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Prairie Oyster

Prairie Oyster. Country-rock band. It was formed in Toronto in 1975 by Keith Glass (guitar), Denis Delorme (pedal steel guitar), Russell deCarle (vocals, bass guitar), and others, and worked locally (notably at the Horseshoe Tavern) until 1978.

Prairie Oyster. Country-rock band. It was formed in Toronto in 1975 by Keith Glass (guitar), Denis Delorme (pedal steel guitar), Russell deCarle (vocals, bass guitar), and others, and worked locally (notably at the Horseshoe Tavern) until 1978. After a hiatus in which Glass, deCarle, and others formed the Glass Band, Prairie Oyster was revived in 1983 with the addition of Joan Besen (piano), John (J.P.) Allen (violin, mandolin) and John Adames (drums, replaced in 1986 by Bruce Moffett) and drew its style from 1950s country and rock, and their southern US variants. The group's early singles were mildly successful - eg, "Rain, Rain" (1985), "Man in The Moon" (1986) and "Play Me Some Honky Tonk Music" (1987), the last two from its debut LP Oyster Tracks (Stony Plain SLP-1093).

Prairie Oyster had major hits in Canada (and some US success) in 1990 with "Goodbye, So Long, Hello" and "I Don't Hurt Anymore" and in 1991 with "Lonely You, Lonely Me" and "Something to Remember You By," all from Different Kind of Fire (RCA/BMG 2049, CD and cass). The band maintained its itinerary of nightclubs and taverns and also toured in the USA with k.d. lang and across Canada with Clint Black. Its third album, Everybody Knows (RCA/BMG 6013, CD and cass), issued in 1991, included the popular "Did You Fall in Love with Me?" and "One Precious Love." The band received Juno Awards in 1986, 1987 and 1991 as country group of the year, CCMA awards in 1990 for single ("Goodbye, So Long, Hello") and band of the year and in 1991 for band and song (Besen's "Lonely You, Lonely Me") of the year, and Big Country Awards in 1991 for top group and single ("Goodbye, So Long, Hello") of the year. Following a long hiatus, the band released One Kiss, an album of new material, in 2006. The band received the SOCAN national achievement award in 2011.

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