Driver . . . resurrected!
Little did Darcy MacLeod and Kelly Driver know, when their car broke down just east of Thunder Bay, Ontario in the late summer months of 1973 that their lives would change forever. The twenty year olds travelled from their homes in London, Ontario to the northwestern Ontario city to prepare for university when car troubles forced them to pull to the side of the road and accept a passing motorist's offer to call road rescue. While waiting, Darcy and Kelly did what they often did ... they got out their guitars, sat at the side of the road and played. A while later, the rescue truck showed up and while the mechanic hooked up the car for a tow into town, his young nephew/helper, James Pogue struck up a conversation with the travellers. James, eighteen, was also an avid guitarist, having played for many years. The three young men had made plans to get together later on that evening to jam and James invited his best friend along as well. K.D. was a drummer who played with his brothers in a family wedding band. He only ever went by his initials to avoid what he called 'family embarrassment'. Well ... that was how Driver was formed. Darcy MacLeod, with his strong yet raspy voice sang lead and played rhythm guitar; Kelly Driver, after whom the band was named, played bass; James Pogue, naturally rocked on lead guitar and K.D. kept the beat on drums. From then on Driver sped on in the fast lane!
If plotting Driver's career on a graph, it would have looked like a steep, steady climb upward from 1973 to 1976 ... and then a sudden drop. In 1974 Driver introduced a new addition. Keyboardist and vocalist Maureen Croissant joined the band and completed the not so well rounded group. The youngest member at fifteen, Maureen co-wrote three songs along with Darcy MacLeod early in Driver's history. One of MacLeod/Croissant's song's 'Snowflake' hit public controversy and Driver was banned from performing it at many venues due to its alleged drug related content. Both MacLeod and Croissant denied this at the time. Their other song's 'You're Not the One' and 'A Long Way Too Far' were toned down from their first step over the edge.
Driver was all about stepping over the edge ... their manager made sure of that. They were well known for the animosity and bad blood between them and their manager, Tom Middleton. MacLeod was actually arrested twice during publicly displayed fist fights with Middleton. MacLeod and Driver attempted unsuccessfully to fire the manager several times. Rather than feeling defeat, the band wrote and performed a song about their relationship with the manager called 'Puppet on a String'.
To the five young members of the band, it was all about family and togetherness ... and the music. They were considered musical perfectionists. Kelly Driver was notorious for working his band around the clock when introducing new sets and new songs. Darcy MacLeod often enlisted his brother David and Kelly's brother Eric as extra's in the band to promote a richer sound. Driver toured southern Ontario mainly, with some stops in Manitoba, northern Ontario and the northern US as well. Ironically, the high point of their career turned out to be their end. On October 1, 1976, in the early morning hours after playing what was their biggest concert of their lives in Hamilton Ontario, Darcy MacLeod, Kelly Driver and James Pogue were killed in a car crash.
The resurrected part ... ? Maureen Croissant has now, after 34 years of secrecy decided to put Driver's story into print. Maureen has recently completed the memoirs of her Driver days ... 'Rock and Roll, Crash and Burn: The Driver Story'. Also, Maureen and Darcy's brother David are discussing re-writing the Driver song 'A Long Way Too Far' for Maureen to record.
If plotting Driver's career on a graph, it would have looked like a steep, steady climb upward from 1973 to 1976 ... and then a sudden drop. In 1974 Driver introduced a new addition. Keyboardist and vocalist Maureen Croissant joined the band and completed the not so well rounded group. The youngest member at fifteen, Maureen co-wrote three songs along with Darcy MacLeod early in Driver's history. One of MacLeod/Croissant's song's 'Snowflake' hit public controversy and Driver was banned from performing it at many venues due to its alleged drug related content. Both MacLeod and Croissant denied this at the time. Their other song's 'You're Not the One' and 'A Long Way Too Far' were toned down from their first step over the edge.
Driver was all about stepping over the edge ... their manager made sure of that. They were well known for the animosity and bad blood between them and their manager, Tom Middleton. MacLeod was actually arrested twice during publicly displayed fist fights with Middleton. MacLeod and Driver attempted unsuccessfully to fire the manager several times. Rather than feeling defeat, the band wrote and performed a song about their relationship with the manager called 'Puppet on a String'.
To the five young members of the band, it was all about family and togetherness ... and the music. They were considered musical perfectionists. Kelly Driver was notorious for working his band around the clock when introducing new sets and new songs. Darcy MacLeod often enlisted his brother David and Kelly's brother Eric as extra's in the band to promote a richer sound. Driver toured southern Ontario mainly, with some stops in Manitoba, northern Ontario and the northern US as well. Ironically, the high point of their career turned out to be their end. On October 1, 1976, in the early morning hours after playing what was their biggest concert of their lives in Hamilton Ontario, Darcy MacLeod, Kelly Driver and James Pogue were killed in a car crash.
The resurrected part ... ? Maureen Croissant has now, after 34 years of secrecy decided to put Driver's story into print. Maureen has recently completed the memoirs of her Driver days ... 'Rock and Roll, Crash and Burn: The Driver Story'. Also, Maureen and Darcy's brother David are discussing re-writing the Driver song 'A Long Way Too Far' for Maureen to record.
