# Skip Prokop

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Canadian musical artist (1943–2017)

Skip Prokop Born Ronald Harry Prokop (1943-12-13)13 December 1943 Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Died 30 August 2017(2017-08-30) (aged 73) St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada Genres Rock, jazz fusion, smooth jazz Occupations Drummer, bandleader Instruments Drums, percussion, guitar, piano

Musical artist

**Ronald Harry "Skip" Prokop** (December 13, 1943[1] – August 30, 2017) was a Canadian drummer, guitarist and keyboardist.[2] He was also a band leader, was a founding member of the Canadian [rock music](/source/Rock_music) groups [the Paupers](/source/The_Paupers)[3] and [Lighthouse](/source/Lighthouse_(band)).

## Early life

Prokop was born in Hamilton, Ontario. He attended G.L. Armstrong elementary and [Hill Park secondary](/source/Hill_Park_Secondary_School) schools. He was active in the Navy League and Sea Cadets, and at age 17 performed in a drum corps which won the Canadian National Individual Drumming Competition.[2][4]

## Career

Prokop moved to Toronto and organized a band called the Spats, later called the Paupers, who began playing in Yorkville coffee houses, and later performed in New York and at the U.S. Monterey Pop Festival in 1967.[4] The Paupers were managed by [Albert Grossman](/source/Albert_Grossman). He introduced Prokop to [Al Kooper](/source/Al_Kooper). Grossman asked him to leave The Paupers to play drums with Kooper and [Mike Bloomfield](/source/Mike_Bloomfield) for a follow-up recording to *Super Session*. The result was *[The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper](/source/The_Live_Adventures_of_Mike_Bloomfield_and_Al_Kooper)*, a live late-1960s [blues-rock](/source/Blues-rock) album.

Prokop played on a number of sessions, including one with [Janis Joplin](/source/Janis_Joplin) at RKO Studios following her parting with [Big Brother & The Holding Company](/source/Big_Brother_%26_The_Holding_Company). This came about because Grossman had asked him to put a new band together for Joplin.[5] He also did sessions with [Carlos Santana](/source/Carlos_Santana) and [Peter, Paul & Mary](/source/Peter%2C_Paul_%26_Mary) and other musical artists.[2]

In 1969, Prokop co-founded the rock group [Lighthouse](/source/Lighthouse_(band)) with [Paul Hoffert](/source/Paul_Hoffert).[2] The band played its first Toronto concert in May that year. The group was active until 1975; they performed internationally and won several Juno Awards.[4]

He wrote the song "I'd Be So Happy", which was recorded by [Three Dog Night](/source/Three_Dog_Night) in 1974, featured on their studio album *[Hard Labor](/source/Hard_Labor)*, and included on their greatest hits compilation, *[Joy to the World: Their Greatest Hits](/source/Joy_to_the_World%3A_Their_Greatest_Hits)* later that year.

Lighthouse held a reunion concert at Ontario Place in Toronto in 1982.[4]

In the mid 1980s Prokop worked for [Roland](/source/Roland_Corporation) Canada (Musical Instruments), in Mississauga, Ontario, as a product specialist. He participated in several promotional tours with his own Skip Prokop Band while presenting products made by Roland.

Prokop also drummed in a London, Ontario rock/funk/Christian band called Mercy Train, and worked on smooth jazz album with IAM Studios in Brantford, Ontario, released in 2012 titled *The Smooth Side Of Skip Prokop*.

During the years in which Lighthouse was inactive, Prokop turned towards radio for his career. He was host of [CFNY-FM](/source/CFNY-FM)'s *Rock and a Hard Place* program in the Toronto broadcast market. In the early 2000s, he worked for [Astral Media](/source/Astral_Media) radio stations [CJBX](/source/CJBX-FM)/[CIQM](/source/CIQM-FM)/[CJBK](/source/CJBK) in advertising sales.[6] As of 2010, he lived in [Aylmer, Ontario](/source/Aylmer%2C_Ontario).

