Little Boy Blue b/w The Poor Boy

Andy Wilson was the professional name of André Sanscartier, a singer, songwriter and tenor saxophonist from Kirkland Lake, Ontario, who participated in Canada’s first wave of rock ’n’ roll during the late 1950s and early 1960s.

By the summer of 1958, Wilson was performing in Toronto with The Cosmos. The group appeared at the Holiday Tavern at Queen Street West and Bathurst Street and was featured in a large outdoor rock ’n’ roll show presented by CKEY disc jockey Gerry Myers. Toronto saxophonist Russ Strathdee, who briefly substituted for The Cosmos’ regular saxophonist Bill Mulhall, later remembered Wilson as an energetic singer whose delivery recalled Little Richard.

Wilson’s first records appeared in 1958. “Call Her Your Sweetheart” backed with “Too Much of Not Enough” was released in the United States by Houston’s Back Beat label. He also recorded “My Love, My Love,” “Teenage Martha” and “Worry, Worry” with The Cosmos. The recordings were released in the United States by Bullseye Records of New York and in Canada by Regency Records.

At least two different recordings of “My Love, My Love” were issued. An early Canadian version appeared on Regency credited to The Cosmos with vocal by Andy Wilson, while another recording was released by Bullseye and subsequently issued in Canada on Regency. Label credits identify A. Wilson as the song’s writer.

Further Bullseye and Regency singles followed in 1959, including “Johnny and Marie,” “Little Boy Blue” and “The Poor Boy.” Although no national chart position has been confirmed, Wilson’s releases received distribution on both sides of the border, placing him among the comparatively small number of Canadian rock ’n’ roll performers of the period whose recordings were regularly issued by American labels.

Wilson later became associated with The Leesures, a London, Ontario group that also backed singer Larry Lee. In 1961, Andy Wilson and the Leesures recorded “Don’t You Know” and “Baby Face” for Destiny Records of Lorain, Ohio. “Don’t You Know,” written by Wilson, received a three-star review in Billboard. Consecutive matrix numbers indicate that Wilson’s record and Larry Lee and the Leesures’ Destiny single were probably recorded during the same Cleveland-area session.

By 1963, Wilson was playing tenor saxophone with Larry Lee and the Leesures. The original liner notes to the group’s album Number 1 identify him as the latest addition to a lineup that also included guitarist John Dee, drummer Ray Fennell, keyboard player Billy Die and bassist John Dashlies.

Little has yet been documented about André Sanscartier’s life following his association with The Leesures. His surviving recordings nevertheless reveal a vigorous rock ’n’ roll and rhythm-and-blues-influenced performer whose music connected the northern Ontario, Toronto and London music scenes and found release in both Canada and the United States.

-Robert Williston