Biography
Sparrow came together in Toronto during 1965, growing out of the earlier group Jack London And The Sparrows. Its first roster featured Jack London on vocals, Dennis Edmonton—born Dennis McCrohan in Oshawa, Ontario—on guitar, Jerry Edmonton—born Jerry McCrohan on 24 October 1946—on drums, Nick St. Nicholas—born 28 September 1943 in Hamburg, Germany—on bass, and Art Ayre on organ. This lineup scored a Canadian number 1 with ‘If You Don’t Want My Love’ before London departed in search of a more commercial pop path. John Kay, born Joachim F. Krauledat on 12 April 1944 in Tilsit, Germany, stepped in as his replacement, and when Goldy McJohn, born 2 May 1945, took over from Ayre the classic Sparrow lineup was complete. The five-piece soon dominated the stages of Toronto’s Yorkville neighborhood, delivering raw R&B that suited Kay’s raspy delivery. Their two singles, however, pointed in different directions: ‘Tomorrow’s Ship’ leaned folk rock while ‘Green Bottle Lover’ embraced garage punk. Relocating to Los Angeles in 1967 proved short-lived; the band dissolved after both the musicians and producer David Rubinson expressed dissatisfaction with their last studio sessions. Kay, McJohn and Jerry Edmonton went on to form Steppenwolf, whose signature track ‘Born To Be Wild’ had been written by Dennis Edmonton under his adopted name Mars Bonfire. Nick St. Nicholas later played with Steppenwolf from 1969 to 1970, and that group’s breakthrough prompted the 1970s release of John Kay And The Sparrow, a collection of early demo recordings originally made to win a CBS Records deal.
Albums