ArtistInfo

Brother

Band, CA
Rock

Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba, active from 1969-1970, with brief reunions in 1971 and 1994. Formed at the end of 1969 by Vance Schmidt (drums, vocals), Kurt Winter (guitar, vocals), and Bill Wallace (2) (bass, vocals), the band were together for less than six months. All three were seasoned members of Winnipeg's rock music scene. Disenchanted with the politics of booking agents and the music union at that time, as well as the music being produced by other acts, the band formed as a collective, sharing lead vocals, writing credits, and management duties. While short-lived, the band is legendary for it's connection to prominent top-ten Canadian rock band The Guess Who. When founding member, guitarist and songwriter Randy Bachman left the group suddenly in 1970, band leader Burton Cummings recruited Brother guitarist Kurt Winter, who joined The Guess Who and took some of Brother's songs with him, including "Hand Me Down World" and "Bus Rider". Both songs became chart hits for the band. Later Guess Who singles "Rain Dance" and "Running Back to Saskatoon" were also based on Brother songs. Cummings himself has said that “there were umpteen things that The Guess Who ended up kind of stealing from Brother’s repertoire once Kurt joined the band. Brother reunited in the studio in 1971 to record two songs: "Sending Money" and "Second Time Around The Woodpile", in a session financed by Kurt Winter. The songs were released as a single, but failed to attract any attention. Vance Masters re-released the single on CD in 2001, selling it from his web site. One final Brother reunion took place in February 1994, at a benefit for the Museum of Man and Nature’s rock ‘n’ roll exhibit

Members

	Kurt Winter g, voc 1946-1997 CA
	Bill Wallace b, voc *1949 CA
	Vance Schmidt dr CA

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