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The Counts
He Will Break Your Heart / Searchin' - 7"
Apex - 1966
Michael Panontin
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Alexander Mair, the mild-mannered record promotions man who was awarded the Order of Canada while he lay dying of cancer, had a resume a mile long. His work experience spanned all the way from his first job as a junior accountant at Capitol Records - after having taken just one night class at the University of Toronto - all the way to his founding of Attic Records, one of the largest and most successful indie labels in Canadian history. Mair also took care of Gordon Lightfoot's business affairs during the singer-songwriter's peak years, from 1968 to 1976.
"Al Mair was a great record man," True North's Bernie Finkelstein told the Globe and Mail. "Not only did he put out some great music, but behind the scenes, he made a great contribution to the Canadian music business as we now know it."
Mair launched the careers of many Canuck acts, including Maestro Fresh Wes, the Nylons, Teenage Head and Triumph. Of course, there were also those performers who didn't quite make it. One such act was the Counts, a Toronto-based trio that issued just one single in their time, a double-sided cover record that paired a version of 'He Will Break Your Heart', a top-ten hit for Jerry Butler in 1960, with the Leiber/Stoller classic, 'Searchin''.
RPM credits Mair, who was working for the Apex label at the time, with helping to get the Counts their big break. "This group was first brought to the attention of The Compo Company by Al Mair, promotion man for Apex Records," the magazine reported. "Mair was instrumental in bringing together [Apex National Sales Manager Lee] Armstrong and Tamarac Record Productions, who produced the Counts' first session."
Mair, who passed away in 2022, also posted the occasional comment on Facebook. "I signed them to Apex. Mike Holman, the guitar player, rented a room from me." he wrote, later adding, "I signed them and promoted them...unsuccessfully. We couldn't get any traction with this Jerry Butler cover."
RPM listed a release date for 'He Will Break Your Heart' as the third week of January, 1966. The record was issued with a swell picture sleeve of the guys sporting a cool mod look. Mair's dissatisfaction aside, the top side, which truth be told sounds more Ricky Nelson than south-side Chicago, actually managed to reach a healthy #18 on RPM's national chart...for three weeks (21 March - 4 April 1966). The Counts even got a mention south of the border in Cash Box, which wrote that 'He Will Break Your Heart' was "creating a good deal of interest with some of the leading record firms in the US" and that an American release for the "very commercial single" was "forthcoming". That US release, alas, seems to have never happened.
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