Music of Manitoba
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Manitoba has been well known for producing some of Canada's most famous music ever since the early 1960s.
| Music of Canada | ||
|---|---|---|
| Maritime Provinces (NS, PEI, NB) | ||
| Newfoundland and Labrador | ||
| Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Yukon | ||
| Prairie Provinces (AB, MB, SK) | ||
| First Nations (Inuit, Dene, Innu) | ||
| Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec | ||
| Genres: Celtic - Classical - Folk - Hip hop - Jazz - Pop - Rock | ||
| Timeline and Samples | ||
| Awards | Junos, Félixes, Hall of Fame, ECMAs, WCMAs, CASBYs, CRMAs, CCMAs, MMVAs | |
| Charts | Jam!, Chart, Exclaim! | |
| Festivals | CMW, NXNE, Halifax Pop Explosion, VFMF | |
| Print media | CM, CMN, Chart, Exclaim!, The Record, RPM | |
| Music television | Much, MMM, CMT Canada, MusiquePlus, MusiMax | |
| National anthem | "O Canada" | |
The Canadian 1960s supergroup "Chad Allen and the Expressions" (better known as The Guess Who) became the first rock musicians to be recognized outside Manitoba, and even outside Canada! Their 1965 hit "Shakin' All Over" gave them instant success in Canada and Great Britain. Many thought they would end up being a "one hit wonder", but that became far from true five years later. Their hits "American Woman", "No Time", "Clap for the Wolfman", "These Eyes", and "No Sugar Tonight" made them one of the most successful rock bands to ever come from Canada.
The Guess Who's good friend Neil Young was also a fellow Manitoban. Neil's family has been traced back to Western Manitoba, where his father and grandparents grew up. Neil's father, Scott Young moved to Ontario for career reasons, which is wear Neil was born, but Neil and his mother soon moved back to Winnipeg, where Neil began his music career. Neil played in community clubs in Winnipeg with his band, The Squires, during the mid 1960s. These days are recounted in the song "Prairie Town" recording in 1992 by Bachman and Young.
Then-former Guess Who guitarist Randy Bachman started up a band called Brave Belt not long after he left The Guess Who. Brave Belt was later renamed to Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO for short). Bachman-Turner Overdrive became hugely popular worldwide with such hits as "Takin' Care of Business", "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet", and "Let it Ride". Burton Cummings, who had been lead singer of the Guess Who, had a successful solo career with softer hits including "Stand Tall", "Scared", and "Break it to Them Gently".
Jazz legend Lenny Breau, also a Winnipegger, had a profound impact on the music of Randy Bachman. He is generally regarded as one of the best jazz guitarists ever and certainly the best to come from Canada. His amazing rapid finger picking and ability to sound like three guitars at once gained him respect in the jazz community.
Tom Cochrane, a rocker originally from Northern Manitoba is famous for writing and singing such tunes (solo and with his band Red Rider) as "Lunatic Fringe", "Life Is a Highway", and "Boy Inside the Man".
In the 1990s, a soft rock band from Winnipeg/Selkirk was formed featuring a man named Brad Roberts and a woman named Ellen Reid. The band was called Crash Test Dummies. Crash Test Dummies were made famous back in the mid 1990s with their hit songs "Peter Pumpkinhead" and "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm", which were both featured on the movie Dumb & Dumber.
In the early 1990s Susan Aglukark, born in Churchill, emerged as a nationally successful adult contemporary singer; later in the decade and into the next, Chantal Kreviazuk became a nationally and internationally successful singer and songwriter.
Other recent artists from Manitoba include Doc Walker, Christine Fellows, Propagandhi, Remy Shand, The Watchmen, The Weakerthans and vitaminsforyou.
Manitoba also has made significant contributions in other areas of music besides pop. There is a huge choral tradition that goes back to the beginnings of the 20th century. Manitoba has an opera tradition, a vaudville tradition and a classical music tradition. Manitoba's multi-cultural make up is influenced by the cultures of the world.
