Editing Red Rider

{{Redirect|Tom Cochrane & Red Rider|their self-titled album|Tom Cochrane and Red Rider|the comic strip and fictional cowboy|Red Ryder|other uses|Red Rider (disambiguation)}}
{{Short description|Canadian rock band}}
{{more citations needed|date=August 2008}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians -->
| name              = Red Rider
| image             = Tom_Cochrane_%26_Red_Rider.JPG
| caption           = Tom Cochrane & Red Rider perform in [[Halifax Regional Municipality|Halifax]] August 2007
| landscape         = yes
| alias             = Tom Cochrane & Red Rider
| origin            = [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], [[Canada]]
| genre             = [[Rock music|Rock]], [[hard rock]]
| years_active      = 1975–1990, 2002–present
| label             = [[Capitol Records|Capitol]], [[RCA Records|RCA]]
| associated_acts   = 
| website           = 
| current_members   = <!--Cochrane was not a founding member so he should not be listed before Greer who was.-->[[Ken Greer]]<br>[[Tom Cochrane]]<br>[[Jeff Jones (bassist)|Jeff Jones]]<br>Davide Direnzo<br>Gary Craig
| past_members      = <!--Members should always be listed first chronologically; then alphabetically.-->Rob Baker<br>Peter Boynton<br>Jon Checkowski<br>Arvo Lepp<br>[[Steve Sexton]]<br>[[John Webster (musician)|John Webster]]<br>[[Ken Sinnaeve|Ken "Spider" Sinnaeve]]<br>Randall Coryell<br>Peter Mueller<br>Jamie Oakes<br>Randall "Mongo" Stoll<br>Troy Feener<br>Bill Bell<br>Gary Craig
}}
'''Red Rider''', later known as '''Tom Cochrane & Red Rider''', is a [[Canadians|Canadian]] [[Rock music|rock]] band popular in the 1980s. While they achieved significant success in Canada, the band never had a song in the [[top 40]] in the [[United States]], although "[[Lunatic Fringe (song)|Lunatic Fringe]]" from their second album, 1981's ''[[As Far as Siam]]'', became popular on US [[album-oriented rock]] radio. They also charted on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] with "White Hot" from their debut album ''[[Don't Fight It (album)|Don't Fight It]]'' (1979) and "[[Young Thing, Wild Dreams (Rock Me)]]" from ''[[Breaking Curfew]]'' (1984), and charted comparably to "Lunatic Fringe" on Mainstream Rock ([[Album-oriented rock|AOR]]) with "[[Big League (song)|Big League]]", "Human Race", and "Power", the latter two tracks off 1983's ''[[Neruda (album)|Neruda]]''.

== Band history ==
===As Red Rider ===
Red Rider was formed in [[Toronto]] in 1975 when Peter Boynton (keyboards, synthesizers, vocals), [[Ken Greer]] (guitars, keyboards, backing vocals) and Rob Baker ([[Drum kit|drums]]) joined up with Arvo Lepp (guitar) and Jon Checkowski (bass) and began playing around Toronto, performing both original and cover music.

In 1978, their manager at that time was contacted by [[Capitol Records]] about adding singer/guitarist/composer [[Tom Cochrane]] to the group. Cochrane was invited to one of the band's gigs in [[London, Ontario]] to rehearse with them. Boynton, Greer and Baker were impressed with his playing and songwriting but Lepp and Checkowski were not as enthused and decided to leave the band. [[Jeff Jones (bassist)|Jeff Jones]] (formerly with [[Ocean (band)|Ocean]] and who briefly played for [[Rush (band)|Rush]]) was then brought in on bass, and it was the lineup of Cochrane, Boynton, Greer, Baker and Jones that were signed to Capitol and released their first album ''[[Don't Fight It (album)|Don't Fight It]]'' in October 1979. With the singles "White Hot" and "Don't Fight It", the album quickly reached gold status.

