A pillar in Canadian music, Eric Mercury leaves a powerful story of reinvention and resilience in his wake. The soul/rock pioneer is known for his electric stage presence and myriad of contributions to the music industry.
Mercury was born June 28th, 1944, to a Methodist minister and a deaconess. His father was from St. Vincent and the Grenadines and his mother from Jamaica; he was the youngest of seven children and grew up surrounded by music. Growing up in Owen Sound, and later moving to Toronto, Ontario, Mercury entered the world of music at a young age. He played and toured with a marching and trumpet ensemble and was a choir soloist, directed by his aunt. He went from performing with his family to forming local band, the Pharaohs, when he was a teenager alongside Jay Jackson (the Majestics).
He would go on to form The Soul Searchers with fellow lead singer Dianne Brooks. The group played teen clubs and bars across Toronto, reaching the height of their fame with a performance in New York at the Scene club on the same bill as The Doors. They would go on to tour major Canadian cities, but would split while on tour in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Following the death of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, Mercury was devasted and motivated to become a part of the movement. This combined with him feeling musically halted, prompted him to focus on his solo career and make the move down to the Big Apple.
The soul singer had a tough start once arrived in New York, often homeless and sleeping at the Port Authority Bus Terminal on some nights. His luck would change after a happenstance meeting with an old friend David Clayton-Thomas at Café au Go Go. While walking past the Greenwich bar and seeing that Blood Sweat and Tears was playing, he popped in and was praised by Clayton-Thomas while on stage. The two would perform an impromptu jam session, which exposed him to talent scouts including Luigi Creatore and Hugo Peretti. This team with AVCO Embassy label released his first solo album Electric Black Man in 1969.
Mercury was the embodiment of the album, delivering his lyrics with urgency. The politically charged album would gain recognition from his contemporaries including, Miles Davis. He would go on to release three more solo albums, Funky Sounds Nurtured in the Fertile Soil of Memphis That Smell of Rock (1972), Love is Taking Over (1973) and a self-titled album in 1975. His music fuses elements of soul, rock and funk. Mercury worked with Enterprise Records, a branch of Memphis label Stax Records, but would leave after feeling like a “fish out of water” as a Black Canadian artist.
Following his successful solo career he continued producing and writing for many big names including Dusty Springfield, Donny Hathaway, Dionne Warwick, among others, and even co-wrote a song with Stevie Wonder titled “You Are My Heaven”, sang by Roberta Flack. His sound was inspired and noticed by other talents including, a Tribe Called Quest, who sampled his song “Long Way Down”. Some may also know Mercury as the voice behind the “Like Mike” Gatorade ad campaign in the 1990s.
Not only a musical talent, Eric Mercury would dabble in performance arts; he took part in stage production Jesus Christ SuperStar, and appeared on screen in American Hot Wax in 1978. After a long battle with pancreatic cancer, Eric Mercury passed away on March 14th 2022 in Montreal, Quebec.
The raw and soulful singer was the true personification of his first solo album. This Electric Black Man will be remembered as a creative junkie and cultural sponge who inspired many as a Black Rock Star Pioneer.
