Barney Bentall: About
Barney Bentall
Born in Toronto, Barney Bentall grew up in Calgary, moving to Vancouver in 1978 to try his hand at music. He formed the band Brandon Wolf and released two independent discs and one for A&M Records, all recorded at the infamous Little Mountain Sound. A dedicated family man, he faced a struggle to keep writing and performing music while supporting four children.
In 1988 at the point when a day job seemed imminent, Barney formed The Legendary Hearts and signed with Columbia/CBS Records. Their self-titled debut sold over 100,000 copies and featured three hit singles in Canada, winning a Juno in 1989. Between 1988 and 2000 the band toured extensively and released five studio albums which all reached gold or platinum status in Canada.
In 2000, Bentall moved to British Columbia to operate a cattle ranch. After this change of perspective, 2007 brought the solo release of Gift Horse on True North Records. Bentall also formed The Grand Cariboo Opry with a variety of musicians as a way to help raise funds for needy residents of the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver.
The Inside Passage is Bentall's seventh studio album. He explains, "I knew the title of the record long before I wrote the song. I wanted to write a collection of songs that were loosely based on moving through life. I grew up on the prairies but we spent our summers out at the coast. We had a boat and we would take it on long trips from the San Juan Islands to Desolation Sound. I've always felt the pull of those two spaces - the prairies where they rise to meet the Rockies, and the sea as it collides with the Coastal range."
Recorded in the spring and summer of 2008, The Inside Passage was recorded and produced by John Ellis (Ridley Bent, Be Good Tanyas, and Barney's son Dustin Bentall) at his Nashcroft Studios, with Daniel Lapp on fiddle, horns, and piano, Rob Becker on bass and Geoff Hicks on drums. "For the last two albums,", says Bentall, "I've never made a demo, and only put music to tape when it came time to record. I had read a quote of Paul McCartney saying that they never wrote music down or made demos. If the idea was good they would remember it! It seemed like a leap of faith at first but I got into it."
He currently divides his time between his ranch in the Cariboo and Bowen Island with his wife Kath and an ever-increasing tribe of in-laws and grandchildren.
Barney Bentall and the Legendary Hearts
Barney Bentall
Jack Guppy
Colin Nairne
Dave Reimer
Mike Crozier
Barney Bentall & The Legendary Hearts, landed a recording contract with Epic/CBS Records, (later Sony Music), after releasing an independent music video for "Something to Live For" on Much Music in 1987.
In 1988 their self‐titled debut album, which featured three hit Canadian singles including "Something to Live For", "House of Love (is Haunted)" and "Come Back to Me", reached platinum status in Canada (100,000 records sold). In 1989, the group won the Juno Award for "Most Promising Group of the Year". The next year saw the band record its second album Lonely Avenue a strong follow‐up to their debut and the first single "Crime Against Love" spends 6 weeks at the #2 C.A.R. chart position helping the band achieve gold sales status.
That same year the band appeared in the Sandy Wilson film American Boyfriends, and were nominated for a Genie Award for "Restless Dreamer", a song they wrote, and which appeared on the soundtrack.
The band toured extensively through 1991 and 1992 before recording their third release for Sony Music in 1993, Ain't Life Strange. Three very successful singles propel the album to gold status and the band continued to consolidate its national popularity.
In 1995 the fourth Barney Bentall album Gin Palace is recorded and released. The first two singles released both reach #2 on the C.A.R. charts. Much Music showcases the band and its new album in a Live and Interactive concert that is broadcast across the country. The album proves to be their fastest selling record and it reaches gold status in 90 days. The band mounted two sold‐out national tours through 1995.
That year the band wrote songs for their fifth original album, and Sony Music released a "Greatest Hits" record. "Till Tomorrow" was the final release for Sony Music and after touring the rest of the year the band went on hiatus. Barney continued to tour solo while the other members pursued separate musical endeavors before returning to tour in 2008.
BARNEY BENTALL & THE LEGENDARY HEARTS
1988 Barney Bentall And The Legendary Hearts (CBS/Epic) Platinum
1990 Lonely Avenue (CBS/Epic) Gold
1992 Ain't Life Strange (Sony) Gold
1995 Gin Palace (Sony) Gold
1996 Greatest Hits 1986‐1996 (Sony)
1997 Till Tomorrow (Sony)
BARNEY BENTALL & THE LEGENDARY HEARTS
1987 Something To Live For (CBS)
1988 Come Back To Me (CBS)
1988 The House Of Love (CBS)
1988 Something To Live For [re‐issue](CBS)
1989 She's My Inspiration (CBS)
1990 Crime Against Love (CBS)
1991 Life Could Be Worse (Sony)
1991 I Gotta Go (Sony)
1991 Nothing Hurts Like The Words (Sony)
1992 Livin' In The '90s (Sony)
1992 Doin' Fine (Sony)
1993 If This Is Love (Sony)
1993 Belly Of The Sun (Sony)
1993 Family Man (Sony)
1995 Do Ya (Sony)
1995 I'm Shattered (Sony)
Grand Cariboo Opry
Deep in the heart of British Columbia’s historic Cariboo Country, two generations of some of Canada’s finest roots and country musicians joined Barney Bentall to put on a one of a kind event that harkens back to a simpler time. The walls of each room that the Opry visits reverberate with laughter, storytelling, and the timeless sound of contemporary songwriters steeped in tradition for an unforgettable evening of entertainment. The Grand Cariboo Opry is hosted by Barney as he works through his very humorous and highly entertaining monologues (think Prairie Home Companion) and fronts a big band consisting of The Legendary Hearts augmented with lap steel, piano (Johnny Ellis) and fiddle (Kendel Carson). It is a dynamic evening that includes regular guests such as Ridley Bent, Leeroy Stagger, Dustin Bentall, Leslie Alexander, Wendy Bird, Romi Mayes, and Cameron Latimer. Everyone plays and everyone sings...sometimes all at once. The theme is western/country/roots including the artist’s own original songs as well some classics reinterpreted for the GCO stage.
Find out more about the Opry at http://www.grandcaribooopry.com.