Their second album, ''[[As Far as Siam]]'', was released in June 1981 and featured the hit "Lunatic Fringe", which featured steel guitarist Greer. The song was used in the 1985 movie ''[[Vision Quest (film)|Vision Quest]]'', appeared in the ''[[Miami Vice]]'' episode "Smuggler's Blues" and saw high rotation on the United States cable network [[MTV]]. It is now a mainstay on American [[classic rock]] radio.

Peter Boynton was replaced by keyboardist [[Steve Sexton]] on Red Rider's third album ''[[Neruda (album)|Neruda]]'', released in March 1983, and the track "Napoleon Sheds His Skin" would become one of the more popular songs from the album, while "Human Race" picked up considerable FM radio airplay in the US, becoming their second best known song there after "Lunatic Fringe". Moreover, the song "Can't Turn Back" was used in the ''Miami Vice'' episode "Tale of the Goat".

For their next release, ''[[Breaking Curfew]]'' (September 1984), [[John Webster (musician)|John Webster]] (formerly with Canadian soft rockers [[Stonebolt]]) replaced Sexton on keyboards. The album did not sell as well as ''Neruda'' and a dispute with [[Bruce Allen (manager)|Bruce Allen]], the band's manager, over the future direction of the band resulted in Red Rider's departure from the Bruce Allen camp and a change in band members, as Jeff Jones and Rob Baker left. The album did contain the band's top-charting single in the US, "[[Young Thing, Wild Dreams (Rock Me)]]", which reached number 71 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]].

=== As Tom Cochrane & Red Rider ===

In what became a strong signal regarding the future of the band, they officially became known as Tom Cochrane & Red Rider.  The line-up consisted of Cochrane, Greer and Webster with new member [[Ken Sinnaeve|Ken "Spider" Sinnaeve]] on bass.  For the first album under this revised name (their fifth overall), the group issued the self-titled ''[[Tom Cochrane and Red Rider]]'' LP in May 1986. Sessioneer [[Graham Broad]] ([[Go West (band)|Go West]] and [[Roger Waters]]' band) played drums on the album, recorded in [[Wales]] at [[Rockfield Studios]] and [[Metalworks Studios]] in [[Mississauga]], [[Ontario]] over the early months of 1985, produced by Patrick Moran.  After the release of the album, Randall Coryell was added to the official lineup for live dates, as was guitarist Peter Mueller; this six-piece version of the band would last through early 1990.

In 1987 Capitol released a compilation CD titled ''[[Over 60 Minutes with Red Rider]]'', covering the band's first four albums. Also in 1987, the band, who had been nominated 11 times for [[Juno Awards]], finally was awarded one for Group of the Year.

In the fall of 1988, the band (now a sextet) released their sixth album, ''[[Victory Day (album)|Victory Day]]'', which contained the track "Big League", about the death of a young hockey player. The young man's father approached Cochrane on the day of a concert, mentioning that his son was a big fan of Red Rider's song "Boy Inside The Man".  Cochrane asked the man if his son was going to be attending the concert and the man responded that his son had recently died in a car accident.<ref>[http://www.melodicrock.com/interviews/tomcochrane.html MelodicRock.com interview with Tom Cochrane.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511234817/http://www.melodicrock.com/interviews/tomcochrane.html |date=2008-05-11 }} Accessed September 27, 2008.</ref> Cochrane wrote the song as a memorial, and it became a big hit in Canada (reaching #4), as well as a top 10 hit on US rock radio.

Red Rider's final album, ''[[The Symphony Sessions (Red Rider album)|The Symphony Sessions]]'', which was recorded on March 17 and 18, 1989, and released in December 1989, saw the band performing with the [[Edmonton Symphony Orchestra]], as [[Procol Harum]] had done seventeen years before. The band broke up in early 1990, shortly after the album was released.  Cochrane embarked on a successful solo career, employing Webster and Sinnaeve as part of his backing band.

