The Water System

Our home brew garden watering system has entered beta testing in the backyard. The software runs on a raspberry pi and the scheduling logic is represented as a set of javascript commands which result in relays being turned on and off which control water flow.

This is the initial plan with four zones laid out in the back garden.

Each zone runs a schedule which turns the zone on for some duration and then turn it off; this runs on various days of the week.

Originally all 4 zones would come on simultaneously but running them one by one results in better water pressure.

Here is the outside zone controller, cobbled together from bits and pieces. Most of the stuff is basic garden equipment and the local hardware store has is covered.

The manifold splits into 4 lines and each can be individually turned off.

The 12 volt DC solenoid valves were an EBay purchase - they were something like $8.00 each and came from offshore and so took a while. They work perfectly and operate on a simple mechanism. No power = closed.

The control box is in the basement right by the wall where the 6-conductor wire goes through.

The raspberry pi runs a java/spring/boot application and relies on the excellent pi4j library to control the GPIO outputs to the relays.

The relays allow the raspberry pi 3 volt supply to switch on/off the 12 volts needed to cause the solenoid to allow water to flow.

Some pictures of the happy garden.

Pink Refrigerators

The era of the pink fridge was the best time for home appliance purchases.

The White Knights

The White Knights hailed from Regina Saskatchewan - they formed in 1963 and in 1966 put out two singles on Gaeity Records (#117 and #121). From the first single, here is ‘Love That’s True’:

And from their second single a-side is ‘Promise Her Love’:

They subsequently dropped the white suits and hair dye, changed their name to Tomorrow’s Keepsake, and put out one final single (on RCA) - here is the b-side Elevator Operator:

Finally, from the Gaiety vaults here is “Eat Your Hotdog, Boy”:

Barry Keating (lead guitar, lead vocals)
Richard Gettle (rhythm guitar, bass, organ, vocals)
Vern Hoffert (bass, harmonica, vocals)
Art Zimmerman (drums, vocals).

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The Quiet Jungle

Eddie Shack joined the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1961 and would go on to win a number of Stanley Cups with the team. In 1966, the song “Clear The Track, Here Comes Shack” was a hit in Toronto. With lyrics like “he knocks ‘em down and he gives ‘em a whack” it’s easy to see why - the song went to #1 on 1050 CHUM and stayed on the charts for 9 weeks:

The band was Douglas Rankine and the Secrets, who had just put out their first single (“Cryin’ Over Her” b/w “He Treats You Bad“ on Arc records). Soon enough the only thing people wanted to hear at their live shows was the shack track, so in 1967 they changed their name to The Quiet Jungle and distanced themselves from the novelty hit. Their first single on Yorkville Records was “Ship Of Dreams” b/w “Everything”. Here is the b-side:

They shared their next single with R. Dean Taylor - he had the a-side with “At The High School Dance“ with the Quiet Jungle’s track “Ship Of Dreams” as the flip. Their third single was “Too Much In Love” b/w “Make Up Your Mind”. Here is the a-side:

In 1967, Arc Records in Toronto decided to cash in on The Monkees craze, and so they put out the LP “A Little Bit Me” which was an album with tracks by The Quiet Jungle covering Monkee’s hits (the band name does not appear on the album). From the liner notes: “… we know you will find this salute to the fabulous four right out of sight”. Arc Records released “The Story Of Snoopy’s Christmas” in 1968, again with The Quiet Jungle as band (credited this time) doing Christmas songs. From the Monkee’s album, here is “Stepping Stone”:

in 1968, the band appeared on a compilation album on the Yorkville label, this time calling themselves “The Scarlet Ribbon“. From the CTV “After Four” album, this is “Four In The Morning“:

Below are the album covers for “A Little Bit Me”, “The Story Of Snoopy’s Christmas”, “After Four”, and also the cover of “Let’s Spend The Night Together” on Arc Records - a “salute” to the Rolling Stones and other British bands - that’s Douglas Rankine on the cover.

From the Story of Snoopy’s Christmas, here is “Marshmallow World”:

Understanding Computers

In 1986 Time Life books put out their “Understanding Computers” series of 24 books which cover the basics of computing - the series is a snaphot of the technology at the time just before the internet changed everything.

From the volume on Artifical Intelligence here is a story of a robot who learns to distinguish between greedy and generous dragons in order to get the gold to fill the pot at the end of the rainbow.

From this volume, here’s 4 more pages used as chapter intros:

Software Development

A key step in any Software Developent Life Cycle - the developer demos the latest release to the business owner while management adds value.

The image is from 1973 btw, courtesy of Toronto Public Library.

Support your community library before a despicable politican and his stooges take it away.

Private Property

This is the second post on Shirley Matthews because more Shirley Matthews is a good thing. In 1964 Atlantic records put out a 45 rpm 7” EP with the 4 tracks from her first 2 singles which released only in France - it’s attributed to ‘Shirley Matthews Et Les Big Town Girls’.

