by Richard Skelly » Wed Jan 24, 2018 2:11 am
From fronting Brutus to helming his own eponymous band, Zwol was the Yul Brynner of ‘70s CanCon. Sporting his distintictive shaved noggin, Walter Zwolinski had a shrewd ear for supporting band members. Arguably best known for Ooh Mama Mama, Brutus was a veritable hiring hall for great backup players including Paul “Streetheart/Loverboy” Dean, Jerry Doucette and future Troopers Doni Underhill and Frank Ludwig.
Zwol was signed direct to EMI-America. The American subsidiary of Capitol Records had high hopes that Walter would emulate the success of fellow Canadian labelmate Corey Hart. The 1978 Zwol album placed two songs into the mid ‘70s of the Billboard Hot 100. A good start, but Shaka Shaka bombed and essentially doomed the followup album Effective Immediately. Still, some good grooves in this tune with Steve Kennedy (Dr. Music) adding sax and Dave Tyson (Arrows and Alannah Myles) on synthesizers.
According to niche music site Citizen Freak, cadres of fans belong to National Walter Zwol Cult Of America chapters around the continent.