The Hometown Band was founded in 1975 by Claire Lawrence, a former member of The Collectors and Chilliwack, as the back-up group for Canadian folk artist Valdy. The band comprised Shari Ulrich (lead vocals, flute, fiddle), Geoff Eyre (drums, vocals), Robbie King (organ, piano, keyboard bass), and Doug Edwards (guitar, keyboards, bass). Their first LP Flying realized two hits, the title track and "I'm Ready" (both written by the Pied Pumkin's Joe Mock. For the second album Eddie Patterson joined the group.

The group disbanded shortly after winning the Juno Award for "Most Promising Group of the Year", having failed to produce a radio hit from their second album.