Artists pay tribute to ailing Aubrey Mann at fundraiser
October 1, 2025
At a heartfelt fundraiser honouring soul and rhythm & blues singer Aubrey Mann now living with dementia, several of the artists he once mentored and shared the stage with came together on September 28 to pay tribute to his enduring legacy and profound influence.
Through music and moving speeches, they reflected on the good times they shared with him.
Juno-Award singer/songwriter/producer Carlos Morgan met Mann at Club Bluenote on Pears Ave. in 1984.
Carlos Morgan (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
“As I go around the country talking at different schools about music history in Canada, Aubrey is one of the people that I mention because he has done so much without getting much recognition,” he said.
Canadian actress/singer Arlene Duncan and Mann were cast in the play, ‘Sing Out, Freedom Train’.
Arlene Duncan (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
She played the role of Harriet Tubman.
“From the first day we met, he called me ‘Sister Tub’,” recalled the Dora Award winner who dedicated the song, ‘Stand Up’, to him.
In March 2002, Mann attended the launch of Wade ‘Wado’ Brown’s first CD album, ‘Complete’.
Aubrey Mann (r) at Wade Brown CD album launch in 2002 (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
“He’s like a son,” Mann said at the time. “Wade is very gifted in that he plays every musical instrument, and he has written all the songs on his CD. I have not met a youngster in the business who is as talented as he is.”
Brown was a member of Mann’s band, ‘Reflections’, that performed throughout North America and on the Voyager of the Seas cruise ship.
Wade Brown (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
“During a time when the scene was competitive and cats had to go out for themselves, Aubrey was the one man who took his shine and loaned me the spotlight until I got my own,” the self-taught keyboard player said. “I owe a lot of my success to following his showmanship, professionalism leadership, and his fearless spirit to give back.”
A member of Club Bluenote house band, recording artist Lorraine Scott said Mann took her under his wing after they met nearly 40 years ago.
Lorraine Scott (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
“I have known him to be a giving and caring person who is respectful of other people,” she said.
Soon after arriving from Guyana in 1981 where he was a member of the band, Sid & the Slickers, George St. Kitts ran into Mann.
“Aubrey asked me where I was from, and I told him (G.T) Georgetown,” said the two-time Juno nominee. “When he asked if I was a singer man, I said yes, and he said he could hook me up.”
George St. Kitts (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Mann introduced St. Kitts to Raymond ‘Chinny’ Lee-Own, then the bandleader of Odyssey.
“Thank you, Aubrey, for everything you have done for me and many others,” said St. Kitts.
Mann’s wife of 26 years, Susanne Mann-Mansfield, thanked the entertainers, Lee-Own and others for contributing to the fundraiser.
“Your support, encouragement and kindness mean a great deal to Aubrey and me,” she pointed out. “Life has its ups and downs, but this curve ball was unexpected, especially for a man who memorized hundreds of songs and could recall word for word a conversation from five years ago. For those who may have a family member or friend suffering from dementia, you have a good understanding of how formidable this disease is and how overwhelming it can be for the caregiver and the person living with the disease.”
Raymond Lee-Own, (l) the event’s principal organizer, and his band Triple Play with guest perfiomrer Susan Grogan enteratined the audience (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Mann, who turns 74 in November, has had a long and impactful career.
In 1974, the Ontario government hired him to create and produce a Motown-style show -- Soul to Soul -- which was held at Ontario’s Place Island Club.
When it ended two years later, prominent theatre booking agent Mark Ireland, who had fallen in love with the production, suggested taking it on tour to theatres across Canada.
Motown: Then & Now...Michelle Brown (l), Michelle Marie,Shannon Barnett, Stephanie Roth (stooping),Trevor Annon, Wade Brown, Aubrey Mann, George St. Kitts & Carlos Morgan (Nir Bareket Photography)
Mann agreed and launched ‘An Evening at the Apollo’, paying tribute to the legendary Motown era.
The 12-member band, consisting of six vocalists and a six-piece orchestra, also performed at corporate events and award shows, earning rave reviews.
Three-time Juno nominee Jay Douglas (r) paid tribute to his friend Aubrey Mann (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Mann’s musical inspiration came from his parents.
