Postcard Memories is a weekly series of historic postcard views and photos submitted by Marcel Rousseau.
Some were previously published by the Orillia Museum of Art and History and in the book Postcard Memories Orillia.
As a tribute to Gordon Lightfoot, who died on May 1, we are re-publishing this story.
The Teen Timers was formed in September of 1954 with Bill Hughes singing bass, Gord Lightfoot baritone, Terry Whelan lead and Bob Branch tenor.
With only three months practice, the group entered the Ontario Championship Competition at Massey Hall and placed sixth out of 14 quartets.
Throughout the rest of the term they did an average of two engagements a week at service clubs, town gatherings and school events. They lined up a job at a Muskoka Lodge and spent a solid summer of singing and good times.
Twice weekly, they appeared in the resort’s floor show and at other hotels in the district. Late in the summer of 1955 they received an offer to go to New York to try a couple of records but a couple of the boys wanted to further their education and the offer was declined.
In November 1955 the Teen Timers placed second in the Ontario Barbershop Championships at St. Catharines.
Despite its popularity, the group disbanded and Lightfoot moved to Los Angeles, California to study at Hollywood’s Westlake College of Music. He returned to Canada in the early 1960s and teamed up with Terry Whelan in a duo called the Two Tones.
The Two Tones performed at the coffee houses in the Toronto folk scene as well as dance halls and resorts around Orillia and Muskoka.
They released an album called Two Tones at the Village Corner recorded live at the Village Corner in Toronto on Jan. 20, 1962. The Two Tones also released a single later that year with two songs that were recorded in the studio called Lessons in Love and Sweet Polly. Both records are scarce and highly collectible.
Shortly after, Lightfoot went on to develop his own career, gaining recognition as a songwriter with the release of his debut album, Lightfoot, in 1966.
Terry pursued other careers but continued to sing at local Theatre groups and later with the Tom De Moraes Orchestra and the Glen Miller tribute band. Whelan was living in Washago when he passed away on July 31, 2004.
