The Strangers were a Montreal folk trio consisting of Martin Overland, his sister, Arlene Overland and their buddy, Leon Segal. From their first gig at the El Morocco, in 1957, it wasn’t long before they dominated the nightclub scene. Their unique sound, fabulous harmonies, handsome, wholesome appearance and easy informal manner turned somewhat cynical jaded nightclub audiences into devoted fans, who often followed the group when they went on tour. Their repertoire was rich and varied: folk, calypso, standards and novelty material sung in several languages and in a new and stimulating style. They were under contract to London Records.
The Strangers auditioned for the owner of the El Morocco, the classiest Club in Montreal. He was blown away by their sound, energy, and appearance. He signed them to a 6-month contract on the spot! Their ‘home’ at the El Morocco was The Casbah Lounge, a warm and intimate venue upstairs from the main dinner/dance ballroom where Maury Kaye and his fabulous band played backup for Hollywood stars like Sinatra, Vic Damone and Constance Bennett, to name a few. Those were the days of the BIG nightclub, and Montreal clubs like The Chez Paree, Bellevue Casino and of course, the El Morocco, were a magnet for acts like Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis who were yet to become world famous.
The boys in the big band enjoyed recounting how Vic Damone was on the phone to his actress wife, Pier Angeli in Hollywood. Pier was asking him if he was faithful to her. He, of course, answered in the affirmative while clutching one of the chorus girls in his arms.
After 6 months at the El Morocco, The Strangers opened Bill Gold’s New Elbow Room at the Barclay Hotel in Toronto for a six-week engagement. They then played The Orchid Room at the Club One Two, Toronto’s sumptuous answer to The El Morocco. Toronto, in the 50’s, was considered ‘hick’ compared to sophisticated Montreal, and whereas in Montreal, The Strangers, after work, could unwind at Dunn’s Delicatessen for mouthwatering smoked meat at 4 am, in Toronto all you got after work was Fran’s, a dimly-lit down at the heels diner. Incidentally, in Montreal, upstairs in the attic at Dunn’s, a struggling young poet named Leonard Cohen was entertaining future beatniks.
The Strangers went on to play the Sheraton Mount Royal Hotel, at that time Montreal’s poshest, the Scribe Lounge at the Cafe St. Jacques in the heart of the Latin Quarter In Montreal, clubs in Trois Rivieres and Shawinigan Falls where predominantly French audiences embraced the group and took Polaroid pictures of them.
They appeared on coast to coast television on the first late night show in Montreal, The Jimmy Tapp Show and on “Steve’s Place” on CFCF radio. They received rave reviews in the major newspapers in Montreal and Toronto and with Club operators reporting excellent attendance, it is easy to understand why The Strangers were held over wherever they performed.
Martin Overland was on guitar and was the lead singer. He was very handsome and always had groupies who wanted to be with him after the show. He would ask his stunning sister, Arlene, to make excuses for him, and he’d escape out the rear entrance. Arlene and Lee would leave together, and all would meet up at Dunn’s where everything was on the house because they were delighted to host the now-famous group.
(The Strangers first release on London Records included “Angelico” sung in Haitian patois, backed by “Sweet Temptation” an original song, music, and lyrics written by their agent, Norman Spunt, and a Canadian adaptation of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land”, backed by “The Wheels Are Turning”)
It being in the late ’50’s, The Strangers were performing during the peak of the Cold War. Atomic testing was being done in the atmosphere. The number was constantly escalating, topping at about 115 in one year, and culminating with the Russians’ 50 megaton “Tsar Bomba”, the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated. Family fallout shelter building was at its height. Cold War anxiety was rife.
When The Strangers came on stage singing Lord Melody’s classic self-mocking ‘Mama Look a Boo-Boo’, Arlene would take a short solo but with her own topical variation on the lyrics:
“Mama Look a Boo-Boo” they shout
their mother tell them “watch out for fallout”
“look at your Daddy, he know
was fallout make him ugly so!”
Everyone in the audience got it immediately, and laughed – a bit nervously!
REVIEWS
Toronto Star August 26, 1957
The Club One Two (12 Adelaide Street East) was one of a number of nightclubs in advertising regular calypso performances in the late 1950s. While some, like Ray Carroll and His Jamaicans who enjoyed a nine-week run at the club, were the genuine article and were composed of musicians born in Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, and Bermuda, others were opportunists.
Despite their stated preference for Canadian folk songs, Martin Overland, his sister Arlene, and friend Leon Segal formed The Strangers as a calypso trio in early 1957 specifically to capitalize on the craze. “Calypso is West Indian folk singing,” Overland explained. “I thought if I formed a calypso group, I could also teach the group to sing Canadian folk songs.” Although The Strangers sang calypsos like “The Wheels Are Turning,” and “Sweet Temptation”—always careful to explain their origin and meaning to the audience like they were museum artifacts—The Strangers’ set also included Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land.” Inevitably, the trio’s one-week appearance at the Club One Two earned it a three-month engagement at the Barclay Hotel and a recording contract with London Records.
