Information/Write-up
George Olliver (1946 – April 2025) was one of Canada’s most electrifying soul singers and performers, hailed for decades as the country’s “Blue-Eyed Prince of Soul.” Known for his searing, passionate voice and dazzling stagecraft, he was a founding force of the Toronto Sound of the 1960s and remained a powerful presence on the Canadian music scene for more than fifty years.
Born in Toronto, Olliver came to prominence as the lead singer of Mandala, one of the city’s most important R&B bands. With Domenic Troiano on guitar, Whitey Glan on drums, Don Elliot on bass, and Josef Chirowski on keyboards, Mandala’s “Soul Crusade” shook clubs from Yorkville to New York. Their debut single “Opportunity” (1966), recorded at Chess Studios with The Dells on backing vocals, stormed into the Canadian Top 5 and was named Best Canadian Single of the Year by the Maple Leaf Awards. The follow-up “Give and Take” (1967) cemented their reputation and remains a classic of the era. Olliver’s showmanship — dancing, doing the splits, spinning the microphone like James Brown — thrilled audiences and sometimes scandalized promoters; he was even dismissed from a CNE appearance in 1966 for a “dangerous display of emotion.”
Frustrated by management, Olliver left Mandala in late 1967 to form George Olliver and His Children, which toured heavily in the U.S. but did not record. By 1969 he launched Natural Gas, whose self-titled album for Firebird Records charted Top 10 in Canada and Top 50 in the U.S. Though fame proved fleeting, Olliver remained a marquee draw. Throughout the 1970s he released singles including “I May Never Get to See You Again” and “Don’t Let the Green Grass Fool You” (1976, featuring uncredited backing vocals from Dianne Brooks), and performed with Toronto bands such as The Royals.
In the 1980s Olliver entered a new chapter as co-owner and music director of Toronto’s Bluenote Club (1982–1992). The venue became the city’s “Home of Rhythm & Blues,” presenting legends like Wilson Pickett, Etta James, Sam & Dave, Solomon Burke, and Martha Reeves alongside Olliver’s own group Gangbuster. During this period he released Live at the Bluenote (produced by Domenic Troiano) and his first studio solo album Dream Girl, which earned him a Juno nomination for Best R&B Album in 1987. The Bluenote was also where a young Whitney Houston gave her first Canadian club performance in 1985.
In later years Olliver balanced touring with gospel and inspirational work. After a religious conversion in the 1990s he founded his own label, Rapio, and formed a 12-piece R&B gospel ensemble called Caught Away with Geo. Olliver. He also became active in ministry at Carruthers Creek Associated Gospel in Ajax, Ontario, and continued to record and perform well into the 2000s.
George Olliver passed away in April 2025 at the age of 79. His death prompted tributes across Canada. “George Olliver was the epitome of Toronto soul,” said Paul Shaffer, who rose from Thunder Bay’s rock scene to lead David Letterman’s television band. “He was a showman and vocalist worthy of the world stage, but chose to favour Canada with his immense talent.” David Clayton-Thomas of Blood, Sweat & Tears remembered him as “a gentleman and a complete pro who worked the stage just like James Brown and who always stayed true to his R&B roots.”
-Robert Williston
George Olliver: piano, lead vocals, backing vocals
Vernon Dorge: alto saxophone, tenor Saxophone
Howard Ayee: bass, backing Vocals
Tony Craig: drums
Nick Cucunato: guitar, backing vocals
Lou Pomanti: keyboards, backing vocals
John Panchyshyn: tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone
Rick Waychesko: trumpet
Jay Jackson: MC
Produced by Domenic Troiano
Engineered by Guy Charbonneau, assisted by Clifford Bonnell and Louis Lafleur (LeMobile)
Engineered by Mark Wright, assisted by Joe Primeau and Robin Brouwers (Phase One Studios)
Recorded with LeMobile live at Club Bluenote, Toronto, Ontario, Sept. 25, 1982
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