Ice Conduit to the 2013 JUNOs: ROCK ALBUM Nominees

 Below are the five best rock albums of last year, nominated for the JUNO for Rock Album of the Year.  Which one is your favourite?

Albatross by Big Wreck

This band, led by the genius of Toronto’s Ian Thornley who pulled a 180 after a run at a solo career, has released its first album in over a decade. Their 1997 debut effort, In Loving Memory of, mined its way into double-platinum certification. This, their third, has secured for the crew its first JUNO nomination. The music is like a diesel-powered snowblower ploughing through the snow and transforms at times into a melodic ice-dancing Zamboni. Albatross peaked at #5 on the Billboard Albums chart, won two CASBY awards, and spawned two hit singles, the title track and “Wolves”. It gets your heart pumping, adrenaline flowing, and energizes you enough to clear snow from a football field in Quebec City in the time it takes it to dissolve on a Vancouver street corner.

Albatross on iTunes     Big Wreck’s Website 

Dead Silence by Billy Talent

This Mississauga band has already brought dead silence to critics with seven JUNO awards, three multi-platinum albums, and over a million thumbs up on Facebook, tucked under their punkabilly belts. Though internet trolls may beg to differ, in the Great White North, Billy is not the name of a goat, at least not since 2003 when the band’s success burgeoned. Two cuts off the disc, “Viking Death March” and “Surprise Surprise” did just what they were intended to do: march up the Canadian Hot 100. But those of us who recognize talent, were not surprised at all. This was their first album not to be graced by a roman numeral, and they seemed to hit their stride on this release, creating a perfect blend of super potent espresso that moshes into the pit of the heart and gets you pumped up ready to tackle every sociopolitical problem the world dishes out.

Dead Silence on iTunes     Billy Talent’s Website

Clockwork Angels by Rush

The trio from Toronto has been inducted into the Music Hall of Fame, five of their songs have made the Songwriters Hall of Fame, they’ve won eight JUNOs of 43 nominations, and, last year, they released their 19th studio album. This concept album is about a man struggling to follow his dreams in a world of anarchists, pirates, and his arch nemesis Watchmaker. The rock is more progressive than the band’s last release though not as much as their quadruple platinum album Moving Pictures. While their sound has bounced around with different styles over the years, the centerpiece of Rush’s music has always been Neil Peart’s dazzlingly complex rock drumming. The music, as a whole, on Clockwork Angels is highly detailed and dynamic which makes it one of their most exciting works in a while.

Clockwork Angels on iTunes     Rush’s Website

The Sheepdogs by The Sheepdogs

This band from Saskatoon that plays early 1970s style won three JUNO awards last year, and this is their 4th studio album. It has been certified gold. The Sheepdogs’ style has been dubbed “boogie rock”, the kind of stuff that got played off dashboard mounted 8-track tape decks by dudes in pickup trucks wearing jean jackets, metal rimmed glasses, hair below the ear lobes, and mood rings. There is an organic and wholesome quality to the music giving it a more universal appeal. The band is not attempting to formulate a statement; they are letting it happen. As the first track suggests, this is an album to play when in laid back mode as if making some moves at the roller arena or pinball arcade.

The Sheepdogs on iTunes     The Sheepdogs’ Website

Now For Plan A by The Tragically Hip

This Kingston, Ontario band has a pair of diamond-certified albums, something that none of these other nominated groups can boast. They have also won the most JUNOs of the bunch, with 13. They have a star on the Walk of Fame and have been inducted into the Music Hall of Fame. Now For Plan A, The Tragically Hip’s 13th album, was certified gold, proving the band is still … hip, and spawned the hit single “In Transformation”. A touch of psychedelics underscores their characteristic grunge sound and Gord Sinclair’s usual twangy vocals, making us feel we have hitched a ride within a rock band’s garage hitting the streets in an ultraviolet repo-man Chevy Malibu with something mysterious in the trunk.

