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Created in 1970, the Canadian psychedelic and progressive rock band, Chilliwack, was born. Chilliwack’s founding contributors were Bill Henderson (lead guitar and vocals), Glenn Miller (bass, guitar, backing vocals), Ross Turney (drums) Claire Lawrence (keyboard, flute, backing vocals), and as of 1973, Howard Froese (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals). The group named itself Chilliwack, after, (you guessed it!), the Upper Fraser Valley town in British Columbia. Choosing the name because they liked the sound and the fact its Indigenous meanings, “valley of many streams,” reflected their musical diversity.

Shortly after stepping into the music scene, the band found success in 1973 with the release of “Lonesome Mary” – a single from their second record – that landed in Canada’s Top 10 and reached No. 75 on the Billboard Hot 100 chat in the United States. Riding High (1974), their fourth album, regularly landed them on the radio with their single “Crazy Talk” also finding a spot in Canada’s Top 10 and on the Billboard Hot 100.

In 1977, their album Dreams, Dreams, Dreams was their first album to go platinum. This was a trend with their following albums Lights from the Valley (1978), Wanna Be a Star (1981) and Opus X (1982) also bringing great success and going platinum. They reached international audiences with “My Girl” from their platinum-selling album, Wanna Be a Star (1981) reaching No.1 in Canada and No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. Hit single, “Whatcha Gonna Do” from Opus X landed in the Top 10 in Canada, Top 40 in the US and earned Henderson and MacLeod a Juno Award for Producer of the Year.

Founding member Lawrence departed from the band in 1972 while Miller, Turney and Froese left the band in 1979. Throughout their years they welcome in other contributors such as John Roles (rhythm and lead guitar and backing vocals), Rick Taylor (drums), Brian Macleod (rhythm and lead guitar, keyboard, backing vocals) and Ab Bryant (bass). Chilliwack was also the birthplace of other spinoff acts like the Headpins and Bill Henderson’s solo career.

Bill Henderson has been a constant for the group while continuously pursuing his own independent programs. The band took a hiatus from 1988 to 1997. Their current members include Bill Henderson (lead guitar and vocals), Ed Henderson (rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals), Jerry Adolphe (drums) and Gord Maxwell (bass, backing vocals). Chilliwack was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2019.

Most recently, you would have seen Chilliwack performing at the BC Lions Home Opener on August 19^th. Although the BC Lions might not have won the football game, fans rocked out to the Chilliwack’s halftime show and were glad to attend a live music performance and sports game once again!