Eddie Shack joined the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1961 and would go on to win a number of Stanley Cups with the team. In 1966, the song “Clear The Track, Here Comes Shack” was a hit in Toronto. With lyrics like “he knocks ‘em down and he gives ‘em a whack” it’s easy to see why - the song went to #1 on 1050 CHUM and stayed on the charts for 9 weeks:
The band was Douglas Rankine and the Secrets, who had just put out their first single (“Cryin’ Over Her” b/w “He Treats You Bad“ on Arc records). Soon enough the only thing people wanted to hear at their live shows was the shack track, so in 1967 they changed their name to The Quiet Jungle and distanced themselves from the novelty hit. Their first single on Yorkville Records was “Ship Of Dreams” b/w “Everything”. Here is the b-side:
They shared their next single with R. Dean Taylor - he had the a-side with “At The High School Dance“ with the Quiet Jungle’s track “Ship Of Dreams” as the flip. Their third single was “Too Much In Love” b/w “Make Up Your Mind”. Here is the a-side:
In 1967, Arc Records in Toronto decided to cash in on The Monkees craze, and so they put out the LP “A Little Bit Me” which was an album with tracks by The Quiet Jungle covering Monkee’s hits (the band name does not appear on the album). From the liner notes: “… we know you will find this salute to the fabulous four right out of sight”. Arc Records released “The Story Of Snoopy’s Christmas” in 1968, again with The Quiet Jungle as band (credited this time) doing Christmas songs. From the Monkee’s album, here is “Stepping Stone”:
in 1968, the band appeared on a compilation album on the Yorkville label, this time calling themselves “The Scarlet Ribbon“. From the CTV “After Four” album, this is “Four In The Morning“:
Below are the album covers for “A Little Bit Me”, “The Story Of Snoopy’s Christmas”, “After Four”, and also the cover of “Let’s Spend The Night Together” on Arc Records - a “salute” to the Rolling Stones and other British bands - that’s Douglas Rankine on the cover.
From the Story of Snoopy’s Christmas, here is “Marshmallow World”: