Biography
Led by guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Donnie "Mr. Downchild" Walsh, Canada’s foremost blues ensemble remains the Downchild Blues Band. Its saxophone-driven jump blues supplied crucial influence to Dan Aykroyd and the late John Belushi’s Blues Brothers, who placed Walsh compositions “Everything I Need (Almost)” and “Shotgun Blues” on the 1978 debut Briefcase Full of Blues. Walsh and brother Richard “Hock” Walsh launched the group in 1969, after which it navigated steady membership flux. More than 18 players passed through, among them Gene Taylor, later of the Fabulous Thunderbirds, and Kenny Neal, who arrived after parting ways with Buddy Guy and moving to Toronto.
Tensions between the Walsh siblings led to Hock’s dismissal just before sessions for the third album in 1974. Although he rejoined the lineup briefly in 1977 and again in 1985, his lifestyle ended in an apparent heart attack during February 1999. From the early 1990s onward, a steadier roster strengthened the band. Vocalist and songwriter Chuck Jackson, aboard since 1990, earned the Maple Blues Award for Best Male Vocalist of 1999 plus a Toronto Blues Society Blues with a Feeling Award honoring “achievements during a distinguished career.” Former Rhinoceros member Michael Fonfara collected a Maples Blues Award in 2000 as Piano/Keyboards Player of the Year. Drummer Mike Fitzpatrick’s résumé includes work alongside Big Joe Turner, Sonny Rhodes, Hubert Sumlin, and Bob Margolin, plus recordings with Snooky Pryor and B.B. Odom. Bassist Gary Kendall, present on the earliest sides, rejoined following a twelve-year absence spent booking shows at Toronto’s Silver Dollar club; already a 1993 Toronto Blues Society Blues with a Feeling Award recipient, he later received Maple Blues Awards as Bass Player of the Year in 1997, 1999, 2000, and 2002.
Saxophonist Pat Carey continues to define the band’s signature sound. A member since 1985, he had previously performed with the Winnipeg Symphony, the Jimmy King Golden Boy Brass, Tony Faim & the Dukes, and Richard “Hock” Walsh. Beyond crafting horn charts for Canadian acts including Jack DeKeyzer, Big Daddy G, Sonny Fournier, and Chuck Jackson & the All Stars, he has recorded with Rita Chiarelli, Fathead, the Unity Band, Danny Brooks, and Curley Bridges. Honored with Maple Blues Awards as Horn Player of the Year in 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002, Carey also issued the album Starlight with Pat Carey’s Jazz Navigators.
Donnie and Richard “Hock” Walsh grew up in Northern Ontario, where their parents operated a resort hotel, before relocating to Toronto as teenagers. With the Downchild Blues Band they produced one of Canada’s earliest independent albums. Captured over two nights in a makeshift Rochdale College studio, Bootleg was licensed by RCA Victor for release in Canada and Japan. The follow-up Straight Up, issued in 1974, contained the group’s sole hit: a fresh arrangement of Joe Turner’s “Flip, Flop and Fly.”
Tensions between the Walsh siblings led to Hock’s dismissal just before sessions for the third album in 1974. Although he rejoined the lineup briefly in 1977 and again in 1985, his lifestyle ended in an apparent heart attack during February 1999. From the early 1990s onward, a steadier roster strengthened the band. Vocalist and songwriter Chuck Jackson, aboard since 1990, earned the Maple Blues Award for Best Male Vocalist of 1999 plus a Toronto Blues Society Blues with a Feeling Award honoring “achievements during a distinguished career.” Former Rhinoceros member Michael Fonfara collected a Maples Blues Award in 2000 as Piano/Keyboards Player of the Year. Drummer Mike Fitzpatrick’s résumé includes work alongside Big Joe Turner, Sonny Rhodes, Hubert Sumlin, and Bob Margolin, plus recordings with Snooky Pryor and B.B. Odom. Bassist Gary Kendall, present on the earliest sides, rejoined following a twelve-year absence spent booking shows at Toronto’s Silver Dollar club; already a 1993 Toronto Blues Society Blues with a Feeling Award recipient, he later received Maple Blues Awards as Bass Player of the Year in 1997, 1999, 2000, and 2002.
Saxophonist Pat Carey continues to define the band’s signature sound. A member since 1985, he had previously performed with the Winnipeg Symphony, the Jimmy King Golden Boy Brass, Tony Faim & the Dukes, and Richard “Hock” Walsh. Beyond crafting horn charts for Canadian acts including Jack DeKeyzer, Big Daddy G, Sonny Fournier, and Chuck Jackson & the All Stars, he has recorded with Rita Chiarelli, Fathead, the Unity Band, Danny Brooks, and Curley Bridges. Honored with Maple Blues Awards as Horn Player of the Year in 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002, Carey also issued the album Starlight with Pat Carey’s Jazz Navigators.
Donnie and Richard “Hock” Walsh grew up in Northern Ontario, where their parents operated a resort hotel, before relocating to Toronto as teenagers. With the Downchild Blues Band they produced one of Canada’s earliest independent albums. Captured over two nights in a makeshift Rochdale College studio, Bootleg was licensed by RCA Victor for release in Canada and Japan. The follow-up Straight Up, issued in 1974, contained the group’s sole hit: a fresh arrangement of Joe Turner’s “Flip, Flop and Fly.”
Albums
Singles
