Copperpenny

Copperpenny was a Canadian rock band from Kitchener, Ontario. They were formed in 1965 by Kenny Hollis and Rich Wamil, and were originally known as the Penny Farthings, to reflect the British Invasion. Not long after their formation they adopted Copperpenny as their new moniker, after a B-side by Toronto band The Paupers.[1]

In 1968, the release of "Nice Girl" on Columbia Records garnered the group moderate success. They soon switched to RCA and enjoyed a minor hit with "Stop (Wait A Minute)." However, it was not until after they moved to Sweet Plum Records, a division of London Records, that they enjoyed their first major success.

"You're Still The One" was the band's first mainstream hit and the follow-up, 1973's "Sitting on a Poor Man's Throne," was recorded in Dearborn, Michigan, with Richard Becker.

Copperpenny continued to record as they toured the United States with Led Zeppelin, Bob Seger, The Guess Who and Uriah Heep.

1975 saw them sign on with Capitol Records. They made several appearances on television shows such as "Keith Hampshire's Music Machine". Copperpenny even had a short-lived variety show that launched the career of a then unknown magician named Doug Henning.

During this period, they had continued success with the singles "Disco Queen", "Good Time Sally" and "Suspicious Love". They toured Canada in support of the Fuse album opening for the Swedish band Blue Swede. Their touring line-up included Mark Stephen Gendel on guitar, Bill Mair on bass and Jim Minas on Drums.

By the time their final record, Fuse, was released, most of the original members had already left the band. Rich Wamil supported the effort as Rich Wamil & Copperpenny, but the remaining band split up in 1978.

Co-founder Kenny Hollis went on to have a successful solo career with the single "Goin' Hollywood". He would later become PR manager at Lulu's Roadhouse in Kitchener, Ontario, with several Copperpenny reunion shows throughout the 1980s. Hollis died on July 12, 2002 after suffering a heart attack.

Ron Hiller spent 1979-1981 in a Toronto-based contemporary gospel music band called Sonlight. They did the local Toronto church scene, and Kitchener-Waterloo, as well as summer gigs in Muskoka, Ontario. Hiller subsequently earned his teaching degree and, since 1989, has maintained a full-time career as children's recording artist, performer, and educator under the name RONNO.