Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Artist: Copperpenny, Album: Made In Canada Our Rock 'N' Roll History Volume 2: Into The 70's, Song: Sitting On A Poor Man's Throne

"I'll never get arrested sitting on a poor man's throne."  Copperpenny were a rock band from Kitchener, Ontario.  They formed in 1965 by members Ken Hollis and Rich Wamil and would also include a revolving cast of musicians before folding in 1976.  The band was originally called, Penny Farthings, but later changed their name to Copperpenny which also happened to be a song by fellow Canadian band, The Paupers, released in 1966.  The band would release their self titled debut in 1970 following some moderate single success during the late sixties.  That album was produced by Jack Richardson (Guess Who).  They would change labels to Sweet Plum Records for their sophomore release in 1973, entitled, Sitting On A Poor Man's Throne.  The title track and one of the singles off the album, was recorded in Detroit with producer Harry Hinde and legendary American engineer, Richard Brecker.  This track has a Staple Singers quality to it and certainly wouldn't sound out of place in the Stax catalogue of hits.  It's a very cool soul track and you can check it out on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMD0kRTyq5s).  The band hit the road and played shows with some of rock's heavyweights during this period.  Led Zeppelin, Bob Seger and Uriah Heep were just some of the headliners they played with across Canada and the U.S..  Only founding member, Rich Wamil, was left by the time they decided to record a third album in 1976.  The band folded shortly thereafter.  The actual album entitled, Sitting On A Poor Man's Throne, is very rare and out of print today.  However, the song was included on a Made In Canada compilation entitled Our Rock 'N' History Volume 2: Into The 70's.  It isn't widely available today either but there was one copy trading on Discogs for $32.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!