Website www.merceybrothers.com Genre Country music | Years active 1957 – 1989 Origin Hanover, Canada | |
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Awards Juno Award for Best Country Artist/Group Similar Terry Carisse, Dallas Harms, The Mercy Brothers, Marie Bottrell, Carroll Baker | ||
The mercey brothers the great snowman 1969 hq
The Mercey Brothers was a Canadian country music group active from 1957 to 1989.
Contents
The mercey brothers home along the highway
Before they were famous
The Mercey family grew up to music in their household at an early age. Brothers Larry and Ray, formed a country musical group in 1957. Their brother Lloyd joined the group in 1966. Natives of Hanover (which is south of Owen Sound), Ontario, they eventually went on to become (7) seven-time Juno Award winners for "The Top Country Group" and were inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 1989.
Larry Mercey, the eldest of three, was born on December 12, 1939. Larry became a singer and guitarist for the band. Ray Mercey was born on November 21, 1940 and he became a singer and bass guitarist for the band. Lloyd Mercey, the youngest Mercey brother, was born on December 12, 1945 to be a singer and drummer for the band.
The beginning
Larry Mercey sang on the radio station CKNX Barn Dance in 1956, in the neighborhood town of Wingham, Ontario. In 1957, Larry and Ray began to seriously pursue a possible career in music, calling themselves The Mercey Brothers. Inspired by the Everly Brothers, a harmony duo popular in the United States at the time, they patterned their music and their image to resemble them.
Larry and Ray placed second in CBC Television’s Talent Caravan in 1960, and later went on to sign with Chateau Records in 1961. They made their first chart appearance with "Just the Snap of Your Fingers" that same year.
Their career
Lloyd Mercey joined the group in 1966 when he was twenty years old, and together they called themselves The Mercey Brothers. After signing with Columbia Records, they released four RPM chart-topping singles, including "Whistling on the River". In 1968, they released the singles "Uncle Tom", "What’s a Guy to Do?", and "The Great Snowman" under their self-titled album The Mercey Brothers.
Singles such as "Who Drinks My Beer When I’m Gone" and "Ordinary Peeping Tom" came out under albums titled My Song For You (Columbia) and The Mercey Brothers (Harmony) in 1969.
The Mercey Brothers signed with RCA Records in 1970 and had a string of singles hitting the airwaves. At the 1970 Juno Awards, their Canadian peers, winning “Best Country Group or Duo”, honoured them. They went on to win this award for the next four years in a row (1970–1974), and again in 1976.
In 1971, The Mercey Brothers toured England for the first time and made an appearance on BBC television. Their hit singles on the RCA album Have Mercey, were "Hello Mom" and "Who Wrote the Words".
Ray Mercey left the band in 1980 to spend more time with his family. To fill in for Ray’s absence, they brought in bass player Gord Ogilvie and lead guitar Darrell Scott. Over the next few years, artists like Dann Peer, Gord Heins, John Dymond, and Eric Mahar filled in for the band. It wasn’t until 1989 that the Mercey Brothers decided to quit the music industry, and were inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame that same year.
Mercey Brothers sound
In 1973, The Mercey Brothers opened their own recording studio called Mercey Brothers Recording Studio. That gave them more control over their music and general sound of the band. Their studio was in Elmira, Ontario between 1973 and 1980. They also started their own Record Label, MBS (Mercey Brothers Sound) during this period. MBS signed on names such as Terry Carisse, Marie Bottrell and Joan Kennedy.