Clem Thomas was a civilian drummer with the Guyana Police band, and his mother, Sheila Mansfield-Grenardo, was a sopranist with the Woodside Choir which was the oldest secular mixed voice choir in the Caribbean. They succumbed to cancer at age 75 in 2000 and 2004 respectively.
Their son sang in a church choir and spent a few months in New York with family members who took him to Expo’ 67 in Montreal. Homesick after a few weeks, he returned to Guyana to continue high school and pursue a soccer career.
Mann, the stepson of late Guyana soccer player Compton Julian, was a member of the national youth squad whose coaches included Caribbean sports personality Joseph ‘Reds’ Perriera and late Surinamese August Wooter.
While preparing to represent his country at a junior Caribbean tournament in 1968, one of his teammates broke his leg and was hospitalized. Seeing the player in that condition lying in bed and not wanting the same fate, he decided to quit the sport.
Starting his musical career with The Cosmonauts 57 years ago, Mann performed with some of Guyana’s top bands, including Curtis & the MGs, Mischievous Guys and Des Glasford’s Combo 7, whose host was late radio personality Terrence ‘Pancho’ Carew.
Just before taking the stage for his first show, Carew asked Mann for his name. When told it was Aubrey Mansfield, Carew felt the surname was too long and shortened it to Mann which stuck with him throughout his career.
The father of five children (one is deceased) performed alongside showman Phil ‘Bumpy’ Dino and spent a few months selling insurance. In 1975, as the top sales agent, he won a trip to Barbados to attend the Millionaires Convention.
At the farewell party, late insurance executive Percy Boyce told the organizers that Mann is an excellent vocalist. In the middle of the celebration, he was invited to perform on stage.
The entertainer quickly gained popularity and decided to leave his insurance job to stay on the island. He performed with The Lunar 7 and also took part in Barbados’ eighth independence anniversary celebration held in the United States.
Eddie ‘Staxx’ Glasford was the event’s MC (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Shortly afterward, the renowned calypsonian The Mighty Sparrow invited Mann to join his tour as the opening act. After a few months on the road, Mann left the tour to get married.
The union ended when the singer got a phone call in 1976 from a friend in Canada, inviting him to become the lead singer of the band, Changes.
Mann performed regularly at clubs for nearly three years and toured the Bahamas before going to the United States in June 1979 after his extensions to stay in Canada expired.
At first, his friends were incredibly supportive. But over time, they moved away, leaving him without anyone to seek advice from to help advance his career.
To get by, he used and sold drugs for about six weeks until a friend intervened and helped him.
“That was the lowest point in my career,” he told me in an interview in 2009. “Had I not being given an opportunity to perform with B.T Express (defunct American funk/disco band), I don’t know if I would be here talking to you.”
Mann returned to Canada in October 1979 and released his first album, ‘Feeling Good’, featuring the hit song ‘Stealing Love on the Side’. A year later, he released his second album, ‘Tribute to the Man’, paying homage to soul singer Otis Redding whom he greatly admired.
In 1982, Mann had the opportunity to open for the legendary soul singer Millie Jackson at the prestigious O'Keefe Centre. This high-profile performance helped solidify his reputation as a rising star in the Canadian music scene.
He was the 1981 and 1982 Canadian Black Music Award Top Male Vocalist.
To mark 40 years in show business, Mann released ‘Forty Years of Love and Soul’, his first compilation album in 29 years. The CD includes his top 10 soul songs from four decades, plus two original tracks, ‘We’ll Still Be Making Love on the Side’ and ‘It’s Never Been the Same’.
That same year in 2009, he surprised his wife by taking a full-time sales job at a Markham Men’s clothing store.
“I love clothes and people,” Mann remarked then. “I am not doing this for the money. Rather, I want to build relationships.”
Aubrey Mann & his wife Susanne Mann-Mansfield in Guyana in 2016 for Guyana’s 50th independence anniversary (Photo contributed)
The Guyana government invited him to perform at the ‘Night of Legends’ concert at the National Stadium to celebrate the country’s 50th independence anniversary in 2016.
“When Guyana gained its independence in 1966, I was in high school and did not grasp the significance of what that meant,” he once told me. “I am happy I have the opportunity now to be part of this milestone.”
Donations to Mann can be made through https://www.gofundme.com/f/compassion-in-action-fundraising-for-aubrey-mann/donate?source=btn_story_donate
