Jim Clench, R.I.P.

This evening I am extremely saddened to report the passing of Jim Clench, vocalist/bass guitarist for April Wine and BTO.  He had been battling lung cancer, and lost his fight with it at 9:30 this morning at Lakeshore General Hospital in Montreal.  He was 61 years old.

Jim Clench was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on May 1, 1949.  In 1972 he joined April Wine in Montreal, replacing Jim Henman on bass guitar.  He appeared on April Wine's sophomore album, On Record, and went on to contribute significantly to their Electric Jewels, Live, and Stand Back albums.  At the end of 1975, he left April Wine, and the following year he was recording demos with then future April Wine guitarist Brian Greenway.

In 1977, Brian Greenway was asked to join April Wine, and Jim Clench was asked to join BTO to replace Randy Bachman.  He appeared on the BTO albums Street Action and Rock N' Roll Nights, contributing heavily to the latter as that he sang lead on six of the nine tracks.

After BTO disbanded in 1979, he moved to Calgary, joining up with the band 451 Degrees.  After that effort, he was a member of the first incarnation of the Vancouver-based Loverboy, and after that what he did is largely unknown.

By 1992 he had moved back to Montreal, and re-joined the re-formed April Wine.  He sang and performed with them until the end of 2006, having appeared on the albums Attitude, Frigate, Back to the Mansion, Live 2003, and Roughly Speaking.  Shortly after the release of Roughly Speaking he left April Wine to pursue other interests.

The song that he will always be remembered for was "Oowatanite" from April Wine's Stand Back effort, though my personal favorite has always been "Baby Done Got Some Soul" which was from the same album.  He sang lead on the Bryan Adams-penned "Wastin' Time" which Bryan Adams himself did one year later in 1980.

Not much is known about his interests.  We know that he really enjoyed playing golf, and that's about it.  He was never one to seek the spotlight.  He was well liked by both April Wine and BTO fans, and those of us who are fans of either or both of these bands are right now in a state of shock over this.

In his honor, I am including some YouTube links with some of his songs.

R.I.P. Jim.   You are already being sorely missed.

Oowatanite

Baby Done Got Some Soul

Don't Walk

Jamaica

Rock N' Roll Nights

Weeping Widow (Live, August 2003 concert, from an audience member)

You're Gonna Miss Me (and we're gonna miss you, Jim)