Simone Johnston

Canadian folk singer and community activist, Simone Johnston (m. Simone Taylor), was born Simone Cook in the Niagara Region of Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada on October 22, 1932. The youngest of six, and only surviving female, Simone learned early on how to stand tall in a predominantly male run society, something that would help her later on in her fight for women's rights and equality. Her father, Jack Cook, a Russian immigrant from the Ukraine, worked as a refiner in the local nickel plant. In his successful attempts to organize a union, he would often take young Simone door to door under the guise that they were just "visiting friends", as to avoid a backlash from the management and anti-union persons. It was during this time, that Simone learned the value of a union, worker's rights, and her love for singing, as Jack would often sing folk songs in his lovely, deep, Russian timber along their journey. After high school, Simone moved to London, Ontario, where she got a job in a plastics factory. From there, she got a job in a dental laboratory, and eventually became a dental assistant. Through co-workers, she learned of the Russian Choir of Toronto. In 1952, she decided to move to Toronto, ON. to join the choir. A year later, she would leave the Russian Choir to join the National Federal Labor of Youth (NFLY) Choir, where she met fellow member and future husband, Mel Johnston (m. 1956-1965). Shortly after, she was invited to join and tour with the United Jewish Peoples Order (UJPO) Choir. While a member of the UJPO, she met the Canadian folk group, The Travellers at Camp Neivalt in Brampton, Ontario. The Travellers, inspired and encouraged by fellow folk singer, Pete Seeger, were founded and formed by Jerry Gray (lead singer, banjo), Sid Dolgay (mando-cello), and singers, Jerry Goodis, Oscar Ross, and Helen Gray at Camp Neivalt in 1953. At this time, they were mostly known for performing at union halls, labor events, strikes, and protests. They also developed a Canadian version of "This Land is Your Land", a song originally written by American black-listed folk artist, Woody Guthrie. Their version is still known, sung, and respected nationwide, and all proceeds from their later recorded version were donated to Guthrie's family and The Huntington's Disease Foundation. In 1954, after the departure of Helen Gray, Simone was asked by fellow UJPO member and co-founder of The Travellers, Jerry Goodis, to join the group. That same year, under the direction of Samuel Goldberg, they made their television debut on the CBC program, Haunted Studio. In 1956, they achieved national exposure when they placed second on CBC's "Pick the Stars", beating out singer Paul Anka and comedian Rich Little. The Travellers started their recording career in 1958 with the album, "Across Canada with The Travellers", followed by "The Travellers Sing Songs of North America" (1959), "Quilting Bee" (1960), and "Introducing the Travellers" (1961). In 1961, The Travellers performed at the first Mariposa Folk Festival in Orillia, Ontario. Later that year, Goodis and artistic director, Goldberg, left the group to concentrate on their growing advertising agency, Goodis, Goldberg, & Soren. Goodis was replaced by guitarist Raymond Woodley. In 1962, they were invited by the Canadian government to tour the Soviet Union as part of a Canada-USSR cultural exchange performing 19 concerts. While the tour proved successful and inspiring, it also caused political friction between various members of the group, something that resulted in Dolgay's departure in 1965. Upon their return home, they embarked on a tour of Canada, and in 1964 were part of a Royal Command Performance for Queen Elizabeth II during her tour of Canada, and were subsequently invited to tour Britian playing before the Queen yet again. In 1965, Sid Dolgay was replaced by American bassist, Joe Hampson. In 1967, they started on the Centennial Tour of Canada, a tour which involved over a 100 concerts, including performances at the 1967 Expo, the Northwest Territories, and the Peace River district of northern Alberta. During this time, they continued to record as well, releasing the albums "The Travellers on Tour" (1962), "Something to Sing About" (1963), "We're on Our Way Again" (1964-5), "The Travellers Still Travelling" (in part a reissue of material previously released by Columbia), "A Century of Song" (1967), "This Land, the Travellers Centennial Album" (1967), and "The Travellers Applaud Canada" (1968). It was after The Travellers appeared on a national television commercial for Molson Canadian Beer that Simone started to doubt the direction of the group. She felt the band had strayed from their "roots" and were more interested in becoming mainstream. In 1969, she left The Travellers due to artistic differences. She was replaced by Pam Fernie. Simone married her fellow NFLY choir singer, Mel Johnston in 1956, they had one son. They divorced amicably in 1965, and later that year she married American born, former U.S. Marine and fellow activist, Phillip Taylor. They had three daughters. Although, she legally took the name of Taylor, she continued to record and perform under the name Johnston for artistic reasons. She still resides in Toronto where she is active in her community.