by Richard Skelly » Tue Oct 17, 2017 4:04 am
Although one and done as Studebaker Hawk, most of the band (except guitarist/songwriter Steve Cooley) had previously released a minor CanCon hit called She under the moniker Southcote on the same label. Both bands featured Breen LeBoeuf, a Quebec bassist who enjoyed subsequent stints with Offenbach and April Wine.
Coincidentally, April Wine's first major hit You Could Have Been A Lady was produced by Ralph Murphy who, a few years later, oversaw this Studebaker Hawk '45. A far cry from April Wine's rock, Rainbows showed his facility for shaping countyish pop. Before the '70s ended, British ex-Pat Murphy decamped to Nashville where he and ace songsmith Roger Cook began collaborating on hits for singers such as Crystal Gayle.