Lighthouse (band)

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This article is about the Canadian band Lighthouse. See other meamings of Lighthouse.

The cover of One Fine Morning (1970) was painted by British artist Roger Dean.

Lighthouse is a Canadian rock band formed in 1969 in Toronto which included horns, string instruments, and vibraphone; their music reflected elements of rock music, jazz, and classical music.

The group was originally scheduled to play at Woodstock but they decided not to, fearing that it would be a bad scene. Years after, many of the group members said they regretted the decision.

The founding members were Skip Prokop on drums, Ralph Cole on guitar and Paul Hoffert on keyboards. The band also included Howard Shore on saxophone and Grant Fullerton on bass guitar. There were 13 members in all in the original lineup.

Bob McBride replaced Pinky Dauvan on vocals in 1970. The group performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Newport Jazz Festival and the Isle of Wight Festival. They received four Juno Awards in 1971, 1972 and 1973, when they were awarded Group of the Year. The band toured with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet production Ballet High.

The band lost key members in 1973 and 1974 and finally broke up in 1976 but reunited for a series of shows in Toronto in 1982 and is still playing today at open air concerts and other events.

They had Canadian Top 40 hits with songs "One Fine Morning", "Hats Off to the Stranger", "Pretty Lady", and "Sunny Days"; the first and last of these were hits in the U.S. as well, reaching #24 and #34 on the pop singles charts respectively.

Lighthouse is considered to be one of the finest rock bands to come out of Canada ever, right alongside The Guess Who and Rush.