Jan Stevens

Dave Souliere & Jan Stevens 

Janet Rita Poag was born in Burford, Ontario on Sept 9^th 1937. As a child, she always loved to sing; her public school days at Cainsville School were taken up singing in the school choir and musicals as well as being picked for May festival concerts during the Frank Holton era.

In December of 1954 she married to J.W. ‘Bill’ Stevens, and they had two daughters, Darcia and Kori. Both Jan and Bill worked at A.G. Spalding & Bros Sporting Goods, on the factory assembly line.  Jan was employed there for twenty-five years, and Bill for forty. When Spalding folded in July 1978 both Bill and Jan remained with the company that took over, which specialized in baby products. 

Jan got her start entertaining people at the Rod and Gun Club in Burford originally playing for campfire outings beginning in 1974. Two years later, on a recommendation, Jim Allison sat in on one of Jan’s campfire sing-alongs, and suggested that she record in Toronto with his Thunderbird label. Several days later Jan and Bill visited with Jim and Marlene, and liking the couple signed on as the 22nd Thunderbird act. In the studio she was backed by JK Gulley and Dusty Road. 

In December of 1976 Jan Stevens issued her 1^st single, “A Little Girl’s Dream/Tomorrow I’m Going to Love You More,” as TBR-1040. This song received high distribution and massive airplay on CKPC radio in Brantford while a station in Kitchener played each of her 45’s for about six months. ‘A Little Girl’s Dream’ was on the Brantford radio for fourteen weeks and went to the top for three weeks. She did all of her own distribution like the other Thunderbird artists.  Jan’s second single, TBR 1041 “(If You Don’t Spoil Your Man) Someone Else Will/Loneliness,” was issued on April 4^th 1977 during her live taping of two episodes for the Circle Eight Ranch television show in Wingham. Unfortunately it wasn’t as big of a hit as her first, which was very disappointing for her.  

Once her second single came out, and she was comfortable with her guitar skills, she utilized Tommy Jacobs new backing band which consisted of Dennis Clement (a musician who also worked in Risser’s music shop) on lead guitar, Grant ‘Moose’ Stevens on bass, (Crystal Creek) Hayden Marsden on drums, and Bruce Moore on rhythm guitar, calling them Black Whiskey when they performed with her. Parker Dean remembered played his pedal steel guitar at a benefit show Jan gave over 1977; it was the first time he had played live with the instrument, at the urging of Big Jim Allison.

After Jan got some paying gigs, she joined the Brantford Musicians Association and was a member for twenty-five years.  During the heyday of her two records Jan visited radio stations doing interviews from coast-to-coast and she remembered taping shows for the Circle Eight Ranch television show in Wingham.

Jan Stevens and Black Whiskey played regularly around the Golden Horseshoe until 1988, when the members of the band started night shift work on the weekends, and so she went out on her own as a solo act, debuting at the Branch 90 Legion. The jobs started coming in steadily at a time when single acts were thriving and increasing in demand. Over the years Jan’s entertaining skills took her to all the seniors' homes in the city, the gazebos at St. George and Port Dover, and many of the service clubs in Brantford and beyond including The Ex-Imperial Club, The Artillery Club Unit 21 (Gunner’s), and Legions in Hamilton, Dundas, Burlington, Waterdown and Cayuga.

Jan’s solo show consisted of her playing her guitar with added electronic background music. This combination always got the crowd up dancing. Her repertoire consisted of classic country with a few blues and rock songs included. Though music ruled her life, the songstress had a fallback position should her pipes ever wear out: she was a talented painter, specializing in portraits of people and animals, ''I love to paint. If I ever quit singing, maybe I'd get back into it.''

“It's not often a Brantford songstress gets to perform solo on the stage of Roy Thompson Hall, but Jan Stevens has been up there seven years in a row. As part of the Royal Bank Seniors' Jubilee, a five-night extravaganza of talent, Stevens was just one of a number of locals performing in the enormous show. For fourteen years, the Jubilee has been a way to demonstrate that age is no barrier to accomplishment. Performers fifty-five and older sing, dance, play instruments and perform comedy, magic or vaudeville numbers. Jan, who trills around town at the legions and various clubs, sang two numbers, starting with a Patsy Cline tribute of ‘Crazy.’ ''It was just wonderful. The lights are so bright you can't see all the people but the three thousand seat auditorium was packed the night I was there.'' At the end of the show, all the performers come out on the stage and sing ‘We'll Meet Again’ and there are few dry eyes. The only complaints came from a few people who didn't think Jan was old enough to qualify as a senior performer. ''I look young for my age of sixty-five,'' she admitted.

On Sept 24^th 2000 the Branch 90 Legion held a chicken barbecue to mark twelve years of Jan entertaining at the club. Ted and Susie Lavalle were credited for organizing the party and keeping it a secret from Jan until the big day.  Jan was presented with a huge card which everyone at the party had signed as well as a bouquet of beautiful flowers.

Jan particularly enjoyed performing at the Knights of Columbus CANJAM event, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2004, raising money for cancer research. She had been a performer at this event since its start and had also entertained for twenty-five years at the Knights of Columbus's annual Christmas party. Jan was known for her great duets; she’s sung with Dennis Clement, Donny Dunham, Ray Wreaks, Terry Sumsion and Gordie Tapp. One of Jan’s favourite songs to cover was Terry Sumsion’s ‘Our Lovin’ Place.’ About this time Burford native John Wedge assisted Jan in cleaning up her vinyl records and cassettes in order to transfer them to a CD. 

On August 29^th 2005 while performing at Tunes in The Park in Brantford, Jan announced that she had lung cancer, which would seriously inhibit her ability to perform for her fans. She was a performer who took great pride in sharing her talent and music with others; giving that up would be incredibly difficult for her. On September 25^th Jan's friends and fellow musicians held a special day of appreciation for her at The Gunners Club. 

After a horrific fight with cancer, Jan Stevens passed away with her loving family at her side on Thursday February 16, 2006, at the age of 68; beloved wife and best friend of Bill for 51 years; loving mother and dearest friend of daughters Darcia and Kori; cherished grandmother of Matthew and Neil.  Jan was kind, loving, helpful and thoughtful to people and animals. Jan loved life and every aspect of it, co-founder and member of the Knights of Columbus CANJAM for Cancer, appearances at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, and proud supporter of the S. P. C. A. Making people happy through her music was a big part of Jan's life.

This is Jan's Thunderbird glossy from Autumn 1976. (Age 39)

Dave Souliere, Jan and Bill Stevens. This was their 50th wedding anniversary. (2004)