by Richard Skelly » Mon Nov 06, 2017 3:04 am
Chilliwack fans might assume Bill Henderson played all the great leads on their hits. On Baby Blue, however, it was Howard Froese who nailed the acoustic instrumental break in one take that adds so much passion to the song.
After Chilliwack co-founder Claire Lawrence split in 1972, leaving the band without reeds, keyboards and secondary vocals, Chilliwack used guest musicians to produce All Over You the following year. The LP failed to spawn a hit and they left A&M Records. So Bill, drummer Ross Turney and bassist Glenn Miller brought Froese into the fold on guitar, electric piano and harmonies. The brother of Vancouver newscaster Russ Froese, Howard featured significantly on their Riding High comeback
album and its Terry Jacks-produced hits Crazy Talk and There's Something I Like About That.
Howard quit Chilliwack in 1977, midway through recording a followup to Dreams Dreams Dreams. Sadly, he died in the mid '90s. His son, Tyson, is a musician and participated in Chilliwack's 40th anniversary gigs at the River Rock Casino in 2011, duplicating his dad's picking and singing on Baby Blue.