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Ben Kerr

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Ben Kerr
BornApril 27, 1930
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
DiedJune 17, 2005(2005-06-17) (aged 74–75)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupationmusician

Ben Kerr (April 27 1930 – June 17, 2005) was a Canadian author, broadcaster, musician and perennial candidate, who was most famous as one of Toronto, Ontario's quirky street performers.

Background

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Kerr was born April 27 1930 in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia to Benjamin Kerr, a professional golfer, and Mildred Audrey Torrance, a stenographer, and spent fifteen years in the Royal Canadian Air Force before settling in Toronto. In the 1960s, Kerr frequently played guitar in folk clubs in Toronto's Yorkville district working alongside groups such as Steppenwolf, the Mynah Birds, Rick James, Gordon Lightfoot and Joni Mitchell, and wrote songs for the then unknown Neil Young.

In 1969, he had a life changing experience when he gave up his three pack a day smoking habit and started taking a daily cayenne pepper cocktail. He credited the concoction with turning his health around and saving his life.[1] He later wrote the book "The Cayenne Pepper Does it All" to document this experience.[2]

Kerr was considered a "major promoter for Canadian Country Music artists"[3] by the 1970's. In 1971, Kerr wrote "Parliament Hill"[4] for Angus Walker who he was promoting at the time. "Parliament Hill" peaked at number 18 on RPM Country 50 rankings.[5] On June 3, 1973, a group of twelve entertainers and promoters met at The Horseshoe Tavern, in Toronto, Ontario at formed the original board of directors for the Canadian Country Music Association.[3] This group included Brent Williams, notable country and bluegrass entertainer, Jury Krytiuk, president of Boot Records, Bod Dalton, a promotor, Sean Eyre, DJ Lindsay, radio personality Harold Moon who worked for BMI Records, Jack Starr of The Horseshoe Tavern, Barry Haugen of RCA Records, Vic Folliott of Brantford Radio, Mary Butterill of CAPAC Publishing and Kerr.[3] Kerr released "Shoes Keep on Walking" in the fall of 1973 and peaked at number 82 on RPM Magazine's ranking of country music songs.[6]

For a time, Kerr was an executive at the Toronto Harbour Commission. A fervent anti-smoking crusader, he quit the job in a rage in 1981 when a co-worker blew smoke in his face. He wrote a song, "Fire on One End, a Fool on the Other", about the incident.[7] This inspired him to run from Toronto to Los Angeles to promote a smoking ban in offices. The run took him six months. Also in 1981, Kerr released "Distilled Water", a song that peaked at number 27 on RPM Magazine's top 30 Canadian content list[8] and number 64 on RPM Magazine's Top 75 Country Singles[9] He was also in the 1982 Trees music video "Shock of the New", appearing as a guy with an oxygen mask and a shirt promoting clean air in offices.[10] In 1987, he played a dead man in the basement of Casa Loma in B.D. Benedikt's Beyond the 7th Door.[11]

Post-retirement

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Kerr supported himself as a busker for the remainder of his life, singing with a karaoke machine in front of the Hudson's Bay department store at the corner of Yonge and Bloor streets.[12][13] He was often voted "favourite street performer" in Now Magazine's annual Toronto survey,[1] and it is rumoured that Kerr was once offered a recording contract with Sub Pop Records. He continued to appear frequently on radio and television as an advocate for the health benefits of cayenne pepper, and was the author of The Cayenne Pepper Cocktail Does it All.

As well, he was a perennial fringe candidate who ran in every Toronto mayoral election from 1985 until 2003, the last municipal election held before his death.[14] In 1997, he placed fourth behind Mel Lastman, Barbara Hall and Don Andrews. In the 2000 election, he ran on a platform of waterfront renewal, backed by the self-penned campaign song "Fringe Candidate".

Ben Kerr died on June 17, 2005, at his home on Jones Avenue in Toronto, at the age of 75. In 2007, Toronto City Council approved a motion to name a laneway near the corner of Danforth and Jones in Kerr's honour.[15] Ben Kerr Lane was officially named on May 25, 2008.[16]

Discography

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Singles

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Year Single CAN Country
1973 "Shoes Keep on Walking" 82
1981 "Distilled Water" 64

References

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  1. ^ a b Moore, Oliver (25 June 2005). "Ben Kerr". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  2. ^ Kerr, Ben (1998). The Cayenne Pepper Does It All. Victory Enterprises Publications. ISBN 9780967022505.
  3. ^ a b c Williams, Brent (2022). Levi Brenton Williams: Before and After Notoriety. Writers' Republic. ISBN 9798885364188.
  4. ^ Angus Walker - Don't Wake The Sleeping Lion / Parliament Hill, retrieved 2022-10-29
  5. ^ "RPM Country 50". RPM Magazine. September 4, 1971. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  6. ^ "RPM Top 100 Country Songs". RPM Magazine. September 22, 1973. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  7. ^ Conroy, Ed. "That time when Ben Kerr was the king of Toronto buskers". www.blogto.com.
  8. ^ "RPM Country Cancon Singles". RPM Magazine. February 14, 1981. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  9. ^ "RPM Magazine Top 75 Country Singles". RPM Magazine. December 9, 1981.
  10. ^ "Trees - Shock of the New (1982)". YouTube. 2 November 2017. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  11. ^ "Beyond the 7th Door". IMDB. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  12. ^ Topping, David (25 February 2009). "Post No Bens". Torontoist. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  13. ^ Wong, Yee-Guan (3 March 2015). "The big 'if'". NOW Magazine. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  14. ^ "Ben Kerr Lane: Street Names". thestar.com. 18 October 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  15. ^ "Laneway is named in honour of candidate", The Globe and Mail, September 13, 2007.
  16. ^ "Ben Kerr Laneway forever marks a local man's life". Toronto.com. 29 May 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
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