The Maunders started playing together 63 years ago in Arthurette, N.B.  As far as family bands go, this is one of the longest running in St. John River Valley history.  In 1956, be-bop and harmony singing was all the rage.

It was common in the Maunder household for at least three years prior to the band starting to have sing songs on the weekend in the kitchen.  Well, it got so popular, pretty much every weekend of life, that one day when there were 50 or so people there, the father, George said: ”Folks, next time you want to hear the girls sing, you are gonna have to pay because we’re having a show & dance at the Arthurette legion next Saturday.”

John Maunder started out singing and playing guitar at the ripe old age of 9 doing Elvis tunes and other covers.  His older sisters Sheila and Kathy sang (They were nicknamed the Everly Sisters) and their father George played a mean fiddle and was Master of Ceremonies.  Their mom, Kit Maunder took money at the door.  A few years later, Rick Maunder, the youngest of the bunch joined the Maunder crew.  For a long time, The Maunders travelled and played in the region, sometimes 6 days a week, from Grand Falls to St. John.  At 14, Sheila was offered a recording contract with Quality Records in Toronto but decided to stay at home.

One day, George ordered a set of drums from Sears and within a week both George and John were the new drummers for The Maunders.  John was 15 at the time.  This way of live continued into the late sixties.  They carried their equipment in the trunk of the car and had a small trailer attached with held chips and soda.  Whenever a new song came on the radio that they liked, they were performing it the next week.  The songs ranged from “Johnny, you’re too young” to “Who’s sorry now” to “I fall to pieces”.

At 19, John started the band The Common People with his sister Kathy, James (Nort) Hargrove, Lawrence LaFrance and Daryl Dunster.  John has been the drummer, leader of the band and lead singer from the beginning.  From his many years of cymbal testing for Azco (now Sabian), John has made many long lasting friendships in the music community.
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As for the family in The Common People, Kathy played keyboards and sang lead and harmony full time until 2008 and still plays on special occasions.  Sheila sang lead and harmony and also did sound from 1999 through 2008.  Rick played bass for the band for a few years and did sound from 2008-2014.  Melanie Maunder, John’s daughter, sang in the band from 2005-2008.  The newest family member of the current band includes John’s wife Jean, who started with the band in 1999.  For special events, The Maunders unite once again.   So it is still a family band although the founders, George and Kit Maunder are no longer with us.

Although many people have played with The Common People through the years, Kathy Ellis has always sung and played keyboards.  There have been guitarists who have graced the stage including Brian Lean on bass and Rick Bartlett on lead guitar.

When asked what makes The Common People special, most people tell us it is the good time atmosphere and danceable music.  People also can reminisce about old times with the classic rock selection which is our staple and hear today’s music with The Common People twist to it.

John Maunder tries to bring back some good memories at his dances and on July 8th and August 5th of 2006, he succeeded again.  The Common People hosted dances at the Perth Andover and Nackawic arenas.  The celebrations were a full evening of dancing, with two video screens of pictures from the last fifty years of playing dances included in the show by Signature Sound.

We did three shows with Flat Top for Portage Atlantic sponsored by Ayr Motor from 2009-2011.  These shows were held at Florenceville Arena.  More recently, The Common People have been getting back to their roots and playing a variety of legions around the St. John River Valley.

Please join us for our next gig at the Big Axe Brewfest July 12th, 2019 in Nackawic!