Now for Plan A on iTunes     The Tragically Hip’s Website

 

#18 Any escape might help to smooth the unattractive truth

Of all the songs the foremost Torontonian rock trio ever performed, the most instantly likeable is perhaps “Tom Sawyer”. But another masterpiece of theirs has withstood the test of time; in fact, it is one of those rare songs that one actually finds himself liking more with every repeated listen. The opener of their 1982 Signals album, this song was never a hit but is one of only a handful of delicacies that has been inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Rush’s “Subdivisions” is as brilliant lyrically as musically. Drummer Neil Peart wrote the lyrics which center on the loneliness of suburban life and the pressures experienced by youth in selling their dreams to conform to suffocating conventions: “Be cool or be cast out”. The song was composed by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson. The music is complex though the melody is simple, features exquisite keyboard solos, and provides a fine example of Peart’s exciting, highly-skilled drumming.

This is Canadian music at its very best.

Lyrics

Sprawling on the fringes of the city
In geometric order
An insulated border
In between the bright lights
And the far unlit unknown

Growing up it all seems so one-sided
Opinions all provided
The future pre-decided
Detached and subdivided
In the mass production zone
Nowhere is the dreamer or the misfit so alone

[Chorus:]
(Subdivisions)
In the high school halls
In the shopping malls
Conform or be cast out
(Subdivisions)
In the basement bars
In the backs of cars
Be cool or be cast out
Any escape might help to smooth
The unattractive truth
But the suburbs have no charms to soothe
The restless dreams of youth

Drawn like moths we drift into the city
The timeless old attraction
Cruising for the action
Lit up like a firefly
Just to feel the living night

Some will sell their dreams for small desires
Or lose the race to rats
Get caught in ticking traps
And start to dream of somewhere
To relax their restless flight

Somewhere out of a memory of lighted streets on quiet nights…

[Chorus]

Summary

Song: “Subdivisions”
Album: Signals
Year: 1982
Artist: Rush
Origin: Toronto

To view other songs in the Top 50, click on 50 Favourite Songs in the Categories menu on the right-hand column.

 

“Tears Are Not Enough” by Northern Lights

Notable Canadian band manager Bruce Allen organized a project to record a charity single for African famine relief in response to Britain’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” Jim Vallance in an interview told the story of how things came together in writing and recording the song “Tears Are Not Enough” sung by a supergroup of Canadian artists called Northern Lights.

…in 1985, David [Foster] returned to Vancouver for a year. He and his wife Rebecca bought a house in the same neighbourhood where Bryan Adams and I lived, but we didn’t see much of them. One day I ran into David in the lobby of Little Mountain Sound Studio, where he was producing an album for Paul Hyde and Bob Rock’s group, The Payolas. He approached me in a panic and said, “You have a home studio, right?” I replied that I did.

Visibly excited, David told me he’d just got off the phone with Quincy Jones, who’d just finished recording a Michael Jackson / Lionel Ritchie song for African famine relief called “We Are The World”. Quincy played the song for David over the phone, and said he wanted David to record a Canadian song for Africa — and it had to be finished in the next week or two so it could be included on the U.S. album release!

“We Are The World” was written in response to Bob Geldoff’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas”, recorded and released the year before (1984). Geldoff’s song raised millions of dollars for Africa, and had already made a significant difference to those suffering from drought and famine. Quincy hoped that a Canadian song might help make a difference too.

David already had a melody, borrowed from a song he’d been working on, and he had a title, “Tears Are Not Enough”, which had been provided by Paul Hyde and Bob Rock. It was nearly twenty years later (2004) when I finally heard the story behind the “title”:

Paul and Bob had been in the studio with Foster on the day that Quincy Jones called. Several weeks earlier they’d written a song called “Tears Are Not Enough”, and after the call from Quincy they played their song for David, thinking it might be suitable for the Famine Relief recording. “So, what do you think?” they asked, when they’d finished presenting the song. “Nice title”, David replied.

The next morning (Friday, February 1, 1985) David arrived at my home studio. He played me his melody on the piano. It was a pretty ballad with an interesting, circular chord progression. He also mentioned Paul and Bob’s title, “Tears Are Not Enough”, which I thought was excellent.

With the melody and the title we had enough to get started, so began recording the track right away. Using his Emulator synthesizer David laid down a piano, followed by a Moog bass, then a bell sound. I added drums and percussion. An hour or two later we had a “basic track” (it was only intended to be a quick “demo” recording, but it worked so well we ended up using it for the final recording).

Then we started working on the lyrics:
We can close the distance
Only we can make the difference
Don’t you know that tears are not enough

It was a good start, but David had to rush away for a session with The Payolas, promising to return the following day. I continued work on the lyrics while my wife Rachel [Paiement] wrote a few lines in French — after all, it was a Canadian song for Africa!

