The whole Sands family was musical and everyone played an instrument of some kind. Larry however, being the youngest, had no musical instrument of his own. So while the others weren't around, he would sneak an older sibling's guitar or banjo and would strum away with no real knowledge of chords, pitch, or timing, but it was clear he had an aptitude and hunger for music.
His older brother Sam was pretty adept and creative with his hands. He took the neck of an old broken guitar and mounted a bridge and some old strings on it, then gave it to Larry so he could strum and sing along with the rest of the family.
Brother Nelson then taught Larry a little on the guitar while another brother John taught him some chords on the 4-string banjo. He got to be pretty good on that banjo and his folks would take him to town at age 8 or 9 and “show him off” to their friends at the hotel. Larry would strum and sing to anyone who would listen!
From there he honed his musical skills on his own, teaching himself chords on the guitar and singing. He entered numerous talent shows with siblings Marion and Chester, and after they stopped entering the competitions Larry continued on his own. He became quite popular in Central Alberta and appeared with a host of travelling roadshow bands, including a couple of performances with the legendary Wilf Carter, once with his siblings and on another occasion by himself when Wilf was touring with his daughters.
After his father Clarence passed away in 1952, Larry took more to rodeoing but always kept his guitar case close by.
His first dance job came at age 13 that paid $3.00 a night, working with a drummer friend and an accordion player.
Seeing the potential for that kind of work, fellow musicians Marvin Peterson and Willie Hansinger approached Larry about a year or so later with the idea of forming a band of their own. They got together for a practise or two and then decided to take a crack at it, calling themselves “The Melody Ramblers”! The group became very popular in the Rocky Mountain House and Red Deer regions, and the gigs helped Larry with his rodeo expenses, covering some of his travelling costs and entry fees. Larry left the band in 1961 when work in the oilfield took him north to Swan Hills. The Melody Ramblers carried on for a number of years following his departure.
After a few years dedicated to establishing himself working the oil patch and raising a family, Larry once again put a band together. This group was called “Larry Sands and Black Gold”. The band really caught on in North Central Alberta, from Swan Hills to Edmonton. And at age 13, his son Dwain had joined the band, having taken up playing the piano at age 11.
In 1980, Larry tried his hand in the recording studio with a couple original numbers. He released two singles, “Hands of Time” and “Rocky Mountain Memories”, both of which received nominal airplay.
Meanwhile the group continued to evolve with different members and another name change that corresponded with an album release “Me and My Dad” in 1981. “Black Gold Country” was now on the radio, selling records, and performing live from Swan Hills to Calgary, with Larry and his son Dwain singing for the band and writing most of the recorded material. Larry's “Wild Alberta Rose” received a lot of attention in Alberta and on European country stations while Dwain's novelty song “The Rubik's Cube” did well at home, including hitting #1 on Calgary's FM station Country 105 for a time.
Since then Larry and Dwain have recorded 3 more albums, and Larry has put together two solo projects, “Howlin' at the Moon” and “Hoofbeats and Heartbeats”.
The latter covers somewhat of a musical account of the west as Larry knew it, from packing back into the Rocky Mountains to riding roughstock as a member of the Foothills Cowboys Association. On the title track he is joined by his friend and Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame member Gary Fjellgaard.
Larry's music has offered him the privilege of performing alongside such musical greats as Wilf Carter, Hod Pharis, Guido D'Amico, Anita Perras, and Gary Fjellgaard...some pretty good company for this singin' cowboy!
The Musician