Artist: 49th Parallel, Album: 49th Parallel, Song: Close The Barn Door

49th Parallel were a rock band from Calgary, Alberta.  They formed during the early sixties under the name Shades of Blond.  They had one single before changing their name to 49th Parallel.  The band signed with Gaiety Records (see blog 7/18/11) out of Thunder Bay, Ontario and they in turn, licensed the band's music to other labels across North America.  The band had numerous singles between 1967 and 1969 and toured all over the U.S. and Canada.  Unfortunately, they had a ton of personnel changes and as a result, their self titled debut was hastily put together using pre-recorded and released singles as well as studio outtakes.  Close The Barn Door was actually the b-side to their highest charting single, Twilight Woman, in 1969.  You can check out the track on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcrKy05bDQM).  The final incarnation of the band would eventually become, Painter (see blog 4/13/11).  Dan Lowe, the guitarist in both 49th Parallel and Painter, would go on to form the bands, Hammersmith and Prototype (see blog 8/11/10).  49th Parallel's music received a resurgence in popularity thanks to classic rock radio and Pacemaker Entertainment (http://www.pacemaker.cd/) re-issued the album in 1995.  You can purchase the album from Itunes.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!