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Ron Bartley (vocals, guitar)
Shawn O'Shea (guitar)
Jimi Bertucci (vocals, bass)
Bob McPherson (keyboards)
Brian Cotterill (percussion)
Rick McDonald (bass; replaced Bertucci)
Joey Dinardo (bass; replaced McDonald)
Dave Dobko (keyboards; replaced McPherson)
Jimi Bertucci's high school band was called Just Us with Ron Bartley. After high school Bertucci joined Manna briefly before he and Bartley formed Captain Midnite's Dirty Feet which also included McPherson, and Cotterill.
They landed a deal with GAS Records in 1971, and the single "Hot Love" was released prior to a concert on Toronto's Centre Island, but gained much more attention after the concert where a picture sleeve was added that claimed "30,000 people on Toronto's Centre Island can't be wrong."
However, because Captain Midnight was the name of an American comic strip, the creators of the comic would not allow the band use of the name stateside. Not wanting to limit any future success across the border, the band went with a biblical subtext in Abraham's Children and re-released "Hot Love" with "Goodbye Farewell" as the flip-side.
"Goodbye Farewell" turned into a top ten hit across Canada and was released in Italian as "Bye Bye Bambina Occhi Blue" which also received plenty of attention on some of the ethnic stations across Canada.
The band was able to parlay these and a handful of other singles into a full album, 'Time', which was released in 1973 and featured the addition of second guitarist Shawn O'Shea.
The album spawned the band's first successfully charting pop single, "Gypsy", and legitimate international hit just narrowly missing the Canadian Top-10. An outside track from the same album, "Goddess Of Nature", gave Abraham's Children more chart action through the end of 1974 into 1975. With the ability to attract a new audience through a more complex, heavier song, the band decided to change their name to the simpler The Children.
Around 1975 Bertucci quit the band and became a solo artist with United Artist. Following Bertucci's departure he was replaced by ex-Blacksheep members Rick McDonald (bass) and Dave Dobko (keyboards) -- who replaced McPherson after leaving to join The Hometown Band. McDonald was only in the band a few months before being replaced by another bassist who in-turn was replaced by Joey Dinardo (ex-Magic Cycle).
The Children could not sustain their own success and disbanded in 1976. O'Shea, Dinardo and Bartley would go on to form Bang in 1976. Bartley would later rejoin Bertucci, along with Danny Smith (ex-Brutus) on drums, Laurie Delgrande (session keyboardist for Triumph) and formed a short-lived outfit called The Police.
Bertucci has had a lengthy solo career and returned to Toronto from his home in California in 2011 where he is in rehabilitation from heart surgery; O'Shea works for The Toronto Sun newspaper and released a solo CD called 'Serfin' The Beat' in 2009; Cotterill passed away after a battle with cancer on September 11, 2007.
with notes from Jimi Bertucci, Shawn O'Shea, and Cam Atkinson
Singles
as CAPT'N MIDNITE'S DIRTY FEET
1972 Hot Love/Take Care Of Business (GAS) G-1000-S
with ABRAHAM'S CHILDREN
1972 Hot Love/Goodbye Farewell (GAS) G-1000
1972 The Lovin' Things (GAS/Buddah) G-1002
1972 Bye Bye Bambina Occhi Blue/Hot Love (GAS/Buddah) G-1003
1972 Goodbye Farewell/Hot Love (GAS/Buddah) G-1004
1973 Gypsy/Fly Me To The Sky (GAS/Polydor) G-1005
1973 Thank You/Workin' For The Man (GAS/Polydor) G-1010
1974 Goddess of Nature/(Boogie) All Night Long (Rampage/United Artists) UAXW-361
1974 Rockin' In The City/Back Home Again (United Artists) UAXW-421
1974 Deni/Good Bye My Friend (United Artists) UAXW-580
with THE CHILDREN
1975 (You Know That I Love You) Christina/Cheatin' (United Artists) UAXW-659
Albums
1973 Time (Polydor/GAS) GLP-2001
2011 Abraham's Children 30 (independent)
Compilation Tracks
1974 "Goddess of Nature" on 'Music Power' (K-Tel) TC-214
Official Abraham's Children Website
