 | Nothing Can Touch Me - The Original Caste The Original Caste started as the North Country Singers in 1966. "The Original Caste" was formed in 1969. The lead part of the group was Bruce and Dixee Lee Innes. Four fifths of the group were native Calgarians. Other songs were "One Tin Soldier" (Billboard top 40) and Mr. Monday. Both of these were #1 in several Canadian cities. The complete band was: Bruce Innes Leader,E.Guitar, Dixie Lee Stone(Innes) Lead Vocal Canada, Bliss Mackie Acoustic Guitar,Vocal, Graham Bruce E.Bass,Vocal, Joe Cavender Drums. Dixie Lee Innes [nee Stone] (vocals) Bruce Innes (lead guitar) Bliss Mackie (rhythm guitar, vocals) Graham Bruce (bass) Peter Brown (drums) Joseph Cavender (drums; replaced Brown 1970) Gary Carlson (bass; replaced Bruce 1972) Dennis Coats (rhythm guitar; replaced Mackie 1972) Richard Harrow (later addtion) Glenn Mundy (later addtion) Julian Kerr (vocals; later addtion) John Dunn (later addtion) Cheryl Morrell (vocals; 2005) Jilla Roberts (vocals; 2006) Bruce Innes, a native of Calgary, Alberta, played guitar with blues legend Josh White while in College. In 1960 he formed the Big Sky Singers, a group voted "Best Vocal Group In The Nation" by Cavalier Magazine. The Big Sky Singers released one record on Dot Records. In 1964 Innes moved to Los Angeles. His songwriting landed him the opportunity to write songs for and perform internationally with LA Dodgers shortstop Maury Wills. In 1967 he formed the Original Caste with future wife Dixie Lee Innes from Victoria, BC. The group's first single was "I Can't Make It Anymore" (1968) which nothing for them or their career. However, with a switch to Bell Records in 1969, the group struck pay dirt after recording "One Tin Soldier" which was one of many tunes written by their production team of Dennis Lambert and Brian Potterthat same year. The song made the Billboard Top-40. Their shot in the US was repeated with "Mr. Monday" which also charted. The two singles combined, worldwide, sold over three million copies. They landed opening slots for the likes of BB King, and Glen Campbell and made numerous TV appearances. Follow-up singles, which didn't fair significantly well in the US actually did quite well in Canada throughout 1970 and 1971. "One Tin Soldier" had a revival of sorts in 1972 when it was featured in the movie 'Billy Jack', however it was not the Original Caste on the soundtrack but rather American singer Jinx Dawson of the US band Coven. The singles made another round at radio and had significant sales after being re-issued but it was not enough to sustain the band who split up by year's end. The husband and wife team of Dixie Lee and Bruce Innes would record together and as solo artists as a continued extension of their Original Caste recording contract with Bell. Eventually the duo created a new version of Original Caste and toured into the late 1970's. During this period Bruce Innes also worked on John Denver's 'Rocky Mountain High' album and contributed songs to Mickey Gilley and Ray Stevens among others. When the band made its final split in 1980 so did the Innes'; Dixie remarried and became a social worker; Bruce began jingle and film score work, remarried and moved to Washington. He currently lives in Idaho. In 2000 Bruce Innes produced country artist Brenn Hill utilizing the help of veteran country/folk singer Ian Tyson; Mackie died in 2004; Joe Cavender now resides in Seattle, Washington; ;Carlson now resides in Bellevue, Idaho; Coats now resides in Sandpoint, Idaho. With the release of 'The Best Of The Original Caste' in Japan in 2005, the original Caste returned to the international scene. Lead by founder Bruce Innes, The Caste features spectacular female vocalist Cheryl Morrell as well as long time stalwart, Gary Carlson as well as back up singers and band. Having experienced incredible success in the Northwest from their homebase in Sun Valley, Idaho, the enjoyed a resurgence in 2005/2006. Dixie Lee moved back to Victoria, British Columbia after the split up. |
العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
Español
