Lenny Breau Trio & Ray St. Germain on 'Time For Livin'': Toronto 1969/ Interview w/ Ray St. Germain

In October of 1956, Lenny Breau and his family relocated to Winnipeg from Maine to host a weekly radio show on CKY Radio. Their Saturday morning broadcasts and regular touring gained the group, known as Hal Lone Pine and the CKY Caravan, a large and appreciative audience throughout the prairies and northern border states.
About two months after arriving in Winnipeg, the core of the CKY Caravan-Betty Cody, Hal Lone Pine and Lenny (known professionally as Lone Pine Jr.)-- visited The Rainbow Dance Gardens, a popular Winnipeg music venue, to check out a sixteen-year-old local performer named Ray St. Germain who specialized in Elvis Presley songs.
During the course of the evening, Lenny sat in with Ray’s band. Hal Lone Pine was impressed with what he heard and asked Ray to become part of the CKY Caravan show.This would be the beginning of a close, lifelong friendship between Ray and Lenny. (Ray and Lenny also became brothers-in-law when Lenny married Ray's sister, Valerie, in 1959. ) For almost three years the two travelled throughout the prairies and northern border states with Hal Lone Pine's band, which broke up after a year-long stint in Moose Jaw with their own show on CHAB radio.
Ray and Lenny formed a duo called The Mississippi Gamblers in the early 1960s, which played in and around Winnipeg at various venues including the local drive-in.
From 1963 to 1967, Ray St. Germain was the host and main vocalist on a weekly national CBC TV show called 'Hootenanny'. Lenny held down the guitar chair in the show's band playing a blend of pop, folk and country music. Lenny left 'Hootenanny' to move to Toronto a year before the show came to an end and Ray relocated to Toronto a few years later.
The two friends performed together only once in Toronto when Ray booked Lenny and a trio comprising Dave Lewis on drums and Don Thompson on bass to play on his CBC show, 'Time for Livin''.
Lenny and the trio played 'Don't Think Twice', which Lenny had recorded on his first album. After an unexpectedly extended version of the tune, Ray St. Germain joined the trio to perform the Elvis hit 'Mean Woman Blues', a song Ray and Lenny had played often on the road with the CKY Caravan.
Ray and Lenny played together occasionally in the early/mid 70s in Winnipeg when Lenny was in town at Chan's Moon Roof where Ray performed regularly.
Although they saw each infrequently over the next ten years, they spoke often on the phone and remained close friends until Lenny was murdered in Los Angeles in 1984.
Thanks to our Lenny Breau Archives friend Marc Cohen for providing us with this historic performance and allowing us to share it on the LB Archives.
Also, thanks to our Lenny Breau Archives friend Bill Hillman for allowing us to use his excellent photo of Lenny, Ray and Jack Paget to accompany Ray's interview.
1. Interview with Ray St. Germain
2. Don't Think Twice, It's Alright (Lenny Breau Trio) 11:15
3. Mean Woman Blues (Lenny Breau Trio with Ray St. Germain) 16:28

[@joedefelice7001]

Great stuff! LENNY is in top form👍

[@sitarnut]

I'm knocked out again.. How does Lenny do it...the chords, the single note lines and the chimes!! He was the complete package. So much Joy listening to anything he played. Bless you folks at the LB Archive for keeping him alive because it never gets old, not with Lenny. Excitement level so high with him from the first note or chord, and with like all the greats, you could never figure what was going to happen next, but it would swing like crazy.

[@Synonomous]

Brilliant as always. Thank you for this!

[@thelennybreauarchives5675]

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[@ScottDercksGuitarist]

With a scat solo by Lenny! (about 18:00 mark)