He died on August 30, 2017, at age 73.[7][8][9]

## Albums

Year Album Album details Peak chart positions CAN [10] 1977 All Growed Up Released: 1977 Label: Quality — 2005 in the center of... Released: 2005 Label: Race Records — 2012 Smoothside Released: June 29, 2012 Label: IAM Music — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

## Singles

Year Name Peak chart positions Album CAN 1977 "Sunny New Orleans" —[A] All Growed Up 1978 "Gotta Hear You Say It Too" Promo only Non-album single "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

**Notes[11]**

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Although "Sunny New Orleans" failed to chart, the song received considerable airplay in [Canada](/source/Canada).

## Notes

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["The Paupers - Garage Hangover"](http://www.garagehangover.com/paupers/). *Garagehangover.com*. 9 October 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2017.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-billboard_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-billboard_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-billboard_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-billboard_2-3) ["Skip Prokop, Co-Founder of Canadian Jazz-Rock Group Lighthouse, Dies at 73"](http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7949898/skip-prokop-dead-lighthouse). *Billboard*. Retrieved September 8, 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Nick Warburton. ["The Paupers"](https://web.archive.org/web/20060212064837/http://www.classicrockpage.com/everheardof/thepaupers.htm). *Classic Rock Page*. Archived from [the original](http://www.classicrockpage.com/everheardof/thepaupers.htm) on 2006-02-12. Retrieved 2005-12-30.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-rockingham_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-rockingham_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-rockingham_4-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-rockingham_4-3) ["Skip Prokop: Hamilton-born Lighthouse drummer dies at 73"](https://www.thespec.com/whatson-story/7531657-skip-prokop-hamilton-born-lighthouse-drummer-dies-at-73/). *The Hamilton Spectator*, Aug 31, 2017 by Graham Rockingham

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Sunny Days Again: An Interview With Skip Prokop of Lighthouse"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150911174348/http://www.gonzoonline.ca/music/gonzo-music-reviews-and-events/272.html). *Gonzoonline.ca*. Archived from [the original](http://www.gonzoonline.ca/music/gonzo-music-reviews-and-events/272.html) on 2015-09-11. Retrieved 2014-02-04.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Personalities: Skip Prokop"](http://www.spiritofradio.ca/Personalities.asp?Show=Prokop,+Skip). *Spiritofradio.ca*. Retrieved 31 August 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [Legendary Canadian musician “Skip” Prokop dies](http://www.durhamradionews.com/archives/104709) *Durham Radio News*, August 30, 2017

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Skip Prokop: Lighthouse Loses Driving Force"](http://themusicexpress.ca/skip-prokop-lighthouse-loses-driving-force/). *Themusicexpress.ca*. 30 August 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-torontostar-obit_9-0)** ["Skip Prokop, Lighthouse co-founder and drummer, dead at 74"](https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/2017/08/31/skip-prokop-lighthouse-co-founder-and-drummer-dead-at-74.html). *Toronto Star*. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Search: RPM"](http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/search.aspx). [Library and Archives Canada](/source/Library_and_Archives_Canada). 17 July 2013. Retrieved April 18, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["Fabulous Flip Sides In Memoriam – Lighthouse’s Skip Prokop"](https://www.goldminemag.com/articles/flashback/fabulous-flip-sides-memoriam-lighthouses-skip-prokop). *Goldmine Magazine*, Warren Kurtz, September 3, 2017

## External links

- ["Biography"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110716081658/http://skipprokop.com/about/biography). *SkipProkop.com*. Archived from [the original](http://skipprokop.com/about/biography) on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2010.

- [Skip Prokop](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p115962) at [AllMusic](/source/AllMusic_(identifier))

- [Skip Prokop](https://www.discogs.com/artist/Skip+Prokop) discography at [Discogs](/source/Discogs)

- [Skip Prokop](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1394689/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

- [Skip Prokop at SpiritOfRadio](http://www.spiritofradio.ca/Personalities.asp?Show=Prokop%2C+Skip)

- ["IAM Studios"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110421061404/http://www.iamstudios.ca/). *Iamstudios.ca*. Archived from [the original](http://iamstudios.ca) on 21 April 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2012.

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF WorldCat National United States France BnF data Artists MusicBrainz

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Skip Prokop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skip_Prokop) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skip_Prokop?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.