If one was deciding to start a new group in Toronto in 1979, what style of music do you think would be chosen? If you guessed that it would be a soulful, funky and groove-happy form of Rhythm & Blues, I suggest you would probably be in the minority. Yet that is exactly what one of Canada’s premiere musicians, the highly renowned bassist Prakash John did. And not only was that band, “The Lincolns” a success, they also landed a record deal and cut one of this country’s best R&B albums in the process.
Prakash grew up in the Toronto of the 1960’s and was deeply involved from a young age in the music scene. He was a member of the seminal Toronto group “Bush” along with Dominic Troiano and Whitey Glan. Following that, he spent time with George Clinton before moving onto work with Lou Reed and Alice Cooper. By 1979 however, he was back in Toronto and ready to start his own group, one that played a style of music he was wanted to play. Prakash envisioned a group that had the style and professionalism of those late ’60’s Toronto rhythm and blues and soul bands that were so influential in his growth as a musician.
When Prakash started the Lincolns, he was determined to put together a first class outfit that could perform the music he envisioned on a consistent basis in that most demanding of situations, regular club work. He understood as someone who had worked very hard on his craft and who had played with some of the best musicians in the business how important it was to have a group that set very high standards for itself, and was capable of reaching them whenever they were on stage. Fortunately for Prakash, within his group of friends there were a number of musicians who fit the bill (and it would not be long after putting the band together that the Lincolns would enter the studio). At this time, the members of the Lincolns were Prakash John as leader and bassist, Danny Weiss on guitar, Michael Fonfara on keyboards (particularly Hammond B3), Jorn Andersen on drums and Steve Ambrose as lead vocalist. All of these players had extensive musical credentials and had performed previously with Prakash. This group was a fixture in the Toronto club scene, and could be seen on many evenings delivering their own unique versions of many soul and R&B classics. The members of the group dressed professionally (no jeans and t-shirts here) and many of the songs featured a degree of choreography from them as well.
By 1983, the group had signed a record deal with Attic Records, a local Toronto label and cut their classic album, “Take One”. The cover picture was a stylized version of the back of a Lincoln Continental with the the letters “P. J.” on the license plate. As would be expected, the seven cuts on the record were classic takes on standard songs from the R&B genre that were performed by the band in the their own unique fashion. The recording quality was first class, with exceptional musicianship by all concerned. Prakash produced and arranged the record, and in addition to the main band members, he brought in other musicians where required to add whatever extra instrumentation he thought was necessary in order to create his vision of the song.
Although the album may not have been a best seller, it was a great representation of a band that would be acknowledged as Canada’s premiere R&B group. The band would become a mainstay at festivals throughout the country, as well as continuing to perform in clubs. One of their highlights would occur in 1988, when they were invited to perform at Wayne Gretzky’s wedding. They were the band selected for the reception portion of the event, and by all accounts killed it.
Prakash John and the Lincolns are a huge part of Canada’s musical heritage. Prakash deserves a great deal of credit not only for his musicianship but for his success in bringing to fruition his musical vision of a classic R&B band, and picking other Canadian musicians to help him achieve his goal.
You're still alive!
ReplyDelete