On Dec. 28, 1968, hard rock pioneers Vanilla Fudge performed at Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum. Opening for them that night was the Trials of Jayson Hoover, a psychedelic-soul group fronted by local singer Jayson Hoover. Sandwiched in between Hoover’s band and the headliners was an upstart group from the U.K. named Led Zeppelin.
On that night, it’s likely more fans in the crowd were familiar with Hoover — a stalwart in Vancouver’s soul music scene with a single getting radio airplay — than the British band, who was weeks away from having their debut album released in North America.
“One of the guys in the Trials of Jayson
