Plain and Fancy: The Stampeders - Ballsy (1979 canada, fine straight classic rock, 2006 remaster)

Following the release of their first Greatest Hits compilation album, The Stampeders went back to recording and released "Ballsy" in 1979. With members Rich Dodson and Kim Berly departing, Ronnie King was left to bring in three new members for the LP. The original members departure brought in a decade long hiatus for the band following this release, but King took the bands sound into his own hands to end this era of The Stampeders.

Ronnie King tried to keep the flame burning with "Ballsy". The new line-up included Ronnie's youngest brother, Roy Van Sprang, Bob Allwood and Gary Storin. Lack of sales, high overhead and disappointed fans led to the band's final break-up in 1980 and the departure of manager, Mel Shaw.

In 1979, Kim Berly started his own new-wave band, The Cry, in which he performed under the name, Kimball Fox. Two album releases on RCA, good sales and intensive touring sustained the band for a couple of years, but mounting personal problems forced Kim to leave the music scene. From 1983 to 1989, Kim went briefly into acting, gaining recognition in the Toronto theatre community. Despite speculation within the music industry about just how successful The Stampeders would have been had they focused on just one style of music, one thing remains clear -- they left an enduring musical legacy.

Between 1970 and 1977, they released ten albums and 15 singles, with six albums and seven singles going gold. Along with three Billboard chart singles in the U.S., The Stampeders had ten, Top-Ten singles in Canada. They also won three JUNO Awards, three BMI Awards, an EDISON Award and toured Canada, Europe, the U.S., including Hawaii, and South America.