imported>OpalYosutebito: /* top */ Fixed unknown params

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{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Billy Bryans
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name = William Taylor Bryans
| alias =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1947|09|15}}<ref name=CanEncyc>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Parachute Club |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/emc/parachute-club |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia/The Encyclopedia of Music in Canada |publisher=The Dominion-Historica Institute |access-date=2012-04-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024204627/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/emc/parachute-club |archive-date=October 24, 2012 |location=Toronto |year=2012 |url-status=dead |df=mdy }}</ref>
| birth_place = [[Montreal]], Quebec, Canada
| death_date = {{death date and age|2012|4|23|1947|09|15|mf=yes}}<ref name="Death announced" />
| death_place = [[Toronto]], Ontario, Canada
| instrument = Vocals, drums, percussions
| genre = [[Funk]], [[Rock music|rock]], [[World music|world]]
| occupation = Musician, songwriter, producer
| years_active = 1967–2012
| label = RCA, Current WAVE-2
| past_member_of = [[The Parachute Club]], [[Dutch Mason]], [[Downchild Blues Band]], M.G. & The Escorts
}}

'''William Taylor Bryans'''<ref name=jennings /> (September 15, 1947 – April 23, 2012) was a Canadian percussionist, songwriter, music producer and DJ, known as one of the founders of [[The Parachute Club]], among other accomplishments in music. As a producer, he worked on projects for artists as diverse as [[Dutch Mason]], [[Raffi (musician)|Raffi]], [[Lillian Allen]] and the [[Downchild Blues Band]].<ref name = CanEncyc/> He was born in Montreal, but spent most of his adult life in Toronto, and was particularly supportive of [[world music]] as both a promoter and publicist, focusing on bringing [[Caribbean music in Canada|Caribbean]], [[music of Cuba|Cuban]] and [[Latin American music]] to a wider audience.

== Career ==

Bryans' childhood was spent in [[Pointe-Claire]], Quebec, where he was associated with his first professional band, M.G. and The Escorts.<ref name="M.G. & Escorts">{{cite web |last=Kit |first=Chas |title=M.G. and the Escorts |url=http://www.garagehangover.com/?q=MGEscorts |work=Garage Hangover |publisher=Chas Bishop |access-date=2012-04-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509155548/http://www.garagehangover.com/?q=MGEscorts |archive-date=May 9, 2012 |date=August 10, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy }}</ref> This band released three singles, and primarily played in the area bounded by Montreal, [[Ottawa]], [[Brockville, Ontario|Brockville]] and [[Kingston, Ontario|Kingston]],<ref name="M.G. & Escorts" /> including gigs at [[Expo 67]] and as the opening act at a Montreal concert by [[The Beach Boys]].<ref name=jennings /> Bryans was also a high school friend of [[Jack Layton]], and was credited by Layton with giving him the advice that led to his being elected president of their high school student council.<ref name="Death announced" />

After graduating with a degree in English literature from [[Sir George Williams University]],<ref name=jennings>[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/billy-bryans-eclectic-musical-tastes-took-him-far/article2411780/page1/ "Billy Bryans’ eclectic musical tastes took him far"]. ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', April 23, 2012.</ref> Bryans moved from Montreal to Toronto with his group Theodore's Smokeshop in 1970,<ref name="Now OBIT" /> and soon developed a reputation as a musician, engineer and record producer in the burgeoning counterculture scene around [[Rochdale College]].<ref name=jennings /> He quickly became associated with the [[Downchild Blues Band]], including as producer of the band's first notable hit single, "[[Flip, Flop and Fly]]",<ref name=jennings /> and as the engineer on the band's seminal debut album, [[Bootleg (Downchild Blues Band album)|''Bootleg'']] (1971),<ref name="AllMusic Credits">{{cite web|title=Billy Bryans Credits|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p148908/credits|work=allmusic|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=2012-04-23|location=Ann Arbor, Michigan|year=2012}}</ref> thought to be the first artist-produced and independently distributed album in Canadian history.<ref name="Now OBIT">{{cite news|last=Cole|first=Susan G.|title=In Memoriam: Toronto musician Billy Bryans dies, spirit of Queen West was always changing it up|url=http://www.nowtoronto.com/daily/music/story.cfm?content=186321|access-date=2012-04-23|newspaper=Now Magazine|date=April 23, 2012|location=Toronto}}</ref> In 1972, Theodore's Smokeshop, now renamed Horn, recorded its only album, ''On the People's Side'', with Bryans performing as percussionist, sound remixer and co-producer.<ref group="Note">Horn was composed of Bryans on drums, with Les Clackett (vocals), Bruce Barron (guitar), Alan Duffy (bass), Gary Hynes (guitar), Wayne Jackson (trumpet) and David De Launey (keyboards). Both Bryans and Jackson would later become members of The Downchild Blues Band, with Bryans also acting as Downchild's producer. See Vernon Joynson, [http://alextsu.narod.ru/borderlinebooks/canada/canada_f.html Dreams, Nightmares & Fantasies (Canada)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090301050826/http://alextsu.narod.ru/borderlinebooks/canada/canada_f.html |date=March 1, 2009 }} for band membership and discography.</ref>

