History
Terry Crawford Band History
Terry Crawford and Rick Johnson began performing together in a band in 1971 in Winnipeg, Manitoba while attending Charleswood Collegiate. The band was known then as “Crawford”. The other original members were Scott Gair, (bass guitar) Birch Nero (drums) and Tony Ward (vocals and guitar) and later, pianist Allan McDougal. This group remained intact through 1975, performing predominantly in the clubs in Winnipeg while occasionally venturing beyond the Manitoba borders into North Dakota, Minnesota, western Canada and Ontario. Extensive touring in the southern Ontario club circuit from 1974 to 1977 led Terry and Rick to decide to relocate to Toronto. Numerous musicians came and went as Terry and Rick searched for the right combination of personalities.
In 1979, the band consisted of lead vocalist Terry, Rick on guitar, John Hannah on drums, Dale Saunders on keyboards and Al Corbeil on bass guitar. This unit hired manager, Allan Katz who in turn, signed the band to RCA records and they set about recording their first, self-titled album. The album was recorded in Montreal at Listen Audio Studios and was released in the summer of 1980. It was produced by Richard Blakin and Dixon Van Winkle, who had worked with such people as producer Phil Ramone, Paul McCartney and Men without Hats. The first single (Maybe you think I’m a) Dreamer was pick of the week in Billboard magazine in February 1981. Terry received her first JUNO award nomination for Most Promising Female Vocalist based on her work on this first recording.
The band toured Canada extensively through 1980 to ‘82 establishing itself as one of the hardest working Canadian rock/pop acts.
1982 saw the band return to the studio to record their second album for RCA. The album “Good Girl Gone Bad”, was produced by their manager, Allan Katz and Memphis producer, Carl Marsh. This recording opened doors for the band from coast to coast. Singles, “Running’, Get Away”, “Chocolate Candy” and “Gunfighter” received extensive airplay and moved the band several more rungs up the ladder. Jim Elder (bass) joined the band midway through recording of this album. They toured and performed with a variety of acts like Chilliwack, Tom Cochrane, The Romantics, Toronto and The Beach Boys. Terry was again nominated for a JUNO award in 1983. In 2017, the song Gunfighter resurfaced as a huge dance club hit in Europe
They released their third album for RCA, Virgin Heart, in late ’83. This album, produced by the same team as the previous recording, contained their biggest hit single, “One Time for Old Times”. The song, written by Canadian singer/songwriter Gary O’Connor would be released a year later by 38 Special in the US and become a hit for them as well.
Their fourth Terry Crawford album “Total Loss of Control”, was released in late 1986. This recording was on Attic Records and was produced by Tim Thorney and Joel Feeney. Brian Allen of the band, “Toronto” fame also pitched in on the production side. Singles, “I’ll Be Back” and “First Step” received extensive airplay. The band also produced its first video for the song “First Step” which was shown repeatedly on Much Music and a variety of music video shows at the time. They toured across Canada with their old friends, The Beach Boys in the summer of 1987, appearing at such venues as the the Edmonton Coliseum, Calgary’s Saddledome, Winnipeg Arena, The Montreal Forum and Hamilton’s Copps Coliseum. The TCB at that time was Bryan Feland on drums and Charlie Towers on bass.
After 17 years on the road, Terry and Rick decided to establish some roots and purchased a farm northeast of Toronto. They built a recording studio, moved their horse’s home and celebrated the arrival of their first child, Patricia in May of 1988. Son Michael arrived in April of 1990 and while they remained active in many areas of the music business, they stopped touring while the children were young and became full time Mom and Dad!
Terry got involved in jingle (commercials) singing in 1988 and quickly established herself as one of the busiest session singers in Canada. She was the bluesy voice of Budweiser, Benson & Hedges Festival of Fire, Hostess Chips, Coast Soap, Sprite, Coke, Schooner Beer, and Hanes Underwear to name just a few! She also sang on many writers’ demos and guested on other artists' recordings. Terry sang the song, “Broken Dreams” for the movie “Friday the 13th Part 8, Jason Takes Manhattan”
Between 1996 and 2012, Terry, with her husband Rick, wrote and recorded four albums for children and performed in hundreds of schools and events for children across Canada as Terri and Rick. They also got together with Bryan Feland and Dale Saunders to record and release a new album of original material called “Lifelines” in 2010.
