Magic In The Music
The C-Weed Band Story
by Errol Ranville and Wally Ranville

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In the 1980s, Manitoba country-rock group The C-Weed Band scored a half dozen Top Ten hits on the country music charts beginning with their #1 hit single "Evangeline". As an Indigenous band, they broke ground for other Indigenous artists on the Canadian music mainstream. Starting out in the tough Main Street Winnipeg bars, the band faced daunting odds including poverty, discrimination, and racism throughout their rise to success. The members of The C-Weed Band, whose nucleus was the three Ranville brothers - Errol, Wally and Don - from rural Eddystone MB prevailed, earning the admiration of a legion of dedicated fans and respect from fellow musicians not only across Canada but in the United States, Europe and China where the band toured to great acclaim. This is their story, told by the members of the band themselves as well as associates, contemporaries, and friends. It's been a long, strange trip but The C-Weed Band triumphed and are still performing to adoring crowds everywhere.

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“With over five decades of music industry experience, the Ranville’s and company have faced trials and tribulations that ultimately formed a lasting legacy. Their story has created space for generations of other Indigenous musicians to dream.” —David McLeod, CEO of Native Communications Inc. (NCI) radio and curator of the Manitoba Indigenous Music Hall of Fame

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Errol ‘C-Weed’ Ranville is an award-winning Canadian musician and songwriter. Born in 1953 at St. Rose du Lac, Manitoba, Errol and his brothers first formed C-Weed & The Weeds while in high school. By the 1970s as The C-Weed Band, they held a residency at the Brunswick Hotel on Winnipeg’s Main Street Strip. Under Errol’s leadership, the group began performing for Indigenous communities throughout Western Canada, releasing their debut album in 1981. The group scored a #1 country music single with “Evangeline” followed by a half dozen more hits written by Errol. The C-Weed Band toured Canada and the United States and performed in Europe and China. They became international ambassadors for Indigenous country-rock music and were nominated for several Juno Awards. In Manitoba, The C-Weed Band earned multiple music awards. As the frontman of The C-Weed Band, Errol contributed to the band's success, releasing numerous albums and earning accolades for their unique fusion of music genres. He became a pivotal figure in the Indigenous music scene, and his dedication to preserving and sharing Indigenous culture through music has left an enduring legacy, inspiring generations of artists and fostering cultural appreciation worldwide. Errol resides in Winnipeg, where he continues to write, record and perform with The C-Weed Band. In 2021, he published his critically acclaimed autobiography Run As One: My Story (Great Plains Publications). A year older than Errol, brother Wally Ranville has been a longtime member of The C-Weed Band and Errol’s right-hand man. Besides playing bass, Wally has also produced some of the band’s best-known recordings including their best-selling album, Going The Distance. Wally lives in Winnipeg where he works in social services and continues to perform with The C-Weed Band.

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Contributors

Author

Errol Ranville

Author

Wally Ranville

Foreword by

John Einarson