![]() ![]() They operated McFee Hardware on Main Street in Hillsburgh until 1968. Lois and Ross were married on Main Hillsburgh where they raised their family. Lois was born on Jin Grand Valley, Ontario to Fred and Lillie Clayton. Predeceased by her brothers Ralph and Lloyd Clayton, brothers-in-law Archie McFee and Dougal (Eunice) McFee, sisters-in-law Kay Baldwin (Jack) and Meryle Brindle (Peter). Survived by her sister-in-law Violet Clayton. Adored great-grandmother of William and Leo Slater. ![]() Cherished grandmother of Craig McFee (Tracy) and Jennifer Slater (Mike). Dear mother of Rae McFee (Louise) and Gloria Tibben (John). The band also released over a dozen live albums during their career, and McPhee also put out a number of solo releases.Passed away peacefully on Octoat Guelph General Hospital at the age of 95. In 2003, the Groundhogs celebrated 40 years with a reunion of McPhee, Cruickshank and drummer Ken Pustelnik who had powered their hit 70s albums. Another McPhee-led incarnation began in the mid-1980s – they had become a major influence on Mark E Smith and the Fall in the meantime – putting out two studio albums, while the late 90s brought a pair of albums interpreting the songbooks of Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters. The group’s lineup changed during the rest of the 70s with McPhee remaining at its core, with another four albums by 1976, before they disbanded. “I try always to write and play stuff that is timeless, not pandering to ‘fashion’ just like blues being honest and able to incorporate new ideas and techniques,” he later said. They supported the Rolling Stones on a 1971 tour and had three back to back UK top 10 albums in the early 1970s – Thank Christ for the Bomb, Split (later certified gold) and Who Will Save the World – and performed the hard-rocking single Cherry Red on Top of the Pops, earning a broad fanbase for their open-minded approach and McPhee’s untamed yet technically brilliant guitar playing. ![]() This marked the start of McPhee most commercially successful period: amid a fertile rock scene with British bands branching out from blues, R&B and rock’n’roll into psychedelia, progressive rock and heavier moods, the Groundhogs’ energetic, frequently cosmic sound chimed with the spirit of the age. He and Cruickshank then revived the Groundhogs name with a new lineup, with the group’s debut album arriving in 1968. McPhee also turned down sideman slots with Mayall and jazz bandleader Chris Barber, later calling the latter decision one of his regrets. A short-lived psych-rock group with Groundhogs bassist Pete Cruickshank, Herbal Mixture, also found some success, and supported the Jeff Beck Group. McPhee recorded solo tracks with producer Jimmy Page, and took session work (sometimes under the name Tony “TS” McPhee) – he joined Mayall and Eric Clapton in the backing band for the Champion Jack Dupree album From New Orleans to Chicago. The Groundhogs became a go-to band for other touring blues artists, such as Little Walter and Jimmy Reed, but they then split for a time in the mid-60s. McPhee later described Hooker as “fantastic – great fun and a real gentleman”. Hooker then rehired them for another tour the year after, and recorded an acclaimed album with them entitled Hooker and the Hogs. Playing blues and R&B, their career took off in 1964 when John Mayall and his band were unable to back visiting US blues star John Lee Hooker on a UK tour date, and the Groundhogs were deputised. He joined a south London group, the Dollar Bills, in 1962 and renamed them the Groundhogs. McPhee was grounded in the early 1960s British blues scene that had taken hold in clubs including the Marquee in London’s Soho, where he watched musicians such as Cyril Davies.
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