Ocean

Formed 1970 in London, Ontario, Canada Disbanded

Ocean's first single, "Put Your Hand in the Hand" (from the album of the same name) sold over one million copies in 1971 in both America and the band's native Canada. The gospel-rock band was comprised of Greg Brown (vocals, keyboard), Jeff Jones (bass, vocals), guitarists Janice Brown and Dave Tamblyn, and drummer Chuck Slater. Several singles followed during the early '70s, but none were as popular as the debut. Ocean disbanded in 1975.


Ocean was formed in Agincourt, Ontario in the summer of 1970 by Greg Brown and Dave Tamblyn who had been playing together in pick-up bands on weekends. They soon called Janice Brown to add her vocal abilities and were quickly signed to ARC Records after only a few months of rehearsals.

Ocean's first single was "Put Your Hand In The Hand" which was written for Anne Murray by Gene MacLellan (who had also given her the monster smash "Snowbird"). The song was buried on one of Murray's albums and it wasn't until Ocean sold two million copies did Capitol Records and Anne Murray kick themselves. When the song began to chart in 1971 the group was still playing high school dances in the Toronto area.

The record eventually hit #2 in the US and #1 in Canada and the band was able to successfully tour the world. Several songs followed and helped maintain the band's momentum as they did television appearances and wrote material for their follow-up.

They were never able to duplicate their success south of the border despite have another sizeable hit in Canada with "One More Chance" in 1972. Many member changes occurred and the band was never able to fully reconcile their religious beliefs with their monetary gains and obligations. Ultimately they were ripped off and finally succumbed in 1975.

Because of Ocean's harrowing business experiences, Brown became adept at the business side of the music industry and lobbied to change legislation that would protect Canadian artists from signing contracts without a lawyer.

Brown would also play in bands right through the 1990's with the likes of Second Line Fever and Now And Then (two decidedly different musical styled acts featuring the same band members); Morgan also worked with other acts until 1986 including Network; Jones would go on to continued fame with stints in Red Rider, Ronnie Hawkins Band, Infidels, and The Carpet Frogs; Tamblyn retired from music and Slater committed suicide.

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