The three-[[compact disc|CD]] [[box set]] ''Ashes to Diamonds'', which includes material by both Red Rider and Cochrane as a solo artist, was released in 1993.

===Reformation (2002–present)===
Cochrane, Greer, and Jones reunited as Red Rider in 2002 to play a benefit show after their 1980s guitar tech, John Garrish, was mugged and stabbed to death in the Yorkville section of Toronto.  Since that time, Tom Cochrane and Red Rider have continued to tour annually, with Cochrane, Greer, and Jones being the mainstays of this revived version of the group.  Keyboardist Webster was involved for a time between 2003 and 2006; current members Davide Direnzo (drums) and Bill Bell (guitar) both joined in 2006, though Bell dropped out for several years (2012-2016) before rejoining.

[[Professional wrestler]] [[Kurt Angle]] used an instrumental version of "Lunatic Fringe" as his entrance music in [[TNA Wrestling|TNA]]. UFC fighter and former Pride Champion Dan "Hendo" Henderson also uses "Lunatic Fringe" as his intro song.

== Members ==

<!--Years are correct for members of band during first period of existence. However information on the service of post-millenium members is limited, and the years of service for these musicians may need correcting.-->
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

'''Current members'''
* [[Ken Greer]] – guitars, keyboards, backing vocals <small>(1975–1990, 2002–present)</small>
* [[Tom Cochrane]] – vocals, guitar <small>(1978–1990, 2002–present)</small>
* [[Jeff Jones (bassist)|Jeff Jones]] – bass, backing vocals <small>(1978–1985, 2002–present)</small>
* Davide Direnzo – drums <small>(2006–present)</small>
* Bill Bell – guitar <small>(2006-2011, 2017–present)</small>
{{col-2}}

'''Former members'''
* Rob Baker – drums <small>(1975–1985)</small>
* Peter Boynton – keyboards, synthesizers, vocals <small>(1975–1983)</small>
* Jon Checkowski – bass <small>(1975–1978)</small>
* Arvo Lepp – guitar <small>(1975–1978)</small> 
* [[Steve Sexton]] - keyboards, synthesizers <small>(1983-1984)</small>
* [[John Webster (musician)|John Webster]] – keyboards, synthesizers <small>(1984–1989, 2003–2006)</small>
* [[Ken Sinnaeve|Ken "Spider" Sinnaeve]] – bass <small>(1985–1990)</small>
* Randall Coryell – drums <small>(1986–1990)</small>
* Peter Mueller – guitar <small>(1988–1989)</small>
* Jamie Oakes – guitar <small>(2002–2006)</small>
* Randall "Mongo" Stoll – drums <small>(1998-2019)</small>
* Troy Feener – drums <small>(2002–2006; 2009 – fill in for Direnzo)</small>
* Gary Craig – drums <small>(2007 and 2009 – fill in for Direnzo)</small>
{{col-end}}

