The Revols
| The Revols | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | The Rockin' Revols |
| Origin | Stratford, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Rock and roll |
| Years active | 1957–1962 |
| Associated acts | Ronnie Hawkins, the Fab Four, Plum Loco, Reload, the Pencils |
| Past members |
Richard Manuel John Till Ken Kalmusky Doug Rhodes Jim Winkler Garth Picot |
The Revols was a Canadian band from Stratford, Ontario, Canada, formed in 1957, with Richard Manuel on piano and vocals, John Till on guitar, Ken Kalmusky on bass, Doug Rhodes on vocals and Jim Winkler on drums. Fourteen- and fifteen-year-old kids at the time, they were taken under the wing of Ronnie Hawkins, and, together and individually, they made music history in the years to come.
The band started in 1957, in Kalmusky's parents' basement, on Queen St. in Stratford. They performed the very first songs Manuel wrote, and were invited into the studio to record "My Eternal Love", Manuel's first original song.
As the Revols gained popularity in the Ontario area, one of their first gigs was opening for Hawkins in Port Dover, Ontario. According to Levon Helm's autobiography, This Wheel's on Fire (p. 87), the next time Hawkins came to Stratford, the Revols were on the bill, but this time they followed Hawkins.
When the Revols came on, Richard sang Ray Charles's "Georgia on My Mind" and brought down the house. That did it, as far as the Hawk was concerned. Rather than compete with the Revols, he hired 'em.
Till, 15 at the time, was reluctant to quit school and was replaced by Garth Picot, of Goderich, Ontario. David "Dave Mickie" Marsden, another Stratford native, joined as the band's manager. The Revols, working for Hawkins, went to Fayetteville, Arkansas, and played a house gig at Hawkins's club.
By the end of 1961, the Revols returned to Stratford. Manuel remained with Hawkins until 1964, when Hawkins's backing group, the Hawks (Manuel along with Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, and Robbie Robertson), left him and formed Levon and the Hawks, later known as the Band. Kalmusky reunited with Till to form the Fab Four—the original Fab Four—at the top of 1962.
The Fab Four had their own weekly television show on CHCH-TV. On April 25, 1965, when they opened for the Rolling Stones at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, the Toronto Star ran an advertisement with the Fab Four's picture and the words "not the Rolling Stones". Kalmusky stated in an interview with Stratford's Beacon Herald, "They thought we were the Beatles, girls were diving at the car, piling on, as we were driving out of the stadium". In fact, the picture in the Toronto Star did look a whole lot like the Beatles. It has been speculated that the Beatles' nickname became "The Fab Four" as a result of this event. Some authors, and articles, over the last few decades, have cited this story, referencing the parallels, stating "Could 5 boys from Stratford, Ontario really influence the nickname of the Beatles?"
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