The next day Bryan Adams arrived from Los Angeles and hurried over to help. He looked at the lyrics I’d written so far and immediately suggested an improvement. “How about ‘we can BRIDGE the distance’?”, he said. It was perfect, and with that we were off and running.

We finished the lyric later that evening, then Bryan and Rachel recorded the vocals. The demo was completed at 4:00 a.m. the next morning.

Meanwhile, David enlisted Bryan’s manager Bruce Allen to help assemble a roster of performers. Bruce was well-connected in the music industry, and in quick succession Joni Mitchell and Neil Young agreed to participate. Then Kim Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot. Burton Cummings came on board, and so did Geddy Lee and Corey Hart.

Comedians John Candy and Catherine O’Hara offered their services, along with legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson and David Letterman sidekick Paul Shaffer. Dan Hill, Jane Sibbery, Sylvia Tyson, Robert Charlebois … the list of participants grew by the hour.

I suggested we record the vocals at Manta Studios [in Toronto], where I’d recorded Bryan Adams’ first album (and also Barney Bentall, Lisa Dal Bello and Cano). The room was big enough to accommodate a large group, and I also knew that veteran engineer Hayward Parrott could handle the complex task of recording 30 soloists … plus a chorus of 50!

Michael Godin (A&M Records) contacted Manta owner Andy Hermant, who generously donated the studio. On Saturday (February 9, 1985) we flew to Toronto to prepare for the mammoth recording session planned for the following day.

During the flight we reviewed the lyric sheet and the list of artists and determined who would sing which line. We decided the song should begin with Canadian legend Gordon Lightfoot (“As everyday goes by …”), then move to Burton Cummings (“How can we close our eyes …”), then to Anne Murray, Joni Mitchell, and so on.

The session took place on Sunday, February 10, 1985. It was a bitter cold day, but hundreds of fans gathered outside Manta to watch the “stars” arrive. Gordon Lightfoot drove himself to the studio in a pick-up truck. Neil Young and Joni Mitchell arrived by taxi. Platinum Blonde arrived in a white stretch limo.

Just as Quincy Jones had done in Los Angeles, Foster taped a poster in the studio lobby that said, “Leave your egos at the door”. Everyone gave 200 percent, and at the end of the day we had the makings of a magical record.

One of the funniest moments happened during Neil Young’s performance. He’d sung his line once or twice already, but Foster still wasn’t happy and asked Neil to try again. When Neil asked why, David told him he was out of tune. “That’s my style, man”, Neil shot back.

For me, one of the highlights was sitting on the studio floor a few feet from Joni Mitchell while she carved graceful lines in the air with her hands as she sang. Another special moment was meeting Richard Manuel, singer and pianist for “The Band”. In fact, Joni Mitchell and “The Band” are two of my biggest musical influences. I was in “fan heaven”, meeting them and hearing them sing lyrics I’d written!

After completing the vocal session in Toronto, David and I returned to Vancouver and booked time at Pinewood Studios and Little Mountain Sound where more instruments were added to the track, including Loverboy’s Doug Johnson and Paul Dean, who contributed keyboards and guitar. Steven Denroche, a member of the Vancouver Symphony, was called in to play French Horn…

One important Canadian artist unable to attend the Toronto recording session was Bruce Cockburn, who was performing in Germany at the time. Cockburn ‘s manager, Bernie Finkelstein, wondered if there wasn’t a way Bruce could record his vocal at a studio in Germany and have it edited into the finished product at a later date. It was a nice idea, but to meet our deadline Bruce’s contribution would have to be filmed and recorded sometime in the next 48 hours. In a moment of weakness I volunteered to fly to Germany!

The good news is, Air Canada provided a free ticket. The bad news is, there were no direct fights — so I had to fly from Vancouver to Toronto, Toronto to London, London to Frankfurt, and Frankfurt to Hamburg … a 44-hour round-trip. I arrived in Hamburg just in time to catch Bruce’s performance at a club on Tuesday evening. I met him backstage, for the first time, after the show.

I’d brought a cassette tape of the song, which Bruce hadn’t heard yet. But before I could even play the tape, Bruce dropped a bomb. He said he hadn’t yet decided if he wanted to participate in the project!

