Lighthouse (band)

Lighthouse was formed in 1969 in Toronto by vocalist/drummer Skip Prokop, previously of the Paupers, and keyboardist Paul Hoffert.[3] The two met on a flight from New York City to Toronto, and discussed forming a band structured around a rock rhythm section, jazz horn section, and classical string section. Prokop had admired Ralph Cole's playing when they shared the bill at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, so he invited him to Toronto to be the band's guitarist. Prokop and Hoffert assembled the rest of the group from friends, studio session musicians, and Toronto Symphony Orchestra members, and proceeded to make a demo recording.

Prokop and Hoffert took the demo to MGM Records in New York, who signed the band. Two days later they had a manager, Vinnie Fusco, from Albert Grossman's office, who overturned the MGM contract and made a deal with RCA Victor.

Lighthouse made its performing debut on May 14, 1969, at The Rock Pile in Toronto, introduced by Duke Ellington with the words, "I'm beginning to see the Light...house".[4] The band originally consisted of 13 members:

One of the first Lighthouse concerts was at Carnegie Hall, and in its first year the band also played at Fillmore East, Fillmore West, Toronto, Boston, the Atlantic City Pop Festival, and the Monterey and Newport Jazz Festivals. A free concert at Toronto City Hall in the summer of 1969 drew a reported crowd of 25,000.[5]

Their first album, Lighthouse, was released in June 1969 by RCA recorded in RCA's Toronto Eastern Sound Studio. It features "If There Ever Was a Time", which was a minor hit on CHUM 1050.

Their next album, Suite Feeling, was released in November 1969, recorded at Toronto Eastern Sound Studio. It features two cover songs: The Band's "Chest Fever" and The Beatles' "A Day In The Life". The single "Feel So Good" was a hit, peaking at #5 on the Canadian Content chart and #55 on the Canadian Top 100. Lighthouse was invited to perform at Woodstock that year, but turned it down.

Their third and final album for RCA was also the last for original lead singer Pinky Dauvin. Peacing It All Together was recorded in RCA's Music Centre of the World Hollywood Studios. It includes the Top 40 hit, "The Chant".

In the summer of 1970, Lighthouse represented Canada and Ontario at Expo '70 in Japan. The band appeared at the Strawberry Fields Festival in August 1970, followed by the Isle of Wight Festival where they performed two nights, along with The Doors, Joni Mitchell, Chicago, Miles Davis, and The Who.

At the end of 1970, due to less than expected sales, Lighthouse was dropped from RCA and moved to Evolution in the US and GRT in Canada, recording at Toronto's Thunder Sound Studios. There were some lineup changes; the band dropped from thirteen musicians to eleven, including five original members (Prokop, Hoffert, Cole, Dinovo, and Shore), and Bob McBride became the band's new lead singer.[3]

In July 1971, Lighthouse released One Fine Morning on Evolution/GRT. The title track from One Fine Morning was a hit in Canada, peaking at #2 on Canada's Singles Chart, eventually going platinum.[3][6] The song was also an international and American hit, peaking at #24 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, going gold,[7] and the 'bubbling under' chart in the Netherlands. It was preceded on the Canadian charts by "Hats Off to the Stranger" (#9), yet another gold single. That year the band performed at the anniversary celebration concert in the city of Hamilton.[8]

In between recording albums and touring 300 days a year, the band was involved in the first performances by a rock band with symphony orchestras, a collaboration with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet company, Ballet High, which toured across Canada,[9] and a CBC production of Prometheus Bound with actress Irene Worth.

Thoughts of Movin' On was released on December 8, 1971. The lead single "Take It Slow (Out In The Country)" went to #12 on the Canadian Top 100, going gold. The album also features the hits "I Just Wanna Be Your Friend" (#54) and "I'd Be So Happy" (#32), the latter covered by Three Dog Night on their 1974 album Hard Labor. Both Thoughts of Movin' On and One Fine Morning eventually went platinum in Canada.[10]

Lighthouse Live! was recorded live at Carnegie Hall in February 1972 and released on Evolution/GRT. This was the first time a Canadian album went platinum.

The band returned to the studio later that year releasing another gold album, Sunny Days, on Evolution/GRT. The title track became the band's second Top 5 Canadian hit single and second to go platinum. It was also a Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #34 on December 9, 1972. Hoffert, tired of life on the road, left the band shortly after but continued as the band's executive producer.

During this period of recording from 1970 to 1972 with Evolution/GRT, RCA Records released a double album best-of in 1972 consisting of selections from the first three albums recorded with RCA entitled One Fine Light.

Bob McBride failed to appear at The Record Plant in New York City for the recording of their next album, Can You Feel It, and was fired. Prokop and Cole wanted to scrap the sessions but producer Jimmy Ienner insisted they continue. He decided that whoever wrote the song would sing it.[11] Evolution sold the band's recording contract to Polydor in the US, which reportedly cost the label "six figures". With the exception of "No More Searching", written and sung by new sax player Dale Hillary, Prokop and Cole sang all the vocals and harmonies on the album. The result was one of the band's biggest single releases, "Pretty Lady", which was a Top 10 Canadian hit, and was their final Hot 100 hit in the US, reaching #53. It did better in Hawaii however, where it reached #1 for six consecutive weeks. Both the album and the single went gold in Canada.

Good Day, also on Polydor, was released in mid-September 1974. As with the previous album, the lead vocals were divided between Skip Prokop and Ralph Cole, but Prokop switched to guitar full-time and the drummer was Billy King. The album went gold and produced a minor hit with the title track. It also contains "Wide-Eyed Lady", a song co-written by Bob McBride.

At Thunder Sounds Recording Studios, the band began work on the next album, and had recorded several tracks when Prokop called it quits and left the band. The album was never completed.

Janus/GRT released Best of Lighthouse in January 1975 to capitalize on their past success. The album went gold in Canada.

Paul Hoffert recruited new members and Ralph Cole took the band out for another couple of tours with Doug Billard (formerly a member of Pepper Tree, Central Nervous System, and Five Sounds) as lead vocalist but in 1976 Lighthouse disbanded. Cole toured as Lighthouse once again from 1978 to 1980 with a nearly completely new lineup consisting of only one other previous Lighthouse member, Dale Hillary.[12]

Prokop, Hoffert, Cole, and McBride reunited along with many of the Lighthouse alumni in September 1982 for a weekend of four large concerts at Ontario Place.[8] Afterwards the members went their separate ways and made no future plans.

In 1989, Denon Records bought the rights to the Evolution/GRT recordings and released a greatest hits collection in Canada, The Best of Lighthouse - Sunny Days Again. The re-mix of the album was produced by Hoffert, Cole, Prokop, and McBride.

In 1992, the band reunited with a ten-member line-up which included founders Prokop, Hoffert, and Cole with McBride on vocals. McBride was dismissed several months later. He was replaced by Dan Clancy.

Three years later Song of the Ages, the band's first new studio album in 22 years, was released by Breaking Records. The single, "Remember the Times", was a top-thirty hit in Canada. In 1998 the original master tapes of The Best of Lighthouse - Sunny Days Again were digitally re-mastered and released on CD by True North Records who also re-released Song of the Ages in 1999.

• Gary Starling
• Paul DeLong

• David A Wilson

• Ralph Cole
• Trevor Veitch
• Fred Mandel
• Skip Prokop (on Good Day)

• Awards and nominations

Notes[23][24][25][26][27]