The Stampeders return to Calgary without co-founder Ronnie King
The legendary band plays June 11 at the Jack Singer Concert Hall, their first Calgary show since bassist's death in March 2024.
The Stampeders are coming home to Calgary this month without one of their founding voices. Bassist Ronnie King died of cancer on March 4, 2024, at Peter Lougheed Hospital — less than six weeks before an Ontario tour was to start. Musician Dave Chabot, a longtime friend and jack-of-all-trades who also plays with the Jack Semple Band, has been filling in on bass and vocals ever since.
King had been in declining health for years. He suffered from arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, and cancer. He told drummer Kim Berly, his bandmate for 60 years, that he didn't look forward to touring anymore. He had mobility problems and was in pain. Berly was often sent to drug stores during tours to get medication for King.
But when he hit the stage, something shifted. "It was when he was most alive, even in his last year," Berly said in an interview. "When you step on stage, a lot of aches and pains are just pushed to the side, and he could be present and enjoy it."
King was the perpetually grinning storyteller, once dubbed the "Keith Richards of the Stampeders." Of the trio that found massive success in the early 1970s with hits like "Sweet City Woman," King embodied the rock-star presence.
The Stampeders formed in Calgary in 1964, departed for Toronto in 1966, and reunited in the 1990s. Since King's death, Berly, guitarist-vocalist Rich Dodson, and Chabot have completed three tours across Ontario, British Columbia, and the Maritimes. This Prairies leg — which includes a June 11 show at the Werklund Centre's Jack Singer Concert Hall — marks a turning point.
"This is the last tour where we're introducing the new band," Berly says. "We've got a little tribute video to Ronnie, and I'm going to talk about him and tell some stories. Then, I think, life will move on. But I want to make sure everybody knows when they show up at the concert that we are paying respect."
Berly, who is working on a memoir and a documentary film about the band, has taken on the role of storyteller now. "Ronnie and I used to have a banter back and forth, so now it has fallen to me," he said. "I tell more stories than we used to."
For longtime fans, it's hard to imagine the Stampeders without King. But the band — and the city — will remember him.