In 1962, Chad Allan and The
Reflections journeyed to Kay Bank Studios
in Minneapolis to cut their debut
single. Tribute to Buddy Holly
backed by Back and Forth, was
released in February 1963 and received
airplay across the prairie provinces.
Having drawn interest from Toronto-based
Quality Records, the band returned to Kay
Bank Studios in the early summer of 1963
to record a follow up single, Shy Guy
backed by Baby's Got a Brand New Beau,
both written by Chad Allan. At the
same session, the group cut several more
tracks, two of which were released in
early 1964 - Inside Out and Made
in England. Later that summer,
the group released their fourth single
titled Stop Teasing Me, with A
Shot of Rhythm 'n' Blues on the B
side.
That same year, the band had changed their
name to Chad Allan & The
Expressions. Chad Allan
explained: "There was an
American group called the Reflections
(with a tune called Just Like Romeo and
Juliet that did very very well) and that
was just the time we were going with our
group the Reflections and I don't remember
exactly what happened but there seemed to
be a suggestion from Quality Records that
we change our name. I don't believe
there was ever any heavy pressure, but
there were too many reflections groups, so
we decided to change the name of our
group."
In December 1964, the renamed band
recorded their next single, Shakin'
All Over, with what was originally
intended to be the A side, Till We
Kissed. A marketing ruse
turned into a radio contest by the Quality
Records to generate interest, this would
be the first recording released under the
Guess
Who name (with a question mark
tacked on to the end).
The recordings were licensed to Scepter
Records of New York in the spring of 1965
and reached #22 on the Billboard singles
chart. Shakin' All Over put
Winnipeg on the international music map
and turned Chad Allan into a rock star.
Bob Ashley left the band in December 1965,
and Burton Cummings was hired as the
replacement keyboard player. Six
months later, following the release of
their third album, Chad
Allan was no longer a member of the
band he founded.
"I was saddened to leave," Allan revealed
to John Einarson years later, "but it
wasn't my band anymore."
Randy
Bachman's Prairie Town is an
homage to Winnipeg's rock 'n' roll days.
The song tells the story of his discovery
of rock 'n' roll via the radio and the
formation of Chad Allan and The
Reflections.
It appears on Bachman's 1992 solo album, Any
Road.
Compiled and adapted from the
following sources:
Heart of Gold: A History
of Winnipeg Music by John Einarson,
2021
