Neil Merryweather

Neil Merryweather (born Robert Neilson Lillie; December 27, 1945 – March 28, 2021) was a Canadian rock singer, bass player and songwriter.

Biography Merryweather was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He began his career in Toronto in the early 1960s, performing under the name Bobby Neilson, and then Neil Lillie. He played in bands such as Just Us, the Tripp, the Mynah Birds (including Rick James), and the Flying Circus (including Bruce Cockburn. He left the Flying Circus in March 1968, and reunited with former Tripp members Ed Roth and Jimmy Livingston to form a new band. Adding guitarist Dave Burt, formerly in the Fraser Loveman Group, and drummer Gary Hall, the new group was initially dubbed 'New King Boiler'.

Merryweather's second album, Word of Mouth (released in September 1969), was a double album recorded in Los Angeles featuring the band with Steve Miller, Barry Goldberg, Charlie Musselwhite, Dave Mason, Howard Roberts and Bobby Notkoff.

Merryweather flew back to Toronto to recruit replacements, then returned with them to record the album Neil Merryweather, John Richardson and Boers for the blues label Kent in early 1970. The resulting album was credited to Merryweather, former Ugly Ducklings drummer Robin Boers, guitarist John Richardson from Nucleus (and before that Lords of London), and ex-49th Parallel member J.J. Velker. Merryweather agreed to do the album for the money to support the new band. They did a follow-up album for RCA, Ivar Avenue Reunion, featuring the same basic group plus Goldberg, Musselwhite, and Merryweather's new girlfriend, ex-C.K. Strong singer Lynn Carey. In 2016, they started working on an album under the name Merryweather Stark. The album Carved in Rock was released on CD and double vinyl by GMR Music in 2018.

In 2020, Merryweather Stark released their second album Rock Solid (GMR Music) on CD and LP. Neil also participated on the Volume Four album by Stark's Mountain of Power, where he sang on the songs "In My Eyes" (originally by Three Man Army) and "Sweet Wealth" (originally by the band Rockicks). Late 2020, Swedish label Regain Records started working on re-issuing Neil's Kryptonite and Space Rangers albums. They were re-mastered by Janne Stark, who also mixed the bonus tracks featured on the releases.

While recording the Rock Solid album in 2019, Merryweather and Stark visited the Skeleton Key studios in Las Vegas and teamed up with drummer John Wackerman. The trio wrote and recorded the basic tracks for the album Cosmic Affect in just three days. The album was not released until November 11, 2022, on Metalville Records.

Merryweather died in Las Vegas, Nevada, on March 29, 2021, after a short illness.

Discography Merryweather (with Merryweather) (Capitol, 1969) Word of Mouth (with Merryweather) (Capitol, 1969) Neil Merryweather, John Richardson and Boers (Kent, 1970) Ivar Avenue Reunion (with Barry Goldberg, Charlie Musselwhite, Lynn Carey) (RCA, 1970) Vacuum Cleaner (with Lynn Carey) (RCA, 1971) Preserve Wildlife (with Mama Lion) (Family Productions, 1972) Heavy Cruiser (with Heavy Cruiser) (Family Productions, 1972) Lucky Dog (with Heavy Cruiser) (Family Productions, 1973) Give It Everything I've Got (with Mama Lion) (Family Productions, 1973) Space Rangers (Mercury, 1974) – Neil Merryweather, bass and vocals; Tim McGovern, drums; Timo Laine, guitar; Michael "Jeep" Willis, guitar; Robert Silvert, Chamberlin and synthesizer; "Edgemont", synthesizer patches Kryptonite (with Space Rangers) (Mercury, 1975) – Neil Merryweather, bass and vocals; Michael "Jeep" Willis, lead guitar; James Herndon, Chamberlin, synthesizer, guitar and slide guitar; Tim McGovern, drums and guitar Differences (1978) Radical Genes (with Eyes) (1980) Hundred Watt Head (with Hundred Watt Head) (2009) The La La Land Blues Band (with The La La Land Blues Band) (2009) Carved in Rock (with Merryweather Stark) (2018) Neil Merryweather and Hundred Watt Head Too (with Hundred Watt Head) (2019) Red (with Hundred Watt Head) (2019) Rock Solid (with Merryweather Stark) (2020) Cosmic Affect (with Merryweather Stark Wackerman) (2022)