Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Southpoint Sun - 3
Kingsville musician reminisces about the 70s music scene
By Mark Ribble KINGSVILLE — Over 50 years after his music career began, Bill Loop is still actively involved in the local music scene. His brush with rock and roll stardom takes him all the way back to the 1972 release of Last Song by Edward Bear, a gold record single that put Edward Bear on the map and a song that Bill Loop played the bass guitar on. The song peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March of 1973, edged out only by Killing Me Softly and Dueling Banjos. But prior to that, Bill Loop had already been a successful musician. He began playing guitar as a young boy and — like most young boys interested in music — dreamed of
BILL LOOP
someday being a rock star. Bill joined his first band, the Livin’ Ends, when he was 13 and they played at all of the high school dances and had gigs at concert venues like Surfside 3 in Kingsville, which is now the Lakeside Park Pavilion. After a short stint with Ken Cullen’s New Sound Company, Bill Loop, Bob Nixon, John Unger and Mike Betts formed The Dorians, who had some moderate success with airplay on CKLW from their album Rock Concerto. They recorded Rock Concerto at GM Studios in Detroit after being discovered by famed jazz trumpeter Floyd Jones. One of the singles off the album, Help for My Waiting, climbed the local charts on CKLW and Detroit’s WKNR. The album did very well in Europe but wasn’t able to crack the charts in the U.S. Loop then joined up with Leamington-based group The New Potatoes as they made their way into Toronto’s music scene around 1970. The New Potatoes consisted of Tim Wynveen, Randy Gulliver, Dennis Deporter, Carl Pemminger
and Bill on bass. The New Potatoes recorded two albums and had their own brush with fame as the backup band for Edward Bear, and Loop stuck with Edward Bear as their bass player until 1974. When guitarist Roger Ellis left the group in 1974, Edward Bear disbanded and Loop followed Ellis to California where they soaked up The New Potatoes and Edward Bear on tour in 1972, with a stop in Wheatley at the Gulliver home on Talbot East. From left are John Anderson, Randy Gulliver (sitting), Bill Loop on the back of Bob the warm west- Kendall, Dennis Deporter (on porch), Larry Evoy, Kevin Dawson, Billy (crew), Carl Pemminger, D.J. coast sunshine (crew) and Mr. and Mrs. Gulliver. Photo courtesy of Bill Loop and delved into and the canvas, without music business down, but motely. the CaliforBill says things are startHe also recently met up nia mid-seventies music input from anyone else.” with Roger Ellis and they He has sold quite a few ing to look up. scene. “The pandemic has had recorded some of Roger’s When he returned to of his paintings and finds a tremendous negative af- new material at Larry enjoyment from putting this area, Bill joined up fect on the local and inter- Evoy’s horse ranch near brush to canvas. If you’re with such local musicians national music scene,” he Toronto. Evoy is the voice interested in any of Bill’s as Alexander Zonjic and of Edward Bear. says. “Many venues are work, look him up on Funk E. Fred, playing and simply not hiring musiWhile there, Evoy indiFacebook. recording through the cians in the way they used cated there may be a reMeanwhile, the local years. He also revisited his love music scene is always call- to. When it first hit, every- union tour in the works, for painting and has pro- ing and Bill Loop is hap- thing was at a standstill along with another Canaduced numerous works of py to be doing it full time. for months and now slow- dian group, The StampedHe’s currently playing ly things are beginning to ers. art over the years. Bill Loop told Evoy, He’s happy to have that with Windsor-based band, pick up.” He and the rest of The “I’m in,” so time will tell if the Soulminors. other creative outlet. Of course, the COVID-19 Dorians are working on it materializes. “It’s a little more freepandemic has slowed the some new material reWouldn’t that be cool? dom,” he says. “Just you
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