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John Witmer (born February, 1951;^[1] died July 3, 2004) was a well-respected Canadian blues singer, songwriter and harmonica player, most notable as the lead vocalist for the band Whiskey Howl and the Downchild Blues Band.

History

It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that The Fabricators announce the passing of John Witmer (lead singer). He was truly one of Canada's best blues singer-songwriters. ...John's passing is a great loss to the Canadian music scene, and he will be sadly missed by all his fans, friends and family.

News Announcement, The Fabricators, July 12, 2004.^[2]

Described as "one of Toronto's great blues singers from the late '60s to the mid-'80s",^[3] with "a raspy vocal style", ^[4]John Witmer co-founded the seminal Canadian blues band, Whiskey Howl in 1969, when he was eighteen years old.^[5] The Toronto-based Whiskey Howl, along with the Downchild Blues Band, also formed in 1969, were two of the principal influences in the development of Canadian blues music.

One of Witmer's first professional engagements with Whiskey Howl was as one of the acts playing at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival in September of 1969.^[5]This was a one-day festival, featuring an historic appearance by John Lennon and The Plastic Ono Band, and which resulted in the release of the album Live Peace in Toronto 1969.

Despite the early success and promise of Whiskey Howl, the band broke up as of 1972, shortly after the release of their first album. Witmer continued to sing locally through the balance of the 1970s, rejoining Whiskey Howl for a reunion concert that resulted in the band's second album release, Live At The El Mocambo, in 1981.

Between 1982 and 1986, Witmer was the lead singer of the Downchild Blues Band, one of three singers^[6] who replaced Downchild co-founder Richard "Hock" Walsh,^[7] during various periods when Walsh either left the band or was fired as Downchild's lead singer.^[8] He recorded one album with Downchild, But I'm On The Guest List (1982), recorded live at Toronto's El Mocambo club, after Downchild had regrouped following the untimely death of band member Jane Vasey.^[9]

Witmer relocated to Vancouver in the late 1980s, where he joined The BelAirs, a band that existed between 1985 to 1995, after which it became known as The Fabricators.^[10][11] The Fabricators were described by the West Coast Blues Review as "one of Vancouver's hottest R&B acts". The music with which Witmer was associated at the time was described as "the raw & powerful Delta and Chicago Blues, rhythmic New Orleans and Tex-Mex tunes, old rock and roll gems, the smooth urban sounds of Detroit and Philadelphia, as well as many original compositions."^[12] During this same period and for the last fifteen years of his life, Witmer was an employee of the British Columbia Institute of Technology, where he worked with Larry Smith, co-founder of The BelAirs and The Fabricators.^[1] The Fabricators, established in 1995 as a successor band to The BelAirs, broke up in 2002,^[11] and was Witmer's last band. He ceased performing after the band's breakup.^[1] Witmer died suddenly^[13] two years later, on July 3, 2004, at the age of 53. He was survived by his second wife, a daughter and two sons.^[1][13]

In the week following his death, a memorial service was held for John Witmer in Vancouver, attended by family, musical contemporaries and colleagues from the British Columbia Institute of Technology.^[1] In Toronto, on July 27, 2004, John Witmer was remembered by his Toronto family^[14] and colleagues in music through an additional memorial service.^[3]

Discography

Whiskey Howl

• 1972 Whiskey Howl (Warner Bros. Records; CD Release 2008, Pacemaker)^[15]
• 1981 Live At The El Mocambo (As The Whiskey Howl Big Band; CD Release 2005, re-release 2009, Solid Gold)^[16][17]

Downchild Blues Band

• 1982 But I'm On The Guest List (Attic)

The BelAirs

• 2008^[1] BelAirs Live 85-95 (Independent)

The Fabricators

• 2001 The Fabricators (Independent)^[18]

Contributions To Others

• 2000 Michael Pickett,^[19] Conversation With The Blues^[20]

