Canadian singer and
songwriter Errol Ranville was born
August 1, 1953 in St. Rose Du Lac,
Manitoba, Canada. While
still in high school, he formed
his first band - C-Weed & the
Weeds - in 1965 with brothers
Wally and Don. 1975, the
name was changed to The C-Weed
Band. Their first album,
released in 1980, produced the hit
Evangeline. He went on to
record a total of twenty albums
over a span of forty years in the
entertainment business. In
2011, Errol was awarded the
Lifetime Achievement Award by the
Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music
Awards. Ranville's
autobiography, Run As One: My
Story, was published June
2021 by Great Plains Publications.
Excerpt from Heart of Gold: A History of Winnipeg Music
Out in
rural Eddystone, Manitoba, the Ranville
brothers - Stirling, Brian, Gordon, Randy,
Wally and Errol - were each vying for time
with Darlene. Darlene was the name
given to the secondhand guitar boasting
only 5 strings, given to them collectively
in the early 1960s by a benevolent
aunt. Inspired by The Beatles,
C-Weed and The Weeds - Errol 'C-Weed'
Ranville plus brothers Randy, Wally and
drummer Donnie, all still in their teens -
played regional dances and social events.
In 1969 the family moved to Winnipeg to
allow the boys a better shot at a career
in music. "I saw music as a way for
me to escape the cycle of poverty," he
revealed.
One of their first stops was the Indian
and Metis Friendship Centre where The
Feathermen held court. "Those guys
were already legends on the Indigenous
music scene," notes Errol. "They had
professional instruments and amplifiers,
Fender Telecaster guitars and Vox amps,
compared to our cheap gear. They
were grownups. We looked like kids
to them, and we were. But they took
a liking to us and allowed us to play a
few times. The Feathermen were a
covers band. So were we when we
first started. But once I began
writing songs, that set up apart. We
eventually surpassed them because we
developed our own sound."
Older brother Stirling Ranville got a gig
playing the pub in The Brunswick Hotel on
Main Street (now a parking lot for the
Manitoba Museum) and gradually recruited
brothers Wally, Donnie and eventually
Errol. The latter three were
underage even after the drinking age
lowered to 18 in September 1970 but
managed to avoid getting caught.
With Stirling at the helm, the band was
billed as The Ranville Brothers.
Eventually Stirling bowed out and Errol
began fronting the band and the name
ultimately changed to the C-Weed Band.
Well-respected Indigenous guitar player
Jimmy Flett joined them giving the young
band instrumental umph and a broader
appeal. Billy Joe Green recalls
sneaking into the Brunswick under age to
see Jimmy Flett play. "He was simply
the finest country picker our community
has ever produced," Green acknowledges.
By 1980, having left the Brunswick to play
Indigenous reserves throughout Manitoba
and Northwest Ontario, a circuit them
themselves opened up, The C-Weed Band
scored a #1 Canadian Country Music hit
single with their cover of Canadian Robbie
Robertson's "Evangeline" from their debut
album The Finest You Can Buy!.
All of a sudden, they were in demand from
coast to coast for performances and
television appearances. The band,
now with Clint Dutiaume on guitar and
fiddle, cleaned up at the 1981 MCMA
(Manitoba Country Music Awards) and earned
two Juno nominations. C-Weed was all
over Canadian country radio, notching up a
string of hits including "Play Me My
Favorite Song", "Bringing Home the Good
Times", "Pickup Truck Cowboy", and "Magic
in The Music", from their third album
Goin' The Distance, all composted by Errol
Ranville.
Against daunting odds, The C-Weed Band
succeeded on their own terms. "Few
outside of the Indigenous community across
the country knew we were an Indigenous
band," notes Errol. "This was still
years before Country Music Television
introduced music videos. Radio would
play the single without knowing anything
about the band. We were breaking
down barriers that kept us out of white
markets without even knowing it. But
we still had to deal with club owners
panicking when they saw us pull up."
The C-Weed Band let the music speak for
itself. "We never waved the Indian
flag or tried to use our Indigenous
identity," says Errol with justifiable
pride. "We were as good as any other
country-rock band and we earned out
success.
John Einarson
C-Weed Band
Achievements
1983:
Seven Manitoba Country Music Awards,
including Entertainer of the Year
1985/1986: Juno Award Nominee in the
Country category
2004: Lifetime Achievement Award at
the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards
