My buddy and I went to the bunkhouse starting in 63. The first act we saw was Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee…we met Les and had a good time. Next it was Jose Feliciano, incredible performance. Les said he was having some English singer the following week. Turned out to be Long John Baldry…blew us away! He sat with us between sets and he loved the vibe in Vancouver and would be returning in a couple of months with other musicians.
Les gave us a call when Baldry had a firm date. For those of you who never saw Baldry…he was
6’ 7” and had a 7’ arm span. He wore a black fedora ( hat) and a cape that came to the floor. For those of you who visited the bunkhouse, you know the “stage “ was not big.
This time there was an upright piano, drum kit,2 mikes and amps. We were blown away!!! The whole time the singer was on stage he kept his back to the audience.
When Baldry did his hootchycootchy thing and spread his arms out, you couldn’t see the rest of the band. After the first set Baldry brought the band over to our table.
Introductions were made all around and I asked the singer why he had his back to us…he said he was trying to get a soulful sound to his voice and if he looked at the audience he would break out laughing…his name was Rod Stewart. The piano player was sitting next to me and very quiet. We talked a little about this and that. His name was Reginald Dwight…(aka Elton John)…
Many people really don’t know how important Vancouver was in the music scene in the early 60’s and into the 70’s