Song:My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone)
Album:Greatest Hits
Chilliwack had a lot of success in Canada especially in Vancouver through the 70s. My Girl was their biggest hit in 1981. It was their only number one hit in Canada and a top 30 hit in the US. They split up not long after. Chilliwack started out in Vancouver as The Classics in 1964. When they signed with Warner Bros. in 1967, the band name was changed to The Collectors. They recorded two albums and had some minor hits in Canada. When lead singer Howie Vickers left the band, guitarist Bill Henderson became the lead singer and the band name was changed to Chilliwack which is a suburb of Vancouver. Other members were Claire Lawrence on keyboards and sax, Glenn Miller on bass and Ross Turney on drums. Chilliwack was a good band but lacked consistency. They did OK in Canada but had trouble breaking through in the US market. They bounced around a lot of labels like Parrot, A&M, Goldfish and Mushroom. Claire Lawrence left in 1972 to become a record producer. By the 1978 album Lights From The Valley, Miller and Turney left and were replaced by guitarist Brian MacLeod and bassist Ab Bryant. They used session drummers. MacLeod was a key figure because he started writing songs with Henderson. Chilliwack left Mushroom Records and their 1981 album Wanna Be A Star was released by the Casablanca Records label Millennium. My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone) topped the Canadian singles chart and reached #22 on the Billboard Hot 100. It's certainly a memorable song. Chilliwack had a couple more chart singles and recorded the 1982 album Opus X. But MacLeod and Bryant left to form The Headpins and that was the end of Chilliwack. Henderson tried to keep them together with other musicians but wasn't successful. This comp from the Canadian reissue label Solid Gold Records is a good intro to their music. Bill Henderson had the band UHF but he leads Chilliwack today which includes his son Ed Henderson on guitar. And he has two daughters who are singers. He is also president of Songwriters Association of Canada (SOCAN). Here's the video for My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone) by Chilliwack.
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