Not to be confused with a pop group in the late 90's with the same name, Brother was one of Winnipeg's most popular underground groups at the end of the '60's, the group's origins began when Vance Masters, formerly of The Crescendos, and Kurt Winter were in The Fifth in 1966, one of London Records' hopefuls.

But when the band struggled to get the attention they thought they deserved and fell apart in '69, it wasn't long before they regrouped with bassist Bill Wallace, forming Brother. They caught the ear of Jack Richardson, most famous for his works with The Guess Who, who signed the trio to his Nimbus 9 Records label in 1970. Richardson took them into the studio and recorded their eponymous debut album later that year.

"Spending Time Around The World" was released as the first single. Other tracks that solidified the band's reputation as one of the potential 'next prairie hit makers' were the lead-off "Queen Jealousy," "Only A Fool In Love," "Gimme That Money" and the self-retrospective "I Am What I Am What I Am."

After several treks across the country and into the US into the next year, Richardson's focus remained on The Guess Who. The group had an amicable split and went on to individual projects. Winter, coincidentally, would go on to replace Randy Bachman in The Guess Who. The reformed band's first two singles were actually written by Winter and Masters and were intended to be on Brother's second album, which never materialized, "Bus Rider" and "Hand Me Down World." Masters meanwhile joined Diane Hetherington and The Merry Go Round, a staple in the mid-west Canadian club circuit at the time. They even briefly hosted their own CBC variety show. Under the direction of Kenny Rogers, they also recorded in the studios, but the songs were never released.

Wallace would also join The Guess Who after a brief hiatus. After Winter left The Guess Who in '74, it only seemed natural he'd hook up with Masters again. Bubbles hit the scene, which morphed into Saint Silver and eventually Papa Pluto.

The connection between the members of Brother and The Guess Who continued, when Masters joined Burton Cummings' solo touring band in '77, opening for Alice Cooper, and then joined the reformed version of The Guess Who later that year, and recorded ALL THIS FOR A SONG.

Prior to Masters joining, Wallace had left The Guess Who, and formed Crowcuss, then went on to Kilowatt in the early 80's. The The Guess Who lineup that featured Masters drifted into obscurity fairly quickly, at which point he , Masters again went back to his own projects, including The Trigger Brothers, Yogi and Friends, and Twister, to name just a few. In 1992, he began a 10-year stint with the country-rock band, Guns 4 Hire. On December 24, 1997,Winter passed away of alcohol-related problems. Wallace meanwhile would rejoin The Guess Who for their late 90's comeback, and then drift off to do outside projects again a few years after the RUNNING BACK THROUGH CANADA album and DVD.