Tracks from the first single are on a previous post (see here); below are the two tracks from the second single (“Private Property” and “Wise Guys”) and below that the artwork from the EP 45 - zut alors c’est très bien.

Mary Saxton

Mary Saxton’s first two singles are from 1966 on Pace records out of Edmonton AB - recorded when she was 16 years old (she was born Mary Podmoroff in High River Alberta). The singles were produced by Gary Paxton, who had already produced two #1 hit singles (“Alley-Oop” in 1960 and “The Monster Mash” in 1962). From her second single here is the Holland-Dozier-Holland penned “Ask Any Girl”, previously recorded by the Supremes in 1964:

Her first album is called “Sad Eyes” and was released in 1969 on Birchmount records - it contains more great tracks such as “Take My Heart”:

Here’s “A Tear” which is one of four tracks on the album written by Gary Paxton:

Okay one more - the final track on Sad Eyes is “Lonely World” written by Mavis McCaullay:

And finally, here is Susan Jacks and band with Mary Saxton on background vocals and a sweet rendition of “Which Way You Goin’ Billy”:

Susan Jacks live at Blue Frog Studios in September 2012 with:

David Sinclair - Guitars
Bill Sample - Keyboards
Brian Newcombe - Bass
Shawn Soucy - Drums
Mary Saxton - Vocals
Zak Sinclair - Acoustic Guitar

Hey compilation folks - a retrospective is in order here.

The Checkerlads

The Checkerlads were a band from Regina, Saskatchewan, formed in 1963 by Arnie Sanns, Bob Stevens, Larry Reich, Harvey Frasz, and Bob Edwards. They put out 3 singles in 1966 on Gaiety Records - a label started by Don Grashey and Lloyd Palmer in Winnipeg, Manitoba which released a whole bunch of Canadian bands during the years from 1961 through 1969.

Here is “So Much In Love With You” a Jagger/Richards composition which was never recorded by the Rolling Stones:

And this is “Shake Yourself Down” which crops up on a bunch of garage band compilations (often credited to the Checker Lads):

The Checkerlads were:

Arnie Anns (bass, vocals)
Bob Stevens (guitar)
Larry Reitch (guitar, vocals)
Harvey Frasz (dums)
Bob Edwards (organ)

The Afterthought

Here’s a couple of posters for happenings at the Afterthought club in Kitsilano, Vancouver in 1966. The Afterthought was owned by promoter Jerry Cruz who started booking bands in 1965 (when he was 17). He booked major San Francisco bands to play the Afterthought and as well as a who’s-who of local Vancouver bands.

The posters are part of the Suddon Collection at the Yonge/Bloor branch of the Toronto Public Library. Highly recommended to visit and look at the old Toronto ephemera.

R. Dean Taylor

R. Dean Taylor is a Toronto born recording artist, songwriter and record producer who worked for Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. Taylor's credits include such hits as "Love Child" and "I'm Living In Shame" by the Supremes, "All I Need" by the Temptations, "I'll Turn To Stone" by the Four Tops, and "Just Look What You've Done" by Brenda Holloway.

He put out a bunch of terrific singles in the 60s, for example“There’s A Ghost in My House” (Tamla Motown ‎VIP-25042) from 1967:

Taylor had a huge hit in 1970 with “Indiana Wants Me” which went to #1 in Canada and the US.

The following is a clip of R. Dean Taylor with “Don’t Fool Around“ (the flipside of “There’s A Ghost In My House”) broadcast on the Dutch tv program TopPop in 1974:


Farming

The Trump administration rolls out the new Computer’s for Agriculture stimulus program to farms across the midwest.

The Supremes

When the Supremes arrived at Toronto Intrernational Airport, 1966.

Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, and Diana Ross.

Pictures by Boris Spremo, courtesy of Toronto Public Library.

The Allan Sisters

Jackie and Coralie Allan were born in Edmonton and started singing from a young age - they moved to Toronto as a duo country act and ended up as regulars on the Tommy Hunter show from 1966 through 1977; during this time put out a number of singles and 3 albums and almost all of it sounds exactly like you’d expect from Country Hoedown artists.

However, the Allan Sisters released a couple of singles penned by songwriter Al Rain which are standouts - here is “I’m In With The Downtown Crowd” which got picked up by the Northern Soul scene:

The flipside is “Give It Up Girl”:

The Eighth Day

The Eighth Day was formed when Ron Grant and Dave Jensen moved from Victoria BC to Toronto and joined with Roger Collier and Terry Danyleyko - they signed with GRT Records Canada and their debut single was also the first single released by the label (GRT 901) in 1969. As is sometimes the case, the b-side of the single is more fun, so first up here is “Bring Your Love Back”:

Followed by the flip side: '“Hear The Grass Grow”:

Ron Grant (lead guitar)
Dave Jensen (vocals)
Roger Collier (drums)
Terry Danyleyko (bass)

They disbanded when Jensen left to go solo in early 1970 - he put out one single (Quality 1957X) which is unobtainable.

