Bearfoot (Canadian band)
Juno-nominated Canadian rock band from the 1970s.
Bearfoot was a Canadian rock band nominated for a Juno Award. The group was formed by Jim Atkinson, Terry Danko, Dwayne Ford, Hugh Brockie, and Brian Hilton. They first called themselves "Atkinson, Danko and Ford" but switched to Bearfoot for practical reasons and because they did not want to be mistaken for a law firm. Through Columbia Records, they put out three albums and five singles.
- origin
- Canada
- genre
- Rock
- years_active
- 1969–1975 (with later reformation)
- label
- Columbia Records
- notable_nomination
- 1974 Juno Award for Most Promising Group of the Year
- founding_members
- Jim Atkinson, Terry Danko, Dwayne Ford, Hugh Brockie, Brian Hilton
Lore & Background
The founding members of Bearfoot first met as part of Ronnie Hawkins' Rock and Roll Revival and Travelling Medicine Show at the Graham Bell Hotel in Brantford, Ontario. Hawkins' group played the upstairs lounge while Danko and Atkinson's group, Tin Pan Alley, played downstairs. Hawkins hired the two, and Ford, Brockie, and Hilton were already part of his group. Bearfoot formed in 1969 and left Hawkins to sign with Columbia Records. Their first album, released in 1972, was credited as 'Atkinson, Danko and Ford (with Brockie and Hilton).' They were nominated for the 1974 Juno Award for Most Promising Group of the Year, which Bachman-Turner Overdrive won. Danko and Atkinson left in 1973 to pursue work as musicians in California. The group continued without them, releasing their final album as 'Dwayne Ford and Bearfoot' in 1975. Danko and Atkinson returned to Canada in 1985 and reformed the band for a time with Jerry Baird. The group is now presumably defunct.
Reader's Guide
Bearfoot's significance lies in their connection to the Canadian rock scene of the early 1970s and their Juno Award nomination. Emerging from Ronnie Hawkins' musical orbit, the band represented a transitional moment in Canadian rock, moving from backing roles to fronting their own act. Their discography of three albums and five singles on Columbia Records, though modest, reflects the era's label-supported rock output. The band's name change from 'Atkinson, Danko and Ford' highlights a practical shift away from a law-firm-like image. Their nomination for Most Promising Group of the Year placed them among notable peers, though they did not win. The departure of key members to California and the eventual reformation in 1985 with a new member illustrate the fluidity of band lineups. Their legacy is preserved in Canadian pop reference works and online databases, marking them as a footnote in the broader story of Canadian rock history.
Did You Know?
- Bearfoot was originally named 'Atkinson, Danko and Ford' but changed the name because they didn't want to sound like a law firm.
- The founding members first met at the Graham Bell Hotel in Brantford, Ontario, while working with Ronnie Hawkins.
- They were nominated for the 1974 Juno Award for Most Promising Group of the Year, which was won by Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
- After Danko and Atkinson left in 1973, the band released its final album in 1975 as 'Dwayne Ford and Bearfoot.'
More in Rock music groups from Toronto 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record