Guess Who memorabilia finds new home

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This article was published 24/06/2010 (5675 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Staff and volunteers at the St. Vital Museum are shakin’ all over after the addition of some rock ‘n’ roll glam to the museum’s collection.

Jim Kale, the original bassist for The Guess Who, has donated a number of memorabilia to the museum — including his copy of the gold record the band earned after its first album, Shakin’ All Over, reached 50,000 sales.

Kale’s contributions to the museum also include his Canadian Music Hall of Fame award, a Hall of Fame trophy from the Prairie Music Awards (now called the Western Canadian Music Awards) and his five RPM award trophies — the precursors to the Junos.

Kale, who grew up on Clonard Avenue in St. Vital and attended Glenlawn Collegiate, said his reasons for donating the awards were simple.

“I am not into self-aggrandizement,” said Kale, who now lives in Norwood Flats. “I don’t require these things in my home to look at them and say, ‘Oh boy, look what I did’.”

It’s not that Kale isn’t pleased with what the band accomplished. He said reaching that 50,000 sales mark was “monumental.”

But the hardware itself isn’t all that meaningful, he insisted.

 “It’s not about trophies for me . . . It’s about doing. I live on that goddamn stage,” he explained, adding that his definition of success is being employed and touring with the current incarnation of The Guess Who.

Kale said he eventually decided the awards would serve a better purpose in the museum.

“I thought that it would matter to somebody else. Some young guy might come in here one day and look at (the awards) and say, ‘Hey, I can do that’.”

Luckily for Kale, museum president Bob Holliday — an old friend of Kale’s — was eager to take the memorabilia off his hands.

It came at a perfect time, Holliday added, since the museum was starting to focus on the music talent that has come from the area — including Guess Who alumni Bill Wallace and Donnie McDougall, country crooner Ray St. Germain, and acclaimed classical cellist Lorne Munroe.

“When we wanted to acknowledge St. Vital’s rich music history, it was obvious,” said Holliday. “(Kale) wouldn’t admit it, but he’s St. Vital history.”

Holliday added it’s an important acquisition for the museum, because he believes many Winnipeggers — even residents of the area — may not be aware of Kale’s St. Vital roots.

“We’re just making St. Vital aware of who came from here,” Holliday said.

But Kale insists he doesn’t want his donated awards to be a shrine to his achievements, but instead motivation for some budding young musician.

“I’m not looking to have some longevity after my death,” he said. “If (the awards) can inspire someone else, then great.”

The Guess Who exhibit will officially be unveiled at the museum’s pancake breakfast on June 26.

arielle.godbout@canstarnews.com