The Lamont Cranston Band is a blues band based out of Hamel

Hamel

Hamel may refer to:* Hamel, Western Australia, town* Hamel, Nord, a commune of the Nord département, in northern France* Beaumont-Hamel, a commune of the Somme département, in northern France...

, Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

¹. It was founded in 1969 by brothers Pat and Larry Hayes, and continues today with Pat as the band's frontman¹.

"Excuse Moi, Mon Cheri," written by Larry Hayes, was recorded by The Blues Brothers

The Blues Brothers

The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedy actors Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on Saturday Night Live...

 and released as the B-side of their Soul Man

Soul Man

Soul Man may refer to:*"Soul Man" , a hit song by Sam & Dave from 1967*Soul Man , a 1986 film starring C. Thomas Howell*Soul Man , a 2006 album by X Factor runner-up Andy Abraham...

 single. In 1981 the band broke into the Billboard charts with their biggest hit, "Upper Mississippi Shakedown¹."

The band has played with musicians and groups such as Muddy Waters

Muddy Waters

McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...

, Albert King

Albert King

Albert King was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing.-Career:...

, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Buddy Guy

Buddy Guy

George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...

, The Kinks

The Kinks

The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...

, The Yardbirds

The Yardbirds

- Current :* Chris Dreja - rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Jim McCarty - drums, backing vocals * Ben King - lead guitar * David Smale - bass, backing vocals...

, Kansas

Kansas (band)

Kansas is an American rock band that became popular in the 1970s initially on Album-Oriented Rock charts, and later with hit singles such as "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind"...

, Yes

Yes (band)

Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...

 and The Blues Brothers

The Blues Brothers

The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedy actors Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on Saturday Night Live...

¹. In 1981 they opened for The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...

 on a leg of their North American tour¹.

Current Lineup²:

• Pat Hayes - Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica
• Rod Smith - Guitar
• Aaron Virnig - Drums
• Brad Pelkey - Bass
• Brian Risling - Saxophone.

Previous Members³:

• Dave Olausen - Guitar
• Danny Webb - Drums
• Joe Scheroman - Bass
• Jim Novak - Drums
• Ted Larson - Guitar
• Dale Petersen - Piano, Hammond B3
• Jim Greenwell - Saxophone
• Rick O'Dell - Saxophone

Agent/Manager²:

• Rico Anderson

The band itself is named after the alter-ego of famous pulp hero The Shadow

The Shadow

The Shadow is a collection of serialized dramas, originally in pulp magazines, then on 1930s radio and then in a wide variety of media, that follow the exploits of the title character, a crime-fighting vigilante in the pulps, which carried over to the airwaves as a "wealthy, young man about town"...

.

Discography

• The Lamont Cranston Band (1976)
• Specials-Lit (1977)
• El-Cee Notes (1978)
• Up From The Alley (1980)
• Shakedown (1981)
• Bar Wars (1981)
• Last Call (1984)
• A Measure Of Time (1986)
• Tiger In Your Tank (1988)
• The Lamont Cranston Blues Band featuring Pat Hayes (1991)
• Upper Mississippi Shakedown - The Best of the Lamont Cranston Band (1993)
• Rock-Awhile - The Early Years 1975-1978 (1994)
• Roll With Me (1997)
• Tiger In Your Tank (1999)
• Lamont Live!! (2001)

⁴