THE DEVERONS: "Burton Cummings played in Hallock..."

Burton Cummings played in Hallock shortly after high school at a dance organized by Donnie Hunt. They had a number of bands from Winnipeg and the City Hall was packed... Hallock really rocked in those days. - Mike Rustad

Burton Cummings, Edd Smith, Ronn Savoie,
 Derek Bylyk (Blake), and  Bruce Decker.

Release day, November 1965.
of "Blue Is The Night" (Deverons) 
[Burton Cummings in his living 
room, Photo taken by his mother...]

By this time [1963] the band had become one of the hottest commodities in Winnipeg, and had toured sporadically throughout Manitoba,  Saskatchewan, and into Minnesota, even though they were all still 17.  - Canadian Bands

Circa 1966-67, shortly after Cummings
joined The Guess Who...

In early 1966, The Guess Who approached Burton to join their band, despite their already having a lead singer.  At first he shared lead singing, but soon became the sole lead singer.  He had a rich, powerful voice, and became a strong half, together with Randy Bachman, of a songwriting duo.  In the late 60s, The Guess Who came to Hallock to play, right before they took off to international fame!

Additional Sources:

• The Guess Who:  Roots
• Remembrances of a Deveron
• The Canadian Encyclopedia:  Burton Cummings Biography
• Manitoba Music Museum: The Guess Who