First Sign Of Love b/w Make Me Believe In You

Wishbone were a Toronto pop-rock group formed in early 1971 by musicians already active in the Ontario music scene. The group featured John Moran on lead vocals, Laurie Keller on bass, Paul Gross on lead guitar, Peter Rochon on keyboards and Barry Keane on drums. Their brief recording career brought together players connected to groups including Faith, The Poor Souls, Daybreak and The Yeomen, while anticipating several important later careers in Canadian music.

The clearest roots of Wishbone can be traced to Faith, an earlier Toronto group featuring Keane and Gross. In 1970, Faith attracted the attention of Quality Records during a studio session and recorded Gross’s ‘You Gotta Be Strong’. The project established the creative partnership that would carry into Wishbone, with Gross writing the material and Keane taking an increasingly active role in production.

Moran brought experience from The Poor Souls, a Scottish group that developed a Canadian incarnation after he relocated to Toronto. Rochon was already establishing himself as a keyboard player and arranger, while Keller completed the rhythm section on bass. Wishbone signed with Quality Records’ Celebration label shortly after forming.

The group’s debut single, ‘You’re Gonna Miss Me’ backed with ‘Riverboat’, appeared in 1971. Both songs were written by Paul Gross and produced by Barry Keane, with Keane and Peter Rochon arranging the A-side. ‘You’re Gonna Miss Me’ was a concise, melodic pop-rock recording that became the group’s strongest regional success, reaching No. 22 on Toronto’s CHUM chart in June 1971.

The song also received an American promotional release through Scepter Records, an unusual measure of international interest for a newly formed Canadian group. The Scepter pressing retained Keane’s production and the arrangement credit shared with Rochon.

Wishbone returned later in 1971 with ‘First Sign Of Love’ backed with ‘Make Me Believe In You’. Once again, Gross wrote both songs, Keane produced the session and Keane and Rochon handled the arrangements. ‘First Sign Of Love’ received national airplay and entered the RPM 100, reaching the lower portion of the chart during the autumn of 1971.

Across their records, Wishbone maintained a remarkably consistent internal structure. Paul Gross wrote all six songs released by the group, Barry Keane produced every recording, and Keane and Peter Rochon were responsible for the arrangements. This clear division of responsibilities gave the small catalogue a unified sound built around Gross’s melodic songwriting, Moran’s lead vocals and carefully controlled studio production.

The band recorded additional material with the intention of completing an album. According to an account prepared with information from Barry Keane, the project remained several songs short of completion. After Keane left Quality for RCA, the company asked him to return and finish the record, but the proposed album was never completed.

A final single, ‘One Way Ticket’ backed with ‘I Love The Way You Love Me’, appeared on Celebration in 1974. Both songs were written by Gross, produced by Keane and arranged by Keane and Rochon. The release retained the exact creative structure of the 1971 recordings, suggesting continuity with the group’s earlier studio work. Whether the songs were newly recorded in 1974 or drawn from the unfinished album sessions has not been established.

Wishbone’s complete known catalogue consists of six Paul Gross compositions:

‘You’re Gonna Miss Me’ / ‘Riverboat’
‘First Sign Of Love’ / ‘Make Me Believe In You’
‘One Way Ticket’ / ‘I Love The Way You Love Me’

Although Wishbone left only three singles, its members went on to substantial careers. John Moran pursued solo recording work and released the album Come Join Me in 1973. Peter Rochon joined Fludd and later became the original keyboardist of Saga. Paul Gross moved into engineering and production, helped establish Toronto’s Phase One Studios and worked on recordings by Saga, FM, Wrabit, The Tenants and other Canadian artists. Barry Keane became one of Canada’s most dependable drummers, session musicians and producers, best known for his long association with Gordon Lightfoot.

Wishbone’s recordings capture a compact but revealing chapter in early-1970s Toronto pop-rock. The group existed at the point where experienced club musicians were moving into increasingly professional studio work, combining concise songwriting, radio-conscious arrangements and independent Canadian production. Their three singles also preserve the beginnings of creative relationships that would remain deeply embedded in Canadian recording history long after Wishbone itself had ended.

-Robert Williston