moms and dads

Subject: moms and dads
From:
Date: 23 Feb 02 - 12:57 PM

Dear readers,

Can anyone give me some information about an old (most probably) canadian folkgroup called the 'moms and dads'? As far as I know it's a trio (one lady-two men) from Alberta.

Subject: RE: moms and dads
From: Louie Roy
Date: 23 Feb 02 - 02:37 PM

I have several of their recordings and they are all waltzes but I have no info on them.Louie Roy

Subject: RE: moms and dads
From: katlaughing
Date: 23 Feb 02 - 03:03 PM

Boy, that took a bit of wading through on google; with such a generic name (sorry) all kinds of parenting stuff came up first! Anyway, had some luck, here's a short bio I found:

Naming the group after their main repertoire ("music for mom and dad"), the Moms & Dads polka band were most famous in Canada and Australia, though they originally hailed from Spokane, Washington. After forming in the early '50s around saxophonist Quentin Ratliff, accordion player Leslie Welch, drummer Harold Hendren and matriarchal pianist Doris Crow, the group became popular first in Alberta, Canada, after a Montana radio station played their very first recording, "The Ranger's Waltz." The quartet played around western America and Canada, and became popular for their old-timey, relaxed feel. During the 1970s and '80s, the group recorded dozens of albums for GNP-Crescendo, and even managed to hit the album charts twice in the early '70s. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide

Subject: RE: moms and dads
From: greg stephens
Date: 23 Feb 02 - 03:06 PM

this is seriously interesting. having spent a lot of time playing in dance bands, i wouuld have thought the dancers (or listeners) would get bored with continuous waltzes. what was the trick?

Subject: RE: moms and dads
From: greg stephens
Date: 23 Feb 02 - 03:19 PM

well, i overlapped on a post there. seems they played polkas as well. makes more sense