Ocean was a Canadian gospel/soft rock band formed in 1970 in Toronto, Ontario. They are best known for their 1971 single "Put Your Hand in the Hand". The single peaked at No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100,[1] and reached No. 4 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.[2]

Ocean
OriginToronto, Ontario, Canada
GenresGospel rock, soft rock, Christian music
Years active1970 (1970)–1975 (1975)
LabelsYorkville, Kama Sutra
Past members
  • Greg Brown
  • Jeff Jones
  • Janice Morgan
  • Dave Tamblyn
  • Chuck Slater

"Put Your Hand in the Hand" was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, in 2006.[3]

Background

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Ocean consisted of Greg Brown (vocals, keyboard), Jeff Jones (bass, vocals), Janice Morgan (guitar, vocals), Dave Tamblyn (guitar), and Chuck Slater (drums).[4] Dave Tamblyn had previously been in the group Natural Gas.[5]

Career

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They recorded their debut album, Put Your Hand in the Hand, in Toronto in 1970. The album, originally released on the Yorkville label in Canada, contained eight songs, including covers of songs by Robbie Robertson and Gene MacLellan. The album was picked up in the U.S. by the Kama Sutra label, which also released the band's second album, Give Tomorrow's Children One More Chance, in both the U.S. and Canada.

Ocean managed additional hits in Canada with the songs "We've Got a Dream" and "One More Chance", both written by the British songwriting team of Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, but they failed to make any further impact in the U.S., and the group disbanded in 1975 after having released two albums.[6][7]

Later years

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Chuck Slater died by his own hand in 1987.[4][8]

Discography

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Albums

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Year Album Chart Positions
CAN US
1971 Put Your Hand in the Hand 47 60
1972 Give Tomorrow's Children One More Chance

Singles

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Year Single Chart Positions Album
CAN CAN AC CAN Country US
[9]
US AC
1971 "Put Your Hand in the Hand" 10 6 34 2 4 Put Your Hand in the Hand
"Deep Enough for Me"[10] 54 73
"We Got a Dream" 47 82 37
1972 "Make the Sun Shine" 75 19 Give Tomorrow's Children One More Chance
"One More Chance" 12 1 76 30
1973 "I Have a Following" 83 non-album single

References

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  1. ^ "The Hot 100 Chart". Billboard.com. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 178.
  3. ^ "Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame: Put Your Hand in the Hand". Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  4. ^ a b Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 1849. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
  5. ^ Music Metason - ArtistInfo, Dave Tamblyn
  6. ^ "Ocean - Put Your Hand in the Hand CD Album Canada". Cduniverse.com. 2005-07-26. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
  7. ^ Bowling, David (31 August 2012). "Put Your Hand In The Hand '45' by Ocean". Muskmellon. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  8. ^ "Canadian Bands.com - Ocean". Canadianbands.com. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  9. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2011). Top Pop Singles 1955–2010. Record Research, Inc. p. 659. ISBN 978-0-89820-188-8.
  10. ^ Ritchie Yorke (17 July 1971). "Content legislation boon for local product". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 47–. ISSN 0006-2510.
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