter and guitarist Bruce Innes formed the group in Calgary, Alberta in 1966. Initially, Bruce Innes, Graham Bruce and Bliss Mackie worked as a trio and Dixie Lee (Stone) Innes joined the group in 1967, contributing rich vocals. At that time, Dixie Lee Stone was a secretary at Pacific Petroleum in Calgary and she sang on the weekly television programme Calgary Safety Roundup on CFCN-TV. Bruce Innes sang and played by himself while Graham Bruce worked as an accounts executive at Royal Trust. Bliss Mackie had worked as a Coca Cola truck driver and a manager of a department store. In early 1968 Peter Brown (Seattle) became the first drummer in the group. Joe Cavender played with an acid rock group.
In 1968, the band moved to Los Angeles and recorded the single “I Can’t Make It Anymore” for Dot Records with limited success. In 1969, the band signed with TA Records, a label distributed by Bell Records. The band did write many of their pieces but the writing and production team of Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter wrote and produced The Original Caste’s two hit singles: “One Tin Soldier” and then “Mr. Monday”; both songs were from the 1969 LP The Original Caste. The songs employ the use of strings, horns, and organ which adds a swinging, pop-friendly sound. “One Tin Soldier” was a hit in Canada and reached No. 34 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1970. The follow-up single, "Mr. Monday", was a big hit in Japan and Canada but not in the United States. The two singles combined, worldwide, sold over three million copies and were certified gold in both Canada and Japan. The band toured extensively in Canada, the United States and Japan and made many television appearances. The band’s success allowed them the opportunity to open for both B. B. King and Glen Campbell. Having amassed a large following in Japan, they toured there and recorded live albums, in addition to releasing several further Japanese singles.
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