Chilliwack

Vocalist Howie Vickers left the The Collectors in 1969; the remaining members formed the band Chilliwack in 1970, Chilliwack being a Salish term meaning "valley of many streams" and the name of a city east of Vancouver in the Fraser Valley. Their debut album, Chilliwack arrived in 1970 with a second of the same title, a double disc set following in 1971 (yes - two of the same name).

Henderson led the remaining former The Collectors members: Glenn Miller (bass/guitar/backing vocals), Ross Turney (drums) and Claire Lawrence (flute/saxophone/keyboards/backing vocals); while he provided most of the vocals and did most of the composing. During 1970, Miller briefly left the band, who were joined on the road by Robbie King (keyboards/bass) and played at Expo '70 in Japan, as well as shows across Canada.

In 1971 bassist Rick Kilburn played live with Chilliwack for a short time before Miller returned later that same year when Lawrence departed. New member Howard Froese (guitar/keyboards/backing vocals) joined in 1973.

Chilliwack's difficult time sustaining success was because of constant changes of label. The two The Collectors albums were on 'Warner Brothers' and Chilliwack's first five albums were on four different labels in Canada: 'Parrot', 'A&M', 'Goldfish' and 'Casino Records'.

All Over You (1972) and Riding High (1974) followed. Rockerbox, their fifth album, was released in December 1975 on 'Sire Records' in the US and (with a different cover) on the little-known 'Casino Records' label in Canada. The album, however, proved to be the band's least successful effort in their home country, Canada.

The band was then signed to Vancouver's 'Mushroom Records', with distribution throughout North America. After completing one album for the label, Dreams, Dreams, Dreams (1977), Chilliwack began work on their seventh album, to be titled Lights from the Valley. The first attempt at recording proved unsatisfactory, leading to discord among the band members. Froese was replaced by Brian MacLeod, who contributed guitar, drums, keyboards and backing vocals. The album was re-recorded; with some of Froese's vocal and guitar work, as well as percussion from session drummer Eddie Tuduri, included in the final mix. By the time of the record's release, bassist Glenn Miller and drummer Ross Turney had left the group. 'Mushroom', however, was also having financial problems which hampered the promotion of the album after its release in June 1978.

Drummer Skip Layton and former Prism bassist Ab Bryant were recruited to perform with Henderson, MacLeod and Jamie Bowers (guitar and keyboards, who had also played on Lights from the Valley) in Chilliwack's 1978 live shows. Henderson, MacLeod and Bryant then began working on Chilliwack's eighth album in 1979, joined by John Roles (guitar/keyboards/backing vocals) and drummer Bucky Berger. 'The Mushroom' label's financial problems didn't end and abruptly declared bankruptcy shortly after the Breakdown in Paradise (1979) was released. Around the same time, Berger was replaced by Rick Taylor and the line-up of Henderson, MacLeod, Bryant, Roles and Taylor toured into 1980.

Chilliwack then signed with 'Solid Gold Records' in Canada and 'Millennium Records' in the U.S. in 1981 as a trio (Henderson/MacLeod/Bryant) and enjoyed its greatest success, releasing the albums Wanna Be a Star (September 1981) and Opus X (October 1982). The singles My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone) (which proved to be their first US Top 40 hit, peaking at 22 in December 1981), I Believe (US 33 in March 1982) and Whatcha Gonna Do (When I'm Gone) (US 41 in December 1982).

Henderson, MacLeod and Bryant were joined by drummer Paul Delaney in the fall of 1981 through early 1982 for US promotional appearances on TV shows, like American Bandstand, Solid Gold and The Merv Griffin Show, touring later in 1982 with an expanded line-up of Henderson, MacLeod, Bryant, Joey Franco (drums), Glenn Grayson (keyboards/backing vocals) and Dennis Grayson (keyboards/backing vocals).

Like 'Mushroom' before, 'Millennium Records' also collapsed, then in early 1983, MacLeod and Bryant left to devote more time to their other project, the Headpins (with Denise McCann and then Darby Mills as lead vocalists). Chilliwack's last studio recording, Look In Look Out (1984) with Henderson as the only continuing member was joined by session players Ashley Mulford (of-Sad Café; guitar/backing vocals), Richard Gibbs (of-Oingo Boingo; keyboards), Mo Foster (bass), Simon Phillips (drums) and Tom Keenlyside (saxophone), with additional vocals provided by Mark LaFrance, Saffron & Camille Henderson, Dustin Keller and Bob Rock.

By 1985, the band was without a record deal, and Henderson brought together a touring line-up of former member Claire Lawrence (sax/backing vocals), Jerry Adolphe (drums), Brian Newcombe (bass), Robbie Gray (keyboards/backing vocals) and Dave Pickell (keyboards). Pickell was replaced almost immediately by another former member John Roles (guitar/keyboards). This grouping played mostly in Canadian clubs and smaller venues until Henderson disbanded the group in December 1988; the following year forming the folk-rock supergroup UHF.

On October 6, 1991 Henderson joined Loverboy, Bryan Adams, Colin James and Chrissy Steele at a benefit show at Vancouver's '86 Street Music Hall' to raise over $50,000 for former Chilliwack bandmate, Brian MacLeod, who was fighting cancer and undergoing treatment but subsequently died on April 25, 1992, aged 39.

After the band had been dormant for nearly a decade, Henderson decided to launch a new Chilliwack line-up in 1997, made up of himself, Adolphe (drums), Doug Edwards (bass/backing vocals) and Roy 'Bim' Forbes (of-UHF; guitar/backing vocals). Forbes was succeeded on guitar in 1998 by Bill's brother, Ed, and Chilliwack released a new live album, There and Back - Live (2003).

On May 24, 2010 the band members (the Henderson brothers, Doug Edwards and Jerry Adolphe) were joined by former members Roy 'Bim' Forbes, Ab Bryant and Claire Lawrence, plus Howard Froese's son Tyson on acoustic guitar (standing in for his father, who had died of cancer in the mid-1990s), along with The Collectors singer Howie Vickers for a 40th Anniversary show at the River Rock Show Theatre in Richmond, British Columbia.

Original bassist, Glenn Miller, died on March 4, 2011, in Toronto after suffering from muscular dystrophy.

Doug Edwards died at his home in Vancouver at the age of 70 on November 11, 2016, after a long illness. He was succeeded by Gord Maxwell (formerly with Ian Tyson and One Horse Blue), who began filling in for Edwards in 2013.

In 2019 Chilliwack was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

On January 22, 2022 Chilliwack played Toronto's Massey Hall with their friend Geoff Hicks briefly filling in on drums for an ill Adolphe.

June 2024 saw Chilliwack perform at the famed Burlington Sound of Music festival.