The Rainvilles

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23 songs
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Picture for song 'Polar Bear Express 1972' by artist 'The Rainvilles'

Polar Bear Express 1972

This song is about a train that runs from Cochrane, Ontario to Moosonee at James Bay. It was used for TV ads in the 1970s.

Pop Rock

Picture for song 'Sundown' by artist 'The Rainvilles'

Sundown

This is our tribute to Gordon Lightfoot

Country General

Picture for song 'Angel From Montgomery' by artist 'The Rainvilles'

Angel From Montgomery

This song was recorded in 2020 by my late wife, Dorothy Rainville (1942-2021). Hope you enjoy her rendition of this John Prine classic.

Cover Songs

Picture for song 'I Ain't Never' by artist 'The Rainvilles'

I Ain't Never

A song we used to sing for many years. We recorded it in Spring 2021.

Country-Rock

Picture for song 'I Got What I Wanted 1967' by artist 'The Rainvilles'

I Got What I Wanted 1967

This song was recorded in Toronto in March, 1967 and went on to reach No. 1 on the RPM Canadian Country Charts in August, 1967.

Rock General

- Morris & Dot In the late 1950's a new duo appeared on the country music scene known as THE RAINVILLES, playing for dances, doing stage shows and working on radio. They shared many a stage with well known performers from both Canada and the U.S. They also broke into TV in Sudbury, Ontario where they performed for the next four years. Moving to the Niagara Falls area in 1964, Morris studied and received his music teaching degree. While he was in the process, he and Dot continued to entertain in various nightclubs and cocktail lounges pleasing audiences with their country and folk songs of various types. It was during this time that The Rainvilles began writing some of their own material and in March 1967 went in to Sound Canada studios in Toronto and recorded four songs. Three of those songs were their own compositions. In May 1967, a Phil Gariepy song entitled I Got What I Wanted was released and went on to quickly reach No. 1 on the R.P.M. Country Charts in Canada. The song also went on to No. 82 on the Pop charts. This recording led to an appearance on Carl Smith's "Country Music Hall" later that year. Now singing Country, Folk and Pop Music, they soon found themselves in great demand around the country In 1968, 70 and again in 71, The Rainvilles won the R.P.M. Gold Leaf Award for being No. 3 running for best Canadian Country Group. The year 1970 also saw them sign with Melbourne (Rodeo) Records. "Fortunate Son" and "Wrote A Song" both charted in the Top 10 on the Canadian Country charts during that year. Their first album "The Rainvilles" was released in 1971 with "When We Tried" charting in Canada.They were now doing a lot of touring in Canada and also appeared on CBC's "Country Time" out of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Their second album "Polar Bear Express" was released in November, 1972. This led to another single "Polar Bear Express" climbing up the charts in Canada. This song was also used for a few years in TV ads for the Polar Bear Express train running from Cochrane, Ontario to Moosonee at James Bay. Another song from that album was released in Quebec only and it was called "Je suis allez en Ontario".
Band/artist history
Dot and I started playing music in 1956 and married in 1959. We have been involved in music is different capacities ever since.
Have you performed in front of an audience?
We played live from mid 50s to mid 80s
Your musical influences
Hank Williams, Hank Jr., David Allan Coe, The Mamas and the Papas, The Eagles, Kris Kristoferson, Ray Charles, Dolly Parton, George Jones, Merle Haggard, John Prine, J.J. Cale, Bill Monroe, Gordon Lightfoot, etc.
What equipment do you use?
Martin 00018, 1957 Fender Strat, Peavey Bass, Maestro Mandolin, Casio Keyboard, Tascam 488, Hohner Harmonicas, Audacity software, etc.
Anything else?
I have to thank Soundclick for all the hard work that they must do in order to keep this site performing so well. A special Thank You also goes out to Len Amsterdam from Toronto for digging all over the internet to uncover some of those original Rainvilles tracks. This is much appreciated because it brought them all back to life again.
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