Bernie had neglected to tell me that Bruce hadn’t made up his mind yet — and I’d just spent 22 hours on a #$&@ airplane! In my sleep-deprived, jet-lagged stupor my first reaction was to reach across the table and grab Bruce by the throat with both hands. Instead, I used every ounce of diplomacy I could muster. I told Bruce how magical the session in Toronto had been … how it was truly a special project, and that everyone was looking forward to his involvement, which was true!

Bruce eventually came around, and he agreed to meet me at a Hamburg recording studio the following morning. It took less than an hour to complete Bruce’s audio and video recording, then it was back to the airport for the 22-hour return flight to Vancouver (via Frankfurt, London and Toronto).

I met one of the film people at the airport in Toronto during my two-hour lay-over, and I handed him the Cockburn footage to edit into the video. After spending a much-needed night in my own bed in Vancouver, I flew to Los Angeles the next morning to deliver Bruce’s audio track. Foster and his assistant Chris Earthy met me at the airport, and we rushed over to Kenny Roger’s “Lion’s Share” studio where Cockburn’s vocal was edited into the audio mix that engineer Humberto Gatica had nearly completed.

“Tears Are Not Enough” reached #1 on the Canadian charts and helped raise more than $3-million for African Famine Relief.

Lyrics and Vocalists

As every day goes by, how can we close our eyes (Gordon Lightfoot)
Until we open up our hearts (Burton Cummings)

We can learn to share and show how much we care (Anne Murray)
Right from the moment that we start (Joni Mitchell)

Seems like overnight, we see the world in a different light (Dan Hill)
Somehow our innocence is lost (Neil Young)

How can we look away, ’cause every single day (Bryan Adams)
We’ve got to help at any cost (Liberty Silver and Loverboy’s Mike Reno)

Chorus (sung by the nine singers above):

We can bridge the distance
Only we can make the difference
Don’t ya know that tears are not enough

If we can pull together
We could change the world forever
Heaven knows that tears are not enough

It’s up to me and you to make the dream come true (Carroll Baker, Ronnie Hawkins, and Murray McLauchlan)
It’s time to take our message everywhere (Corey Hart)

C’est l’amour qui nous rassemble
d’ici a l’autre bout du monde (Véronique Béliveau, Robert Charlebois, and Claude Dubois)

Let’s show them Canada still cares (Bruce Cockburn)
You know that we’ll be there (Rush’s Geddy Lee)

(Chorus – all 18 singers above)

And if we could try (Bryan Adams and Don Gerrard)
Together you and I (All 44 Singers)
Maybe we could understand the reasons why (Zappacosta and Dalbello)
If we take a stand (Rough Trade’s Carole Pope and The Payola$ Paul Hyde)
Every woman, child and man (Salome Bey, Platinum Blonde’s Mark Holmes, and The Parachute Club’s Lorraine Segato)
We can make it work for God’s sake lend a hand (Loverboy’s Mike Reno)

(Chorus – all the above singers plus Paul Anka, Liona Boyd, actor John Candy, Tom Cochrane, Tommy Hunter, Martha Johnson (M+M), actor Eugene Levy, pop pianist Frank Mills, Kim Mitchell, jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, David Letterman sidekick Paul Shaffer, Jane Siberry, Sylvia Tyson (Ian & Sylvia), dj Barry Harris, actress Catherine O’Hara, and Wayne St. John)

The “Tears Are Not Enough” project was one of the finest moments in Canadian music history.

Les Yeux de la Faim

It didn’t receive much attention outside of Quebec but Francophone artists banded together to record an additional charity single for African famine relief. Celine Dion, Rene & Nathalie Simard and others lent their voices to the beautiful “Les Yeux de la Faim“.

 

Rush

 

Debut: 1974, Toronto

 

Members:

 

- Geddy Lee (vocals, keyboards, bass)

- Alex Lifeson (guitars)

- Neil Peart (drums)

 

Genre: Progressive Rock

 

Biggest Album:

 

Moving Pictures, 1981

- Peaked at #1 in Canada and #3 in both the U.S. and U.K.

- 4x Platinum in both Canada and the U.S.

