The Electric Cows - Wheatfield Fuzz (2019)

The Electric Cows were among a plethora of 1960s beat bands in Western Canada that never got their 15 minutes of fame, whether due to poor management decisions, lack of musical talent, or simply never having their number drawn in the era's rock'n'roll lottery. More popular Winnipeg acts like The Guess Who, The Quid, Crescendos, and Buddy Knox took the limelight but whatever the Cows lacked in popularity, professionalism, and actual talent they made up for with gumption, grit, horse sense, and occasional bursts of raw garage band energy. Their only claim to any semblance of fame might have been their close association with a North Dakota TV celebrity named Biff Harooba. Harooba had his own morning children's TV show and hired the band (then performing as The Dacron Sweaters) for several musical projects in 1964 and 1965, including the theme song for his show, some novelty singles, and a failed attempt at a TV variety special about the evils of teenagers wearing porkpie hats. Apart from their better known work with Harooba, the Cows also released three singles, recorded some radio commercials, and submitted demos for American International Pictures B-movies before splitting up in 1967. Chief songwriters Wayne Rizzuto and Barry Hipp moved on to Tacoma, Washington and achieved minor success with their new group The First National Jugband.