Lawrence Wayne "Larry" Evoy is a Canadian drummer and songwriter who was the lead singer and founder of the rock band Edward Bear.[1]

Career

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Evoy formed Edward Bear in 1966 with Craig Hemming. With the addition of Danny Marks and Paul Weldon, the band played in the local Yorkville scene in Toronto and landed a recording deal with Capitol Records in 1969.[2]

Their first single, "You, Me And Mexico", was written by Evoy. Released in February 1970, it reached Number 3 on the Canadian chart[3] and number 68 in the U.S. The band embarked on a tour of Canada to support their first album 'Bearings'. Their biggest hit, "Last Song", also written by Evoy,[4] was released in 1972. It was a Number 1 hit in Canada and reached Number 3 in the American charts.[5] Another Evoy song, "Close Your Eyes," also made the top 40 in the U.S., peaking at Number 37.

Evoy fronted the band through various lineup changes from 1972 to 1974, before going on to a solo career. He released a hit record, "Here I Go Again" in 1977.[6] and a recording with Voyage Records in 1978.[7] It became a modest hit in Canada.[8][9]

He went on to run a music publishing business and a small recording studio, and ran a horse farm with his wife[10][11][12] in King City.[13]

In 1995, Evoy received an award from the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada, acknowledging that three of his compositions had sold more than 100,000 copies.[10]

His son, Spencer, fronts London, UK based garage rock band "MFC Chicken".

References

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  1. ^ Bush, John. "Biography: Edward Bear". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
  2. ^ The Canadian Encyclopedia: Edward Bear (accessed 25 June 2006)
  3. ^ "Top Singles – Volume 13, No. 13, May 16 1970". Library and Archives Canada, Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  4. ^ "Inside Track". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 17 March 1973. pp. 70–. ISSN 0006-2510.
  5. ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 308. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  6. ^ David Makin (5 October 2015). Reantasy, Montreal: The book to read, the place to be. AuthorHouse. pp. 26–. ISBN 978-1-5049-5071-8.
  7. ^ "Voyage Label Off, Running with Old Hit". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 26 August 1978. pp. 13–. ISSN 0006-2510.
  8. ^ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 8 April 1978. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  9. ^ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 17 March 1978. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  10. ^ a b "Whatever Became of ... Edward Bear?", Zoomer | 1 January 2006
  11. ^ "No 'Last Song' for Edward Bear". Forever Young, By Mark Kearney & Randy Ray
  12. ^ Mark Kearney; Randy Ray (2004). Pucks, Pablum & Pingos: More Fascinating Facts and Quirky Quizzes from Canada's Trivia Guys. Dundurn. pp. 51–. ISBN 978-1-55002-500-2.
  13. ^ Mark Kearney; Randy Ray (30 September 2006). Whatever Happened To...?: Catching Up with Canadian Icons. Dundurn. pp. 211–. ISBN 978-1-55002-949-9.