Sadly, John Hannah died in 1989 and Bryan Feland passed away in 2022.
In August of 2021, the Terry Crawford Band performed a series of live concerts to celebrate their 50th anniversary in music. The current lineup of Terry Crawford, Jim Elder (bass), Peter Griffin (drums), Rick Johnson (guitar) and Dale Saunders (Keyboards) has recently recorded a new album of songs from four of their previous albums that have never been released in any digital formats. The album, to be released in September of 2024, is titled “One Time for Old Times” contains 12 tracks of which 6 were previous singles in the 1980’s.
Watch for the Terry Crawford Band to be performing live in the spring of 2024.
They look forward to seeing you!
Our Albums
Album #1 The Terry Crawford Band (1980)
This first album by Terry and the band was recorded in Montreal at Listen Audio Studios beginning in the summer of 1979. We recorded 6 tracks and then our manager, Allan Katz, set out to sell it to a label. RCA came on board and signed us in the spring of 1980. The album was completed and released in the fall of 1980.
The first single, “Dreamer” was Pick of the Week in Billboard Magazine in February 1981. The album did not have great sales but attracted enough attention to get Terry nominated for a JUNO Award in 1981. Personal favorite song on the record is “Wanting You”. On a sad note, drummer John Hannah (crouching in the cover photo), who played on our first three recordings and was a member of the band from 1978-84, died in a car accident in 1989.
Album #2 Good Girl Gone Bad (1982)
New production team on this one with Allan Katz, Rich Blakin and Carl Marsh taking charge. We worked with some great extras on Good Girl, (Jazz great, Michel Donato played bass on “Chocolate Candy” was most noteworthy) and had two successful singles, “Running” and “Get Away”.
“Gunfighter” and “Chocolate Candy” received great FM airplay across Canada and in parts of Europe, and opened many doors for us. The cover was shot by Quebec fashion photographer Michel Pilon. Terry also received her second JUNO nomination for this recording in 1982.
In 2017, the song Gunfighter resurfaced as a huge dance club hit in Europe which prompted record label Sony to release the Good Girl Gone Bad album on all digital formats.
Album #3 Virgin Heart (1983)
Same production team (Allan Katz and Carl Marsh) that produced the Good Girl album returned and it was also recorded in Montreal in 1983. The album produced singles, “I’m Sorry” and “One Time for Old Times”. “One Time” got huge airplay across Canada and the band toured extensively in 1983 with the Beach Boys.
Album #4 Total Loss of Control (1986)
No label, new management and a new production team. Tim Thorney and Joel Feeney produced this recording with Bryan Allen (from the band Toronto) also contributing. It was recorded primarily at Metal Works Studio in Toronto. A host of Toronto Session players contributed their talents to this one. (Lou Pomanti, Jorn Anderson, Bernie LaBarge, Earl Seymour, John Johnson and Lenny Solomon) Singles “I’ll Be Back” and “First Step” did well. “First Step” also had a video made for it, which received coverage on Much Music and a number of video outlets. The album was released on Attic Records in Canada
Album #5 Lifelines (2010)
After 20+ years of raising children and dabbling in a number of different
fields, Terry and Rick reunited with Dale Saunders (Keyboards) and
Bryan Feland (Drums and Guitar) to record a new album of original songs. A video for the song “Lifelines” was filmed at the historic Academy Theatre in Lindsay, Ontario.
Christmas Single “Hugs This Christmas” (2022)
Following up on their live performances in 2021 and 2022, the band re-entered the studio to record a new original song for Christmas titled “Hugs This Christmas”. After all that what we all have been through since 2020, we all could benefit from a good hug! The song is available on all digital formats.
Album #6 One Time for Old Times (2023)
The Terry Crawford Band is back in 2023 with a new album!
Original members, Terry Crawford, Jim Elder, Rick Johnson and Dale Saunders - this is the same crew that recorded “Good Girl Gone Bad” and “Virgin Heart” in the 1980’s - along with new drummer, Peter Griffin!
They have re-recorded 12 of their previous songs to regain ownership of the songs and to recapture the magic of their music for a new audience. None of these songs are currently available in a digital format.
Check out the 2023 version of the Terry Crawford Band!