During the 1970s, Bryans continued to develop his reputation as a musician, engineer and producer, working on records by the Time Twins, The BobCats and the Downchild Blues Band.<ref name=jennings /> [[Daniel Lanois]] credited Bryans' sonic experimentation as one of the inspirations behind the development of his own distinctive production style.<ref name=jennings />

In 1979, he was introduced to [[Lorraine Segato]], who was then the lead singer and a principal songwriter with [[Mama Quilla II]]. This began a long musical collaboration. Their first collaboration was the band V, playing a mix of [[funk]], [[soca music|soca]] and [[reggae]] music with Mojah, then the lead singer of the Toronto reggae band Truth and Rights.<ref name=Fernie>{{cite web |last=Fernie |first=Lynn |title=A Short History of the Parachute Club (til 2005) |url=http://pclubblog.wordpress.com/2008/07/18/a-short-history-of-the-parachute-club-til-2005/ |work=PCClubBlog |publisher=Parachute Club/Wordpress |access-date=2012-04-23 |date=November 10, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220080540/http://pclubblog.wordpress.com/2008/07/18/a-short-history-of-the-parachute-club-til-2005/ |archive-date=February 20, 2012 |url-status=dead |df=mdy }}</ref> Bryans also sometimes performed with Mama Quilla II; as the only man performing with an otherwise all-female band, his bandmates jokingly gave him a T-shirt which read "Token Male".<ref name=jennings/>

The next collaboration of Bryans and Segato was the Parachute Club. Prior to that time, Bryans was the drummer for the Toronto [[New wave music|new wave]] and [[art punk]] band [[The Government]], while Segato continued her association with Mama Quilla II. The Parachute Club was formed in the summer of 1982, in response to an invitation to Bryans to play at a party at the [[Toronto International Film Festival]]. Based on the performance invitation, Bryans and Segato formed a band which became The Parachute Club.<ref name = Fernie/> While working with Parachute Club, Bryans also continued to work as a producer, most notably on [[Lillian Allen]]'s Juno Award winning reggae albums ''[[Revolutionary Tea Party]]'' and ''Conditions Critical''.<ref name=jennings /> In 1987, he also recorded a rearrangement of [[Moe Koffman]]'s "Curried Soul", which [[CBC Radio One]] used as the introductory music to the second half-hour of its nightly news program ''[[As It Happens]]'' until September 2013.<ref>''[[As It Happens]]'', April 23, 2012.</ref><ref>[http://music.cbc.ca/#/blogs/2013/9/As-It-Happens-Curried-Soul-theme-remixer-Socalled-on-how-to-remix-a-classic "As It Happens 'Curried Soul' theme remixer Socalled on how to remix a classic"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301002442/http://music.cbc.ca/ |date=2016-03-01 }}. [[CBC Music]], September 4, 2013.</ref>

