Brian Russell

Guitarist and singer, born in Calcutta, India, he lived for a time in England, moved with his family to the Okanogan Valley of central British Columbia, Canada, during the 1960s, and eventually on to Vancouver. He is the brother of [a6539670]. Brian was an early member of the [a2942269]. In 1966, he formed Three To One with singer and guitarist John Renton, bassist Derek Norris and drummer Claudette Skrypnyk (aka Claudette Scritnik, but I think this is the correct spelling), formerly of The Shadracks (2), all of whom he met working as a studio musician around Vancouver. The Three (the boys) To One (Claudette) moved to Toronto, Ontario, playing their first gig there in the suburb of Scarborough with Roy Kenner & The Associates, anđ The Mission featuring [a596599], eventually recording one 45 for Arc Records (4) the same year. About a year later, Three To One changed their name to the more current The Raja, keeping the same lineup. In spite of playing many local gigs and a big show in Montreal with [a1830393], as well as cutting a fine single on Arc affiliate Goodgroove, The Raja did not meet with much success. By 1969, Brian had become a house musician and arranger for Arc Sound Ltd., doing a lot of the heavy lifting - including designing the cover - for 8066690 by Heads Of Our Time, a studio aggregation which included many musicians from The Majestics. He went on to do a lot of studio work around Toronto in the seventies, including playing on sessions for Anne Murray and Roger Whittaker and on the Tommy Hunter (2) Show on CBC television. A few years later, after Brian had moved back to the West Coast, Whittaker was looking for a guitarist for his touring band, and Brian's name came up as a suggestion. He ended up spending over a decade backing Whittaker and can be seen in several live videos of the show on youtube, including a solo instrumental showcase titled "Russelling Along." Brian is a phenomenally talented, yet grossly underrated guitar player. In recent years, he has been playing around Penticton, sometimes with his sister Gillian.