The Dirty Shames

The Dirty Shames were a Toronto pop/folk band active from 1964 to 1967. They moved to New York and became regulars at Andy Warhol’s The Dom club, and opened for the Velvet Underground. The lineup included singer Carol Robinson and guitarist Amos Garrett who would go on to play with Ian and Sylvia, Maria Muldaur (that’s his guitar solo on “Midnight At The Oasis”) and a host of other bands.

The band put out two singles on Philips records, neither of which were released in Canada. The first single contained a cover of the Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Coconut Grove” paired with their self-penned “Walk Away”. From their second single here is “Blown Your Mind” which is the standout track:

Carol Robinson, Amos Garrett, Chick Roberts and Jim McCarthy.

Pictures courtesy of Toronto Public Library.

Big Town Boys

Shirley Matthews and the Big Town Girls had a huge hit with the song “Big Town Boy” in 1963. The backing band was a group of Canadians led by singer Tommy Graham - based on the success of the single, they named themselves The Big Town Boys and started putting out a number of singles and one LP (in 1966, the eponymous Big Town Boys, Capitol KAO 6168). From that LP here’s is “Put You Down” :

And here is “August 32nd” which is the b-side of a single they put out in 1966 (Bell records 653):

They toured across Canada several times, and for over a year they were the host band for CTV’s After Four television show. They moved to Toronto in 1967 and recorded a couple singles for Yorkville records under the name BTB-4, including “Tell Me” (the flip side of which is on a compilation album called “Yorkville Evolution“ YVM33001).

In 1968 the Big Town Boys split up and lead singer Tommy Graham travelled the world for a couple of years before landing back in Toronto in 1970 to pick up on his solo career. The lineup of the Big Town Boys was:

Josh Collins (percussion, vocals)
James Ardnt (tenor sax, vocals)
Tommy Graham (guitar & vocals)
Brian Massey (bass, harmonica, vocals)
John Henderson (guitar, Hammond organ, vocals)
Michael Lewis (brass, keyboards; left in 1964 on scholarship to Germany)

Shirley Matthews

Shirley Matthews was born in Harrow Ontario - she sang in a church choir and at high school dances prior to embarking on a career in music. She moved to Toronto and worked in a Bell Telephone office while singing nights at the age of 19 at the Club Bluenote, and was discovered by an associate of Bob Crewe (who managed the Four Seasons) and so she went to New York to sign a record deal - the resulting debut single "Big Town Boy" by “Shirley Matthews and the Big Town Girls“ was a major hit in Canada - it debuted on the 1050 CHUM chart on December 2 1963 - the same day as "She Loves You" by the Beatles. Here is “Big Town Boy”:

And the flip side “You Can Count On That”:

Her next single (“Private Property” / “Wise Guys“) was not nearly as successful as her first. Her third single consisted of two tracks by producer Bob Crewe: “He Makes Me Feel So Pretty” b/w “Is He Really Mine” - here is that b-side first:

And here is the a-side “He Makes Me Feel So Pretty”:

The following is clip is from CBC-TV's 'Music Hop' in 1965 with “Big Town Boy”. The backing trio are Stephanie Taylor, Diane Miller and Rhonda Silver.

She had one final single (“Stop the Clock'“ / “If Had to Do It All Over Again'“) which tanked and she subsequently quit the music business; she eventually ran a chain of successful racquetball and fitness clubs near Toronto.

Shirley Matthews: 1942 to 2013-01-08

Tobi Lark and Toronto

Bessie Grace Gupton was born in Alabama and grew up in Detroit singing gospel music with the Emma Washington Gospel Singers starting at age nine. Her first recording was “Deed I Do” in 1963 as Bessie Watson, backed by the Cannonball Adderly Quintet. She also recorded a number of singles under the name Tobi Lark.

In the mid-60s she moved to Montreal Canada and played at Expo ‘67, then moved to Toronto and worked with Ronnie Hawkins. In 1970, she recorded “We’re All In This Together“ live at St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church with a gospel choir of about 80 singers and local musicians (including lead guitar by Kim Mitchell). The song made it to 38 on the RPM charts in 1970 - it’s a stunning performance:

In 1968 she recorded ‘Time Will Pass You By‘ in Detroit which was released under the name Tobi Legend - it didn’t do much until it got picked up by the Northern Soul scene in the UK (in particular as one of the “3 Before 8” closing songs after all-nighters at the Wigan Casino club). As a result, it features on a number of Northern Soul compilations - here is the great Time Will Pass You By:

Images courtesy of Toronto Public Library - you should go!

Jackie Shane

RIP to the great, underappreciated Jackie Shane.

May 15, 1940 to February 22, 2019.