1991’s Biggest Canadian Hits, Both English and French

1991 was a massive year for Canadian music. Bryan Adams dropped a hydrogen bomb. “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” featured in the Hollywood blockbuster Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves starring Kevin Costner rocketed up to #1 on the charts and anchored itself there for nine straight weeks. It was the #1 song of 1991 and became one of the best-selling singles of all-time worldwide. Although Bryan Adams shot to international superstardom in the 1980s, this was actually his first #1 hit in Canada. And if that wasn’t enough, Adams scored a second #1 hit in 1991, “Can’t Stop This Thing We Started”, which was the year’s 3rd biggest hit. Adams’ album Waking Up the Neighbours became the first album by a Canadian since 1972 to top the British Albums Chart.

1991 was also a big year for Tom Cochrane who finally dropped his association with Red Rider and as a soloist scored #1 hit “Life Is a Highway”, the year’s 5th most successful single. Glass Tiger continued churning out big hits, contributing three to the year-end Top 100. 1991 was also the year that saw the first Top 40 hits by a number of soon-to-be superstars: Alanis Morissette, Sarah McLachlan, and Crash Test Dummies. In terms of Franco hits, Jean Leloup’s “1990” was the year’s biggest.

Below is a list of all Canadian Franco hits that finished in CKOI’s year-end Top 50. All Canadian hits that made the RPM Top 100 of the year are listed as well as all that peaked in the Top 40 of the weekly charts. Bear in mind, that this is a picture of cross-Canada success. Songs may have charted much higher or lower in various cities as radio stations usually give local artists more support. Below the lists, check out some cool trivia regarding the year’s hits.

YE= Year-End chart position.

WP = Weekly chart peak position.

1991 FRANCO HITS

TITLE	ARTIST	YE
1990	Jean Leloup	5
Cash city	Luc de Larochelliere	9
Y’a des matins	Marjo	13
Ou aller	Kathleen	16
Savoir aimer	Pierre Flynn	20
Persona non grata	Madame	25
Six pieds sur terre	Luc de Larochelliere	31
Goodbye my love	Leandre	33
Apocalypso	Joe Bocan	40
Tant qu’il y aura des enfants	Marjo	43
Sans t’oublier	Julie Masse	47

1991 ANGLO HITS

TITLE	ARTIST	YE	WP
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You	Bryan Adams	1	1
Can’t Stop This Thing We Started	Bryan Adams	3	1
Life Is a Highway	Tom Cochrane	5	1
Superman’s Song	Crash Test Dummies	27	4
What About Now	Robbie Robertson	30	4
Waiting for Love	Alias	33	4
Animal Heart	Glass Tiger	34	4
Til I Am Myself Again	Blue Rodeo	43	3
I Am Here	Grapes of Wrath	49	8
My Town	Glass Tiger	52	8
The Rhythm of Your Love	Glass Tiger	62	8
How Long Can a Man Be Strong	The Jeff Healey Band	64	8
Little Bones	The Tragically Hip	84	11
Not Like Kissing You	West End Girls	96	12
Kiss Me You Fool	The Northern Pikes		12
Trust Yourself	Blue Rodeo		13
Only the Lonely	World on Edge		14
Wash the Rain	World on Edge		14
Too Hot	Alanis Morissette		14
The Last to Know	Celine Dion		16
A Dream Like Mine	Bruce Cockburn		16
Saved By Love	Rik Emmett		17
Never Change My Mind	Acosta Russell		17
Cry to Me	Darby Mills		18
Maybe the Next Time	Sue Medley		19
Everyone’s a Winner	Bootsauce		19
I Want You Back	West End Girls		21
World of Wonder	Rik Emmett		22
Twist My Arm	The Tragically Hip		22
Standing Push and Fall	World on Edge		22
Red Clay Hills	Mae Moore		23
The Ghosts That Haunt Me	Crash Test Dummies		23
Life Could Be Worse	Barney Bentall		24
The Path of Thorns	Sarah McLachlan		24
Feel You Love	Alanis Morissette		24
100 Watt Bulb	The Infidels		25
Roll the Bones	Rush		25
Boomerang	Spunkadelic		26
Have a Heart	Celine Dion		26
American Dream	Trooper		26
Slowly Slipping Away	Harem Scarem		26
Good to the Last Drop	Helix		27
Come In From the Cold	Joni Mitchell		27
Powerdrive	Andy Kim (Longfellow)		27
I Gotta Go	Barney Bentall		29
Where Loneliness Lives	Mae Moore		30
Weight of the World	Young Saints		30
After the Rain	Blue Rodeo		30
Into the Fire	Sarah McLachlan		30
Good Together	Candi		31
The Power	Alias		32
How Much	The Jeff Healey Band		32
No Sign of Rain	Keven Jordan		33
What Am I Doing Here	Blue Rodeo		33
Runaround	Glen Stace		33
I Fall All Over Again	Dan Hill		34
Out of a Deeper Hunger	Gowan		36
Friends Forever	Candi		36
Dreamline	Rush		36
Say You Don’t Know Me	Honeymoon Suite		37
Neighbourhood	Gregory Hoskins		38
The Answer’s Electric	Brett Ryan		39
Let Her Go	Gregory Hoskins		39
Say You’ll Be Mine	West End Girls		39
True Believers	Keven Jordan		40
Just Another Day	Keven Jordan		40

1991 CHOICE TRIVIA

LINKS

More Charts…

Early 90s Overview…