Gregory Leskiw (born 5 August 1946) is a Canadian guitarist and vocalist best known for playing rhythm guitar and singing background vocals on recordings and in concert with the Guess Who from 1970 to 1972.
History Born in Brandon, Manitoba and raised in Shilo, Leskiw grew up with a father who was a jazz guitarist and who had toured Manitoba in the 1930s and 1940s. Leskiw began playing the guitar at the age of 12, initially learning jazz standards and jazz chords from his father. Through Leskiw's high school years he played in Winnipeg rock bands The Shags, Logan Avenue, and Wild Rice. By 1969, Wild Rice dissolved, and in mid-1970 he joined The Guess Who, as he and guitarist Kurt Winter both replaced the departed Randy Bachman. Leskiw wrote "One Divided" which appeared on the 1971 Guess Who album So Long, Bannatyne. After a few albums with The Guess Who, Leskiw left the band in March 1972, and then formed the band Mood jga jga. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he was a member of Crowcuss and Kilowatt, both with another Guess Who alumnus, bassist Bill Wallace. From 1986 to 1997, Leskiw operated Vox Pop Studios in Fort Garry, a popular recording studio for local Winnipeg groups such as Crash Test Dummies, New Meanies, and Mood jga jga.
Discography
The Guess Who 1970: Share the Land 1971: Best of The Guess Who 1971: So Long, Bannatyne 1972: Rockin' 1974: The Best of the Guess Who, Vol. 2 1977: The Greatest Hits of the Guess Who 1997: The Guess Who: The Ultimate Collection 1999: The Guess Who: Greatest Hits 2003: Platinum & Gold Collection: The Guess Who 2003: The Guess Who: Anthology
Mood jga jga 1974: Mood jga jga (Warner Bros.) 1997: Boys Will Be Boys
Les Q 1979: Be My Champion (SL Records/CBS)
Kilowatt 1982: Kilowatt (Dallcorte Records) 1983: Currents One Eyed Jacks
1993: Hell on Hold
Swing Soniq 1998: Moonglow 2005: Love Wild
References
Sources The Guess Who Artistfacts
External links CanadianBands.com entry Works by Greg Leskiw at Library and Archives Canada Works by or about Greg Leskiw in libraries (WorldCat catalogue)