  

Studio Albums:

 

Rush, 1974, G

Fly by Night, 1975, P

Caress of Steel, 1975, G

2112, 1976, MP

A Farewell to Kings, 1977, P

Hemispheres, 1978, P

Permanent Waves, 1980, P

Moving Pictures, 1981, MP

Signals, 1982, P

Grace Under Pressure, 1984, P

Power Windows, 1985, P

Hold Your Fire, 1987, P

Presto, 1989, P

Roll the Bones, 1991, P

Counterparts, 1993, P

Test for Echo, 1996, G

Vapour Trails, 2002, G

Snakes & Arrows, 2007, G

Clockwork Angels, 2012

 

(G=Gold, P=Platinum, MP=Multi-Platinum)

 

Most Successful Single:

 

“New World Man“, 1982

- Peaked at #21 in Billboard’s Hot 100

- #1 Hit in Canada (RPM)

- 9th biggest song of the year 1982 in Toronto.

 

Some Other Well-Known Songs:

 

- “Finding My Way”, 1974

- “Working Man”, 1974

- “Fly by Night”, 1975

- “Lakeside Park”, 1976

- “The Twilight Zone”, 1977

- “A Passage to Bangkok”, 1977

- “Closer to the Heart“, 1978 *

- “Spirit of Radio“, 1980 *

- “Limelight“, 1981 *

- “Tom Sawyer“, 1981 *

- “Subdivisions“, 1983 *

- “Distant Early Warning“, 1984

- “The Big Money“, 1985

- “Manhattan Project”, 1986

- “Time Stand Still”, 1987

- “Force Ten”, 1987

- “Show Don’t Tell”, 1989

- “Dreamline”, 1991

- “Roll the Bones”, 1992

- “Stick It Out”, 1993

- “Test for Echo”, 1996

 

* Song Inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame

 

Achievements:

 

- 7 Number One Studio Albums.

- 13 Platinum Studio Albums (out of 18 released)

- 2 Major Juno Awards (Best Band 1978 and 1979)

- Star on Canada’s Walk of Fame

- Canadian Music Hall of Fame (1994)

- Inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (2010)

 

 

In terms of record sales, Rush, with over 40 million worldwide, are the fifth biggest rock band in history. One of the most important things to point out about the trio is that they were never an act of hit singles. Only one single in the group’s 35+ year history made the Top 40 in Billboard’s Hot 100. Their singles were even snubbed by western Canadian AM radio stations. As a singles act, they were more successful in Toronto and in Britain where their “Spirit of Radio” made it to #13.

 

Rush is predominantly an album-oriented rock band, so successful that 72% (13 out of 18) of their studio albums have attained Platinum status (all but one have gone Gold). Unlike most other rock bands who see constant lineup changes, experience infighting resulting in departures, the trio have stuck together for over 35 years. Their drummer Neil Peart is considered one of the greatest rock drummers in history.

 

The band formed in Toronto in 1968 and performed a number of rock cover tunes. Heavily influenced by Led Zeppelin, they began composing their own material by the end of the decade. They performed in high school auditoriums and nightclubs in the Province before finally recording their first single in 1973 – “Not Fade Away”, a Buddy Holly cover with one of their own compositions on the B-Side – “You Can’t Fight It”. The single went unnoticed. So, Rush decided to start their own record label, which they named Moon Records (later renamed Anthem Records) and released a full-length album in late 1973. DJ and musical director Donna Halper, at WMMS in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A., picked up the single “Working Man” for regular rotation. The popularity of the single prompted Mercury Records to re-release the entire album in the U.S..

 

In the mid-’70s, Rush opened for the likes of Kiss and Aerosmith but by the end of the decade, they were headlining concerts in both Canada and the U.S.. In 1977, they toured Europe. Their 2112 album had topped the charts in Canada and attained multi-platinum sales domestically and south of the border. Their follow-up release, A Farewell to Kings, broke the Top 30 on the British album charts.

 

The most successful and arguably best album was 1981′s Moving Pictures housing such classics as “Tom Sawyer” (co-written with fellow Canadian Pye Dubois of Max Webster) and “Limelight”. At least four tribute albums have appeared featuring covers of Rush tunes by musicians from a wide range of genres. In fact, the trio has been hailed by countless rock bands, including Metallica, The Smashing Pumpkins, Dream Theatre, and Primus, as their foremost musical influence.

