The “Golden Hits Of The 70s”
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BELLS
“STAY AWHILE”
(Ken Tobias)
Polydor 15016
No. 7 May 1, 1971
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The Bells started ringing when folksinger Jacki Ralph (b. Surrey, England) first met vocalist Cliff Edwards
(b. Montreal) in 1965 at a ski resort in Montreal. Jacki was performing there, and Cliff was a skier with an
interest in forming a rock’n’roll band. Edwards had noticed local drummer Doug Gravelle (b. Montreal)
playing at a bar; Doug liked the idea of joining Cliff, his sister Annie, and Jacki in a group, and Cliff rounded
up Mickey Ottier. For five years, they worked the Montreal club scene as the Five Bells. In 1968, Polydor
signed them to a recording contract–a few singles were moderately successful on a local level.
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By 1970, the success of groups like the Guess Who and MOTHERLODE laid the foundation for a “Canadian
Invasion.” More and more Canadian groups were tempted to try their luck in the States. Guitarist Charlie
Clarke, bassist Mike Waye, and keyboardist Denny Will joined the Bells. (Annie Edwards, an interim
member and Cliff’s wife, left the group to have a child.) Polydor issued a debut album and began a publicity
campaign in the U.S., where the band started to tour.
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“Fly Little White Dove Fly” (#95, 1971) made an mild showing, yet the slinky, sexy “Stay Awhile” was a
much bigger hit. Their lone stateside moment was penned by Canadian folkie/recording artist Ken Tobias, a
songwriter latter utilized by Anne Murray. The Bells’ follow-up, “I Love You Lady Dawn” (#64, 1971), did
fairly well. But over the course of the year, dissension set in, and by the end of 1971, Denny Will and Jacki
Ralph were gone. They were replaced by keyboardist FRANK MILLS (later of “Music Box Dancer” fame)
and singer Jackie Edwards, Cliff’s sister.
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A second album and more singles were issued in the States–all to no avail. Cliff developed a local following
for a solo career in the ’70s and early ’80s; Jacki retired to the quiet life in Vancouver.