Doug Carter

From the early 1960s through 1995 Doug played the 'Blues' bass on the local and Ontario club scene most notably with childhood friend, Blues harmonica virtuoso Richard Newell aka King Biscuit Boy in Hamilton’s first ‘blue-eyed’ Blues band, Son Richard and the Chessmen. In the early 1970s he co-wrote several songs with Richard a number of which appeared on Newell’s 1974 Epic recording “King Biscuit Boy” and on Daffodil/Uni Record’s “Badly Bent: The Best of King Biscuit Boy” In the 1980s he played with Hamilton guitar hero, Guitar Mikey McMillan, in The Real Thing, co-writing a number of songs on McMillan’s 1990 A&M/Spy Record’s CD “Caught Between The Squeeze”.

Along the way Doug played with many Blues musicians from the Toronto and Hamilton areas including Morgan Davis, Teddy Leonard, (CBC musicologist guy), Downchild’s Donny Walsh, Jack De Keyser, Harrison Kennedy, Rita Chiaralli, Mike Oddie, and Naomi Taylor as well as rockers Tim Gibbons, Fraser Loveman, Michael O’Brien and Tom Wilson.

In 1995 a lifelong interest in the visual arts led Doug to stop playing bass and concentrate on administering the non-profit Carnegie art gallery in Dundas, a post he continued in through 2004. He last played live in 2003 with a recreation of the Chessmen at the first memorial concert in memory of the recently departed ‘Biscuit’ Richard Newell. Although no longer ‘gigging’ Doug continues to write songs with Mike McMillan as well as volunteering with a number of arts organizations. And he of course still listens to and collects the Blues.

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