 

In 1989 Rush switched record labels from Mercury to Atlantic and, in an unexpected move, shed the use of synthesizers, moving towards a less progressive, guitar-oriented, style throughout the ’90s. In 1997, Rush took a time out when Peart’s daughter was killed in a car accident and his wife died of cancer less than a year later. Peart mourned by riding his motorcycle across Canada and penned a memoir on his travels, entitled Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road. Rush returned to the studio in 2002 to record Vapour Trails. Snakes & Arrows followed five years later.  In 2012, they released Clockwork Angels.

 

Crossroads and Consolidation (1976-79)

While the early to mid 70s were bustling with popular Canadian acts, things had slowed down by the late-70s. There were perhaps three reasons for this. The first was that, while the rest of the world became swept up in disco fever, Canadian artists remained aloof from this genre of music with the odd exception like Patsy Gallant or the T.H.P. Orchestra. Coinciding with this was the decline in popularity of folk music, the style that had been Canada’s specialty. Furthermore, the big names in music were sliding into retirement. Things were to pick up and surpass previous prominence of Canuck music, however, in the 1980s, which saw the first Canadian album to be certified diamond.

 

The late-70s were in fact a crossroads of artists retiring and new ones emerging who didn’t skyrocket to prominence until the following decade. One of these was the rock band Rush. Though their debut came in 1974, they didn’t score a major hit until 1978′s “Closer to the Heart” and steadily rose to notoriety in the early 80s. Rush is one of the longest-lived and most popular Canadian rock bands. Though never scoring a lot of radio-played hit singles, they have remained a highly successful album-oriented act, as 13 of their studio albums have gone platinum. They are considered the fifth best-selling rock band in history internationally after The Beatles, Rolling Stones, KISS, and Aeorsmith respectively.

 

A band that often worked and co-wrote songs with Rush was Max Webster. They managed a Platinum album in 1979. In the 80s, member Kim Mitchell embarked on a solo career and did much better.

 

In terms of bands that scored hits, Vancouver’s Trooper was king in this period with ten Top 40 hits (3 more after 1979). Their album Hot Shots was the first Canadian album to go 4x Platinum in Canada. Toronto’s Triumph didn’t do as well, as their popularity remained mostly in eastern Canada where they scored the 1979 hit “Hold On” and “Magic Power” in 1981. But, unlike Trooper, they have managed to become inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. Prism arguably faired better than Triumph with six platinum albums, two major hits (“Night to Remember” and “Young & Restless”), and Juno Award for Group of the Year in 1981. Regina’s Streetheart rose to fame with their cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Under My Thumb”. Randy Bachman, after his departure from B.T.O., formed a new band, Ironhorse. They released only two albums and scored one Top 30 hit: “Sweet Lui Louise”.

 

Other bands in this period were Harlequin and the new wave outfit Saga who managed several minor radio hits. Canada was heading into more progressive electronic rock thanks to Nash the Slash and FM.

 

Because they started out in Canada, it is worth mentioning the American band Heart. Sweeney Todd released the huge hit “Roxy Roller” but disbanded quickly, two of their members going solo. The first, Nick Gilder, scored a couple of huge hits, one being the biggest of the late-70s, but faded into obscurity after. The second, Bryan Adams, did not see success come as easily, but once he found his signature formula, he became the biggest Canadian solo artist of all-time. We will profile him in the 80s.

 

The biggest solo artist of the late-70s was former Guess Who front man Burton Cummings. His first hit was “Stand Tall” in 1976. Success came for Angèle Arsenault in 1977 with the multi-platinum album, Libre.

 

Though he debuted in 1970, folk-pop singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn‘s big breakthrough came in 1979 thanks to “Wondering Where the Lions Are”. Paul Piché’s solo album went platinum the same year. Martin Stevens’ single “Love is in the Air” went gold while Claudja Barry‘s “Boogie Woogie Dancing Shoes” went Platinum. Respected guitarist Pat Travers churned out some his best material during the late 70s. (Jerry) Doucette‘s debut release, Mama Let Him Play, earned platinum status. Bells’ former pianist Frank Mills released his “Music Box Dancer” instrumental, the sheet music of which has sold in excess of 3 million copies. Diane Tell and Véronique Béliveau both released debut albums in 1977. They became highly successful in the 80s, and we will take a look at them later.

