#12: Wednesday In Your Garden by Barry Allen

City: Edmonton, AB
Radio Station: CHED
Peak Month: August 1970
Peak Position #7
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Wednesday In Your Garden”
Lyrics: N/A

Barry Allen Rasmussen was born in 1945 in Edmonton, Alberta. His family was musical, and he learned guitar and sang from an early age. Barry wrote for the Canadianbands.com website decades later of himself: “While attending Victoria High School, he was a member of the curling club, and had aspirations of becoming a chartered accountant. But by the time he’d graduated, he was looking at a musical future, and spent the next couple of years in a number of makeshift groups, honing his chops and emulating his British invasion idols.” He joined Wes Dakus and the Rebels in 1965. They band went to New Mexico and recorded with Norman Petty, producer of Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Roy Orbison, Buddy Knox and others. Petty was taken with Barry Allen’s vocal abilities and suggested Allen make some solo records. The outcome were the single releases in early 1965, “Easy Come Easy Go”, and “It’s Alright With Me Now”. The first single climbed to #6 in Edmonton in January 1965, and made the Top 30 in Regina (SK) and Calgary (AB). The followup single climbed to #9 in Edmonton in July 1965.

Barry Allen’s next release was “Lovedrops” which climbed to number-one in Edmonton in May 1966. In September 1966, Barry Allen had a #9 hit in Hamilton (ON) with “Turn Her Down”. The song also made the Top 20 in Peace River (AB), Edmonton (AB), and Regina (SK). In late 1966, Barry Allen was part of Wes Dakus’ band who released “Armful Of Teddy Bears”. The single was a Top Ten hit in Edmonton Grande Prairie (AB), and Regina (SK). In June 1967, Allen’s cover of the 1962 Barbara George song, “I Know”, was a #13 hit in Edmonton.

Allen formed Southbound Freeway in 1967 and concurrently continued with Wes Dakus’ Rebels into 1968. From 1969 to 1972, Allen hosted a variety show in Calgary titled Come Together.  The TV shows backup band, Cheyenne Winter, toured with him in 1971.

While in 1970, Allen signed with Randy Bachman’s Molten Records. He recorded a song written by Bachman and previously recorded by the Guess Who titled “Wednesday In Your Garden”.

“Wednesday In Your Garden” peaked at #7 in Edmonton. It spent seven weeks in the CHED Top Ten, and 13 weeks on the chart.

In 1972 he formed Painter, which included some former members of the 49th Parallel. He produced records after he established Bumstead Studios. He won a number of awards as a producer and in 2013 relaunched The Rebels after Wes Dakus died. At the age of 74, in 2020, Barry Allen died after a battle with cancer.

January 27, 2023
Ray McGinnis

References:
Barry Allen, Dwayne Osepchuk, “Barry Allen,” Canadianbands.com, April 11, 2022.
“Barry Allen, Edmonton musician, Dead at 74,” CTV, April 5, 2020.

CHED 630-AM, Edmonton (AB) Top Ten | August 24, 1970