'''Timeline'''
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  id:drums       value:orange    legend:Drums
  id:keys       value:purple    legend:Keyboards,_synthesizers
  id:bvocals       value:pink    legend:Backing_vocals
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  bar:Greer  text:Ken Greer
  bar:Lepp  text:Arvo Lepp
  bar:Mueller  text:Peter Mueller
  bar:Oakes  text:Jamie Oakes
  bar:Bell  text:Bill Bell
  bar:Boynton  text:Peter Boynton
  bar:Sexton  text:Steve Sexton
  bar:Webster  text:John Webster
  bar:Checkowski  text:Jon Checkowski
  bar:Jones  text:Jeff Jones
  bar:Sinnaeve  text:Ken Sinnaeve
  bar:Baker  text:Rob Baker
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  bar:Stoll  text:Randall Stoll
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  bar:Cochrane from:01/01/2002 till:end     color:vocals
  bar:Cochrane from:01/01/2002 till:end      color:guitar width:3
  bar:Greer  from:start till:03/01/1990      color:guitar
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  bar:Greer  from:start till:03/01/1990      color:keys width:7
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  bar:Greer  from:01/01/2002 till:end      color:keys width:7
  bar:Lepp  from:start till:05/31/1978      color:guitar
  bar:Mueller  from:10/01/1988 till:12/31/1989 color:guitar
  bar:Oakes  from:01/01/2002 till:05/31/2006 color:guitar
  bar:Bell  from:06/01/2006 till:12/31/2011 color:guitar
  bar:Bell  from:01/01/2017 till:end color:guitar
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  bar:Sexton  from:02/01/1983 till:05/31/1984      color:keys
  bar:Webster  from:06/01/1984 till:12/31/1989     color:keys
  bar:Webster  from:01/01/2003 till:12/31/2006     color:keys
  bar:Checkowski  from:start till:05/31/1978      color:bass
  bar:Jones  from:06/01/1978 till:05/31/1985      color:bass
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  bar:Jones  from:01/01/2002 till:end      color:bass
  bar:Jones  from:01/01/2002 till:end      color:bvocals width:3
  bar:Sinnaeve  from:06/01/1985 till:03/01/1990      color:bass
  bar:Baker  from:start till:12/31/1985      color:drums
  bar:Coryell  from:01/01/1986 till:03/01/1990      color:drums
  bar:Stoll  from:01/01/2002 till:05/31/2006      color:drums
  bar:Direnzo  from:06/01/2006 till:end      color:drums

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  at:10/23/1979
  at:06/30/1981
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  at:05/07/1986
  at:09/01/1988
  at:12/01/1989
}}

== Discography ==

=== Studio albums ===

==== As Red Rider ====

* ''[[Don't Fight It (album)|Don't Fight It]]'' (1979)- Platinum in Canada
* ''[[As Far as Siam]]'' (1981)- Platinum in Canada
* ''[[Neruda (album)|Neruda]]'' (1983) Platinum in Canada
* ''[[Breaking Curfew]]'' (1984)

==== Tom Cochrane & Red Rider ====

* ''[[Tom Cochrane and Red Rider]]'' (1986) Platinum in Canada
* ''[[Victory Day (album)|Victory Day]]'' (1988) Platinum in Canada
* ''[[The Symphony Sessions (Red Rider album)|The Symphony Sessions]]''  (1989) Platinum in Canada

=== Compilation albums ===

* ''[[Over 60 Minutes with Red Rider]]'' (1987)
* ''Ashes to Diamonds'' (1993)
* ''Trapeze: The Collection'' (2002)

