Frank Rondell and the Chancellors

Frank Rondell and the Chancellors were an early rock-and-roll group from Hamilton, Ontario, led by singer Frank Anthony Chiarelli, who performed under the name Frank Rondell. The Chancellors featured Bob Grey, Ross Mallard, Bill Herechuk and Al Vandetti, and were among the Hamilton-area groups making commercial recordings during the early 1960s.

The group’s first known single was issued in Canada on Canatal Records in 1963. Produced by Art Snider, it paired ‘Someone Like You,’ written by Robertson, McGill and Hawkins, with a version of Carl Perkins’ ‘Your True Love.’ The recording presented Rondell as a polished rock-and-roll vocalist backed by the Chancellors’ compact guitar, piano, bass and drums lineup.

Frank Rondell and the Chancellors subsequently expanded beyond the Canadian market. Their later recordings included ‘Tru-Gee’ backed with ‘Ain’t Goin’ Home,’ followed by ‘The Bat’ backed with ‘Last Laugh’s on Me.’ Over the course of their brief recording career, the group moved from the polished rock-and-roll sound of the Canatal single toward tougher rhythm-and-blues and novelty-oriented material. ‘The Bat,’ in particular, later attracted interest among collectors of obscure garage, R&B and horror-themed rock recordings.

Although the Chancellors left behind only a small catalogue, the group marked the beginning of Frank Rondell’s much longer recording career. More than two decades later, he returned with the single ‘Borrowed Love’ on Kinfolk Records in 1986. A further series of releases followed on Roto Noto Records in 1987: ‘Hey There Girl’ backed with ‘I’m Burning,’ ‘Forever in Your Love,’ and ‘These Are the Dreams.’

Frank Rondell and the Chancellors remain an important part of Hamilton’s early rock-and-roll history. Their recordings preserve the sound of one of the city’s pioneering groups, while Rondell’s later singles demonstrate that Frank Chiarelli continued performing and recording long after the Chancellors had passed into history.

-Robert Williston