Mainline was from Toronto and was originally known as McKenna Mendelson Mainline. It featured blues guitarists Mike McKenna and Joe Mendelson, drummer Tony Nolasco, and what seems to have been a revolving door of bass players. They moved to England in 1968 and achieved some success there before returning to Canada in June 1969 due to, according to their Wikipedia article, "Homesickness, dissension in the ranks, and the vagaries of youth". Ah, the vagaries of youth!
The band released four albums and seven singles between 1969 and 1972. "Get Down To" was the only single to get airplay in Toronto; it didn't chart in the U.S. and I don't know whether it charted elsewhere in Canada.
Mendelson left in 1972 and was briefly replaced by Rick James (before he became famous). The band split up shortly after that. In the 1990s, they reunited without Mendelson and performed regularly into the 2000s.
Created June 23, 2026.