current_members associated_acts years_active notable_instruments label article_title background genre origin name
kenny , keyboards , clavinet -rrb- bill mononen -lrb- guitar -rrb- hollis bill -lrb- dal -rrb- dalrymple & ron hiller -lrb- bass -lrb- -rrb- blake barrett -lrb- drums -rrb- vocals -rrb- rich wamil -lrb- vocals major hoople 's boarding house 1965 -- 1978 -lsb- clavinet , bass , guitar , drums -rsb- columbia capitol records records rca records sweet plum , london records copperpenny
 group_or_band rock kitchener , ontario copperpenny
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 .
in 1968 , the release of `` nice girl '' on columbia records garnered moderate success .
they soon switched to rca and enjoyed a minor hit with `` stop -lrb- wait a minute -rrb- . ''
however , it was not until their move to sweet plum records , a division of london records , where they would enjoy 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 throughout the united states with headlining acts such as 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 an 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 .
`` fuse '' was their final record , and by the time it 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 the late '70s .
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 cambridge , 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 -lrb- b.ed . -rrb-
and , since 1989 , has maintained a full-time career as children 's recording artist , performer , and educator , ronno .
the other members now have families and took regular day jobs .
