Name: The Stampeders...One More Time!
Start: 2024-04-29T23:30:00+00:00

05Mar24 -

From Kim Meyer (aka Kim Berly)

It is with sadness and love that we must announce the passing of our longtime friend and bandmate Cornelis Van Sprang, known to most as Ronnie King.

Ronnie died yesterday at the Peter Lougheed Hospital in Calgary.

The sudden drastic turn in his health took us all by surprise. As little as three weeks ago he was looking forward to doing one final tour with The Stampeders and was in a positive and optimistic state of mind. Sadly, it was not to be.

Ronnie, Rich, and I began making music together in the spring of 1966 and shortly thereafter left Calgary to pursue the dream of pop stardom in Toronto. The dream became reality five years later with the release of "Carry Me" followed by our breakout hit "Sweet City Woman".

For the last fifty-six years, the Stampeders have entertained Canadians from coast to coast with Ronnie's irrepressible humor and willingness to do anything for a laugh setting the tone.

We, who shared the stage of life with him, were, no doubt, the recipients of an extra-large dose of his larger-than-life persona, and we will miss him.

The tour that was intended to be his final bow will now, instead, be our tribute to, and celebration of, our beautiful friend and partner.

The show must go on...Ronnie wouldn't have it any other way.

THE STAMPEDERS... One More Time

‘They're on their way, to the city lights’ ... and, THE predominant Canadian Rock ‘n’ Roll band of the 1970s – The Stampeders – are bringing along all their classic hits: Wild Eyes, Carry Me, Oh My Lady, Devil You, Monday Morning Choo Choo, Minstrel Gypsy, Hit the Road Jack and, of course, the quintessential Canadian – and Hall of Fame – song, Sweet City Woman! A veritable soundtrack to a whole generation that will ‘carry you home’ ... maybe not to Birmingham ... but back to a time of tie-dyed t-shirts and elevator shoes, 15¢ coffee and homemade apple pie, dating and dreaming ... By the time The Stampeders get to the first chorus of the first song, everyone will be singing along.

No seventies group represented Canada's musical identity to the world like The Stampeders. A quick look at Canada's music scene from 1971 until 1976 confirms The Stampeders were truly the country's international musical ambassadors, touring more extensively in Canada and overseas than any other Canadian group during that time. In 1977 the trio: Rich Dodson (lead guitar), Kim Berly (drums) and Ronnie King (bass) parted company but reunited, fittingly at the Calgary Stampede, 15 years later in 1992. Since then they’ve been recognized by SOCAN for their Lifetime Achievement, been inducted into the SOCAN Songwriters Hall of Fame on five occasions and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame for their 1971 seminal hit Sweet City Woman.

The enduring musical legacy of The Stampeders ... One More Time ... 'better catch a noon train, better get there for a rock 'n' rolling good time!’