 

Number One singles in the late 70s were Gordon Lightfoot’s “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”, Burton Cummings’ “Stand Tall”, Dan Hill’s “Sometimes When We Touch”, Anne Murray’s “You Needed Me” and “I Just Fall in Love Again”, and Gino Vannelli’s “I Just Wanna Stop”. Nick Gilder departed from Sweeny Todd after their Number One smash “Roxy Roller”, and came out with the biggest Canadian song of the late-70s: “Hot Child in the City”, 7th biggest song of the year 1978 according to CHUM FM. “The Theme from S.W.A.T.” by the T.H.P. Orchestra, which earned them the Most Promising Group of the Year Juno in 1977, was also a number one single. Patsy Gallant’s “Sugar Daddy” won the Song of the Year Juno in 1978. Pianist André Gagnon took home the Album of the Year Juno in 1978 for his Neiges, breaking B.T.O.’s three-year streak in the category.

 

Outside the realm of pop, some big names at this time: celebrated jazz trombonist Rob McConnell, classical pianist and composer André Gagnon, Nova Scotian female country singer Carroll Baker, earthy folk singer Stan Rogers, and hugely successful children’s music trio Sharon, Lois & Bram.

 

In 1979, due to the Juno Awards’ lack of attention to fracophone artists, Quebec launched the Felix Awards. For more on this, click HERE.

 

 

Below are mini-profiles on Heart, Streetheart, Sweeney Todd, and Nick Gilder.

 

Heart

Sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson who have hitherto sold over 30 million albums worldwide, started out in Vancouver, Canada, so we will take a brief look at them here.

 

In 1967, Roger Fisher formed a Seattle-based band called The Army that went through a number of personnel and name changes. In late-1970, Ann Wilson joined. Roger’s brother, Mike, was set to be recruited, against his will, into the army to fight in Vietnam. When he failed to show up for duty, American authorities raided his home. He jumped out of a rear window and escaped to freedom in Canada. The Americans labeled him a “Vietnam War Draft Dodger”.

 

One day in 1971, Mike snuck across the border back to the U.S. to visit family. There he met Ann Wilson and the two fell in love. This prompted Ann to follow Mike back into Canada. This led other band members to follow suit. They reformed in Vancouver, and changed their name to Heart. Ann’s sister Nancy joined in 1974 and began a love affair with Roger.

 

The band, augmented by some Canadian studio musicians (one of whom permanently joined the band as their drummer) released Dreamboat Annie on Vancouver’s Mushroom Records label. Singles “Crazy on You” and “Magic Man” helped the album to eventually sell over a million copies.

 

In 1977, The American government returned to policies more in keeping with democracy and granted amnesty to Vietnam draft evaders. This led the band to break its contract with Mushroom and move back to Seattle.

 

Streetheart

This band from Regina, formed in 1977, is best known for their cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Under My Thumb” as well as “Action”, “What Kind of Love is This”, and “One More Time”. Four of their albums attained platinum status, one going multi-platinum. In 1980, they received the Juno Award for Most Promising Group of the Year. They disbanded in 1983.

 

Sweeney Todd / Nick Gilder

This glam rock band that formed in Vancouver in 1975, with Nick Gilder on vocals, scored the #1 hit “Roxy Roller” winning them a Juno Award for Best Single in 1977. Gilder quickly left the band after its success to pursue a solo career. He was replaced by Clark Perry, an arrangement that was short-lived, and Bryan Adams, then only 15 years old, took over on vocals. The band’s second album was finally released but was unsuccessful, resulting in Adams’ departure. Chris Booth took over on vocals but Sweeney Todd had, by then, run out of steam and disbanded before recording any further albums.

 

In the meantime, Nick Gilder, born in London, England in 1951, was enjoying a hugely successful solo career. His “Hot Child in the City” topped the charts for weeks and won the 1979 Juno for Single of the Year. It was the 7th biggest song of 1978 according to Toronto’s CHUM Radio. It performed equally well in the American Charts. Gilder’s “Here Comes the Night” made the Top 30 and “You Really Rock Me” the Top 40. In 1980, “Wild Ones (Feeling Electric)” and “Catch 22″ made the Top 30, but further success proved unattainable. He began composing for other artists, most notably Patty Smyth, Bette Midler, Joe Cocker, and Pat Benatar. In 1984, he co-wrote the song “The Warrior” for the band Scandal, which made the Top 10 in the U.S.