Following Parachute Club's breakup, Bryans continued to work as a producer for artists such as [[AfroNubians]], [[Raffi (musician)|Raffi]] and [[Punjabi by Nature]],<ref name=jennings /> as well as doing [[session musician|session]] work for musicians such as [[George Fox (singer)|George Fox]], [[Loketo]] and [[Buffy Sainte-Marie]].<ref name=jennings /> In 1989, Bryans and [[Aaron Davis (composer)|Aaron Davis]] received a [[Genie Award]] nomination for [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score]] for their work on [[George Mihalka]]'s film ''[[Office Party]]''.<ref>"Cronenberg film earns a dozen nominations: Dead Ringers tops Genie list". ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', February 14, 1989.</ref> In 1991, he coordinated a concert series for world beat musicians at [[Ontario Place]]<ref>"Music fest celebrates multiculturalism". ''[[Toronto Star]]'', June 24, 1991.</ref> and produced ''[[The Gathering (compilation album)|The Gathering]]'', a [[compilation album]] of Canadian [[world music]] artists which won the inaugural [[Juno Award for World Music Album of the Year]] at the [[Juno Awards of 1992]].<ref name=jennings /> In 1997, Bryans was one of the producers and mixers associated with the film soundtrack to the [[Disney]] movie ''[[Jungle 2 Jungle]]'', which featured much African music.<ref name="Jungle">{{cite web|title=Jungle 2 Jungle credits|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/r258363/credits|work=allmusic|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=2012-04-23|location=Ann Arbor, Michigan|year=2012}}</ref>

In the 2000s, he focused extensively on promoting [[Latin music (genre)|Latin music]] in Canada, playing a prominent role in the emergence of artists such as Laura Fernandez, Aline Morales and [[Alex Cuba]].<ref name=jennings />

In 2006, Bryans announced that he was suffering from lung cancer, and was incapacitated for a period of months, commencing in April of that year. In August 2006, in celebration of his recovery, a number of notable Toronto musicians performed a benefit in Bryans' honour.<ref name="1st Fundraiser">{{cite news|title=Q+A Chendy Leon PERCUSSIONIST|url=http://www.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=155016&archive=25,51,2006|access-date=2012-04-23|newspaper=Now Magazine|date=August 17, 2006|location=Toronto|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022151320/http://www.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=155016&archive=25%2C51%2C2006|archive-date=October 22, 2012|df=mdy-all}}</ref> In early 2012, it was announced that Bryans' cancer had returned and he was in [[palliative care]]. Another benefit concert was held on April 19 at Toronto's Lula Lounge to help defray his healthcare costs.<ref name="Fundraiser 2012">{{cite news |last=Nazareth |first=Errol |title=Musicians galvanized |url=http://www.torontosun.com/2012/04/13/musicians-galvanized |access-date=2012-04-23 |newspaper=The Toronto Sun |date=April 13, 2011 |agency=QMI |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120710123923/http://www.torontosun.com/2012/04/13/musicians-galvanized |archive-date=July 10, 2012 |url-status=dead |df=mdy }}</ref> He died a few days later in Toronto, on April 23, at age 64.<ref name="Death announced">{{cite news|title=Parachute Club's Billy Bryans dies at 64|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/parachute-club-s-billy-bryans-dies-at-63-1.1157341|access-date=2012-04-23|newspaper=CBC News|date=April 23, 2012|location=Toronto}}</ref>

==Discography==

===Musician===

*1972 – Horn, ''On The People's Side'' (Special)
*1975 – Downchild, ''Ready to Go'' (GRT)
*1983 – Parachute Club, ''The Parachute Club'' (Current/[[RCA Records|RCA]])
*1984 – Parachute Club, ''At The Feet of the Moon'' (Current/RCA)
*1985 – Parachute Club, ''Moving Thru the Moonlight'' (Current/RCA; remixes)
*1986 – Parachute Club, ''Small Victories'' (Current/RCA)
*1990 – [[Raffi (musician)|Raffi]], ''[[Evergreen Everblue]]'' ([[Rounder Records|Rounder]])
*1994 – Parachute Club, ''Wild Zone: The Essential Parachute Club'' ([[Bertelsmann Music Group|BMG]])<ref>{{cite web|title=Wild Zone – The Essential Parachute Club|url=https://music.apple.com/ca/album/wild-zone-essential-parachute/382053021|work=iTunes|publisher=Apple Inc.|access-date=2012-04-23}}</ref>

