Recognized as one of the best performing acts of their time, Lighthouse toured 300 days a year including sold out performances at Carnegie Hall, the Fillmore East, Fillmore West, Expo ‘70 in Japan and the Isle of Wight Festival in England. Lighthouse caused such a stir at the Isle of Wight, that thy were the only act asked to perform twice among acts that included The Doors, Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, The Who and Chicago. Back home, their free concerts at Toronto’s Nathan Philips Square attracted one hundred thousand people. Indeed, it’s hard to find a person who lived in Canada through the 1970s who didn’t see the group live. They were Canada’s band.
The emergence of Cancon (Canadian content regulations) influenced by Skip Prokop and Paul Hoffert’s historic appearances before Parliament, allowed the music of Canadians to be heard across the country. Riding the wave, Lighthouse originated the cross-Canada rock tour, playing every major and minor venue across the country. Devoted audiences from province to province took pride in seeing one of their own make it to the top. But let’s start at the beginning…
In the early sixties, drummer Skip Prokop, was a fixture of the Toronto Yorkville Village scene, with his band The Paupers. Managed initially by Bernie Finkelstein, they soon attracted the attention of super-manager Albert Grossman (Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, The Band, Gordon Lightfoot) who landed them a lucrative recording deal that resulted in a top-10 hit in 1966. Skip left the band in ‘68 and became a renowned studio musician, recording with Janis Joplin, Carlos Santana, Peter, Paul & Mary, Mike Bloomfield and Ian & Sylvia among many others.
He was performing his last gig with the Paupers when he ran into Paul Hoffert, a hot young Canadian musician who was in New York working on his off-Broadway musical 'Get Thee to Canterbury'. Paul Hoffert was already an accomplished film composer, arranger and performer who had released his first jazz album at the age of sixteen. On the side, he helped develop one of the first synthesizers at the National Research Council while finishing his degree in Maths, Physics and Chemistry at the University of Toronto.
The next day, by remarkable coincidence, they were seated together on their flight back to Toronto. Skip told him about his idea of putting together a new rock band that combined a jazz quartet, string quartet and rock rhythm section. Intrigued, Paul replied, "If you're going to do it, and you're going to do it in Toronto, call me". And the rest is history.
Skip immediately recruited another musician, guitarist Ralph Cole, whose playing chops he'd admired while passing through Detroit with The Paupers. He convinced Ralph to quit his band, Thyme, pack up all his belongings and leave Kalamazoo, Michigan for Toronto. Ralph arrived eager to play some dates. But Prokop hadn’t told him that the band was not yet assembled, that songs had not been written, and that there was no money available until the first gig. Ralph had to move in with Skip’s parents for several months before he could afford his own place.
As the weeks went by, the concept began to take shape. They assembled a group drawn from friends, studio musicians and Toronto Symphony Orchestra members - the long hairs met the longhairs - to record a six song demo. Lush strings, jazzy horn lines and four-part vocal harmonies added to wailing guitar, funky B3 organ and a liberal dose of psychedelia made up the early Lighthouse sound. The result was unlike anything anyone had ever heard before - a combination of driving rock rhythms, exciting jazz improvisational solos, and soaring orchestral arrangements. Hardly your average three-minute pop tune.
On the advice of friend, folk legend Richie Havens, they took the demo to MGM Records in New York City.Twenty minutes later they had a record deal and a thirty thousand dollar advance. Two days later they had a manager – Vinnie Fusco from Albert Grossman’s office. Now all they had to do was put together a performing band. Lighthouse made its live debut at Toronto’s Rock Pile on May 14, 1969, introduced by none other than Duke Ellington who succinctly stated, "I'm beginning to see the Light…house." Their second gig was at Carnegie Hall. Not a bad beginning!
Their Manager, Vinnie Fusco, brought them to New York to record their first album at the fabled Electric Ladyland Studios. They were in the middle of one of their sessions when Fusco cheerily popped in to announce that he had just signed the band to a hot deal with RCA records for hundreds of thousands of dollars. This was a bit of a shock to Skip and Paul who had already signed with MGM. Fusco didn’t break a sweat as he brokered a backroom deal between the two companies. This was the sixties after all: shit happened!
The next year was magical as they continued to expand their horizons. They played with the Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton and Philadelphia Symphonies as well as the Cincinnati Philharmonic. Based on this experience, Ralph Cole recommended the Edmonton Symphony to Procol Harum’s Gary Brooker who was interested in a similar project. The resulting recording led to the biggest selling album of that British band’s career (Procol Harum Live with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra). Another milestone of this period was the creation of Ballet High, the world's first rock ballet, a collaboration between Lighthouse and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. It debuted at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre in July of 1970, then swept the nation with standing-room-only performances across Canada.
Lighthouse was riding high, performing to packed houses that greeted them with open-mouthed delight. The only thing they lacked was a hit single. These were the days before album rock and there was little room on the AM radio dial for eight-minute songs featuring violin and trombone solos. Despite the growing legion of fans and sold-out concerts, their first three albums had mediocre sales. They were at a crossroads and about to lose their recording contract with RCA.
Enter Bob McBride. His distinctive voice was the catalyst the band needed to enter its next phase. Jimmy Ienner, fresh from his success with Eric Carmen’s hits, signed on as producer, honing the band’s new commercial sound. Prokop took over the majority of the songwriting chores, simplifying the sound and making the songs more radio friendly. The result was the number one album and single, One Fine Morning. From: http://www.lighthouserockson.com/history.html