Compilations

• 1992 Canadian Blues Masters K-tel; cassette-only release.^[21]

• 2002 Vancouver BC's Best Blues, Vol. 1^[22] (Raw Records)^[23]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} E-mail correspondence with Larry Smith, co-founder of The BelAirs and The Fabricators, September, 2009.
2. ^ As reprinted at to-nightmagazineforum.
3. ^ ^{a b} Toronto Blues Society, Notice of Death of John Witmer, "Loose Blues News", September, 2004;www.torontobluessociety.com.
4. ^ John Valenteyn, John's Blues Picks, October, 2005, in describing Witmer's vocal style as comparable to that of Robert Johnson, of the more recent band Blues Tribe; www.torontobluessociety.com.
5. ^ ^{a b} Whiskey Howl - The First Year 1969-70; www.livinblues.com.
6. ^ The others being Tony Flaim (d. 2000, heart attack, age 52) and Chuck Jackson. Jackson succeeded Hock Walsh permanently as of 1990, when Walsh was fired for a final time by Downchild co-founder and brother Donnie Walsh; see Downchild Blues Band.
7. ^ Who died on New Year's Eve, 1999, at the age of 51, of an apparent heart attack.
8. ^ See general description of Downchild lead singer succession at Downchild Blues Band.
9. ^ Who died in July of 1982, at the age of 32, of leukemia.
10. ^ Profile of The BelAirs; www.belairs.net.
11. ^ ^{a b} See Profile of The Fabricators at Pacific Northwest Bands; www.pnwbands.com.
12. ^ Liner notes to Vancouver BC's Best Blues, Vol. 1; www.rawrecords.com.
13. ^ ^{a b} John Witmer Death Notice, The Toronto Star, July 24, 2004, as reprinted in to-nitemagazineforum.
14. ^ Witmer's parents and siblings (a brother and a sister) also survived him; see John Witmer Death Notice, The Toronto Star, July 24, 2004, as reprinted in to-nitemagazineforum.
15. ^ allmusic listing; www.allmusic.com.
16. ^ allmusic listing; www.allmusic.com.
17. ^ As noted by one reviewer in relation to this live performance, "No other band would do an a capella version of 'Rock Island Line'... 'Mother Earth', 'Early in the Morning' and 'Let The Good Times Roll' are standards here now because of this band. These performances still hold up today." John's Blues Picks, November, 2005; www.torontobluessociety.com.
18. ^ As reviewed by John Taylor, "there's an almost palpable sense of 'soul survivor' to this project. It's almost a relic, insofar as we don't get these often anymore: collections of blue-eyed soul and R&B played with impeccable taste and infectious enthusiasm by road-hardened veterans. ...Ultimately it's Mr. Witmer's vocals that make The Fabricators something special; reminiscent at times of the late, great Hock Walsh, there are also hints of Boz Scaggs and some Patrick Vining in there. But John isn't trying to imitate anyone; it's simply that his is a voice up there with the greats." Review of The Fabricators, "Blues On Stage", October, 2001; www.mnblues.com.
19. ^ Witmer's first association with Pickett was in Whiskey Howl in the early 1970s; see Whiskey Howl.
20. ^ Credited as arranger; see Larry Belanger, Review of Conversation With The Blues; AllMusic Review, as reprinted at www.answers.com.
21. ^ One song by the BelAirs, "Try Me". Also featured on the release were the Downchild Blues Band, Long John Baldry, The Powder Blues Band, Dutch Mason, King Biscuit Boy, Amos Garrett, Morgan Davis, The Blues Busters, The Demons and Neil James Harnett. See Particulars of Canadian Blues Masters; www.worldcat.org.
22. ^ One song by The Fabricators, "Heaven Bound". See Toronto Blues Society, "Raw Records Blues Compilation", "Loose Blues News", June, 2002; www.torontobluessociety.com.
23. ^ Seattle-based record company; www.rawrecords.com.