===Producer===

*1972 – Horn, ''On The People's Side'' (Special)
*1974 – David Campbell, ''Through Arawak Eyes'' (Development Education Centre)
*1977 – Downchild, ''So Far: A Collection of Our Best'' (Co-producer, with John Capek and [[Downchild Blues Band|Donnie Walsh]]; reissued 2007 by [[Koch Records|Koch]] and [[Linus Entertainment|Linus]].)<ref>[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r132682/credits|pure_url=yes}} ''So Far'' credits]. ''allmusic''. Ann Arbor, Michigan: All Media Guide, LLC. 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-23.</ref>
*1980 – Downchild, ''We Deliver'' ([[Attic Records (Canada)|Attic]])
*1982 – Downchild, ''But I'm on the Guest List'' (Attic)
*1986 – [[Eyuphuro]], ''[[Mama Mosambiki]]'' ([[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]]; co-producer, with Bruce Burron)
*1986 – [[Lillian Allen]], ''[[Revolutionary Tea Party]]''
*1988 – Lillian Allen, ''Conditions Critical''
*1990 – The Phantoms, ''Pleasure Puppets'' ([[A&M Records|A&M]]/Spy; co-producer, with Kevin Doyle)<ref>[http://canadajams.ca/classifieds/viewtopic.php?t=1997 Jerome Godboo Biography] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706170320/http://canadajams.ca/classifieds/viewtopic.php?t=1997 |date=July 6, 2011 }}.</ref>
*1990 – [[Raffi (musician)|Raffi]], ''[[Evergreen Everblue]]'' ([[Rounder Records|Rounder]]; co-producer, with Raffi)<ref>[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r81234/credits|pure_url=yes}} ''Evergreen Everblue'' credits]. ''allmusic''. Ann Arbor, Michigan: All Media Guide, LLC. 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-23.</ref>
*1992 - Still Life "Signs of Life"
*1997 – ''[[Jungle 2 Jungle]] Soundtrack'' ([[Disney]]; specific track producer)
*2003 – Various Artists, ''Mother Africa'' (Musica Alternativa; specific track producer)
*2011 – Laura Fernandez, ''Un Solo Beso''

===Engineer/mixer===

*1972 – Downchild Blues Band, ''Bootleg'' (Special)
*1972 – Horn, ''On The People's Side'' (Special)
*1986 – Eyuphuro, ''Mama Mosambiki'' (Atlantic; co-mixing, with Bruce Burron)
*1997 – ''Jungle 2 Jungle Soundtrack'' (Disney; specific track mixer)
*2003 – Various Artists, ''Mother Africa'' (Musica Alternativa; specific track mixer)

===Other===

*1988 – Soundtrack Composer (with Aaron Davis, composer and member of the [[Holly Cole Trio]]), ''Office Party''

== References ==

===Notes===
{{Reflist|group="Note"}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
*[http://pclubblog.wordpress.com/about/ Parachute Club Website/Blog]
*[http://www.canadianbands.com/Parachute%20Club.html CanadianBands.com entry]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryans, Billy}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:2012 deaths]]
[[Category:Canadian male drummers]]
[[Category:Canadian percussionists]]
[[Category:Canadian record producers]]
[[Category:Canadian male songwriters]]
[[Category:Juno Award for Global Music Album of the Year winners]]
[[Category:Music promoters]]
[[Category:Musicians from Montreal]]
[[Category:Musicians from Toronto]]
[[Category:Sir George Williams University alumni]]
[[Category:The Parachute Club members]]
[[Category:Writers from Montreal]]
[[Category:Writers from Toronto]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian drummers]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian male musicians]]

Billy Bryans - Revision history

imported>OpalYosutebito: /* top */ Fixed unknown params