=== Singles ===

{| class="wikitable"
!rowspan="2" | Year
!rowspan="2" | Title
!colspan="4" | Chart peak
!rowspan="2" | Album
|-
! width="45"| <small>[[RPM (magazine)|CAN]]</small><br><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=q0gkvkilk83j4q8pp8pubneil6&q1=Red+Rider&q2=Top+Singles&interval=20|title=Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada - Top Singles|work=[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]|access-date=December 17, 2011}}</ref>
! width="45"| <small>[[Kent Music Report|AUS]]<br /><ref name=aus>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=248}}</ref></small>
! width="45"| <small>[[Hot 100|US]]</small><br><ref name="Billboard">{{cite magazine|url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=red rider|chart=Country Albums C}}|title=Red Rider Album & Song Chart History - Billboard Hot 100 & Mainstream Rock|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|publisher=[[Prometheus Global Media]]|access-date=December 11, 2010}}</ref>
! width="45"| <small>[[Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks|US<br>Main]]</small><br><ref name="Billboard"/><ref>{{cite book |last= Whitburn|first= Joel|title= Joel Whitburn Presents Rock Tracks 1981-2008|page= 55}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan=2| 1980
| "White Hot" 
| align="center"|20 
| align="center"|—
| align="center"|48 
| align="center"|—
| rowspan="2"| ''[[Don't Fight It (album)|Don't Fight It]]''
|-
| "Don't Fight It" 
| align="center"|75 
| align="center"|—
| align="center"|103 
| align="center"|— 
|-
| rowspan=2| 1981
| "What Have You Got To Do" 
| align="center"|42
| align="center"|—
| align="center"|— 
| align="center"|— 
| rowspan="2"|''[[As Far as Siam]]'' 
|-
| "[[Lunatic Fringe (song)|Lunatic Fringe]]" 
| align="center"|—
| align="center"|52
| align="center"|— 
| align="center"|11 
|-
| rowspan=3| 1983
| "Human Race" 
| align="center"|29
| align="center"|—
| align="center"|— 
| align="center"|11 
| rowspan="3"|''[[Neruda (album)|Neruda]]'' 
|-
| "Power (Strength in Numbers)" 
| align="center"|—
| align="center"|— 
| align="center"|—
| align="center"|13 
|-
| "Crack the Sky (Breakaway)" 
| align="center"|—
| align="center"|—
| align="center"|— 
| align="center"|39 
|-
| rowspan=2| 1984
| "[[Young Thing, Wild Dreams (Rock Me)]]" 
| align="center"|44
| align="center"|—
| align="center"|71 
| align="center"|13 
| rowspan="2"|''[[Breaking Curfew]]''
|-
| "Breaking Curfew" 
| align="center"|93
| align="center"|— 
| align="center"|—
| align="center"|— 
|-
| rowspan=2| 1986
| "Boy Inside The Man" 
| align="center"|25 
| align="center"|— 
| align="center"|—
| align="center"|17 
| rowspan="4"|''[[Tom Cochrane and Red Rider]]''
|-
| "The Untouchable One" 
| align="center"|70 
| align="center"|—
| align="center"|— 
| align="center"|48 
|-
| rowspan=2| 1987
| "One More Time (Some Old Habits)" 
| align="center"|85 
| align="center"|— 
| align="center"|—
| align="center"|— 
|-
| "Ocean Blues (Emotion Blue)" 
| align="center"|88 
| align="center"|— 
| align="center"|—
| align="center"|— 
|-
| 1988
| "[[Big League (song)|Big League]]"
| align="center"|4 
| align="center"|—
| align="center"|— 
| align="center"|9 
| rowspan="5"|''[[Victory Day (album)|Victory Day]]''
|-
| rowspan=5| 1989
| "Calling America" 
| align="center"|— 
| align="center"|—
| align="center"|— 
| align="center"|42
|-
| "Good Times" 
| align="center"|2 
| align="center"|— 
| align="center"|— 
| align="center"|—
|-
| "Victory Day" 
| align="center"|32 
| align="center"|— 
| align="center"|—
| align="center"|— 
|-
| "Different Drummer" 
| align="center"|67 
| align="center"|— 
| align="center"|—
| align="center"|— 
|-
| "White Hot" (Live)
| align="center"|50 
| align="center"|—
| align="center"|— 
| align="center"|— 
| rowspan="1"|''[[The Symphony Sessions (Red Rider album)|The Symphony Sessions]]''
|}

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

== External links ==


* [http://www.canadianbands.com/Red%20Rider.html CanConRox bio]
* {{Discogs artist|Red Rider}}
* {{imdb name|3624489}}
* [https://ken-greer.com/ Official Ken Greer website]
* [https://www.jeff-jones.com/ Official Jeff Jones website]
* [http://suitepete.com/ Original Keyboardist Peter Boynton's website]

{{Red Rider}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Red Rider}}
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1979]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1989]]
[[Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2002]]
[[Category:Musical groups from Toronto]]
[[Category:Canadian country rock groups]]
[[Category:Canadian progressive rock groups]]
[[Category:1979 establishments in Ontario]]
[[Category:1989 disestablishments in Ontario]]
[[Category:2002 establishments in Ontario]]
[[Category:Capitol Records artists]]
[[Category:RCA Records artists]]
[[Category:Juno Award for Group of the Year winners]]