Canadian rock

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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: Blues - Celtic - Classical - Folk - Hip hop - Jazz - Pop - Rock
Timeline and Samples
Awards Junos, Félixes, Hall of Fame, ECMAs, WCMAs, CASBYs, CRMAs, CCMAs, MMVAs, CUMAs
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"
Portal:Canadian rock
 Canadian rock Portal

Canada has been a source of rock and roll music for decades, beginning with Paul Anka who in 1957 went to New York City where he recorded his own composition, "Diana". The song brought him instant stardom and went to No. 1 on the U.S. and Canadian charts. Since then, Canada has produced many internationally-popular rock and roll groups.

Contents

[edit] History of Rock in Canada

[edit] 1950s-1960s

Rock and roll itself arose in the United States in the late 1940s after WWII, and spread across the world beginning in about 1956. Rock was heard first in Canada on US radio and recordings, and Canada has remained a major market for US and later, British and European acts. Many US musicians toured Canada in the late 1950s, usually appearing in nightclubs. Those Canadians with successful recording careers in the 1950s usually had moved to the USA like Paul Anka, the Crew-Cuts and The Diamonds This bands would leave an indelible mark on the music scene during the Doo-wop days. The Four Lads, originally known as The 4 Dukes, first hit the charts in 1952 with "Mocking Bird". The first Canadian-made rock recording to achieve international popularity was 'Clap Your Hands' in 1960 by a Montreal quartet, The Beaumarks. Bobby Curtola first single was released in 1960, "Hand In Hand With You". He would go on to crack Billboard's Top 100 several more times in the 1960s with gold hits such as "Hitch Hiker", "Aladdin", "3 Rows Over" and his biggest chart-topper "Fortune Teller" . With the rise of The Beatles in the mid-1960s and the subsequent popularity of many other British bands, Canadians began to form rock groups in numbers. Often, however, Canadian records were simply covers of American or British pop hits. One important example was a Winnipeg band called Chad Allan & the Expressions, who had a 1965 hit with a version of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates' "Shakin' All Over". Ronnie Hawkins, an Arkansas born rockabilly singer, became the most prominent figure in Canadian rock beginning in 1958. He did more than any other to popularize Canadian Rock. The popularity of US rock in Canada encouraged young Canadians to form bands and led to existing groups, especially those devoted to country music, to change styles or to incorporate some rock hits in their repertoires. Country rock and folk rock singers like Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Denny Doherty (of The Mamas & the Papas), David Clayton-Thomas, Neil Young, Andy Kim, Zal Yanovsky (of The Lovin' Spoonful), John Kay (of Steppenwolf), and Ian & Sylvia also found international audiences. Their success paved the way for a new wave of Canadian singer-songwriters, including Stan Rogers, Murray McLauchlan, Bruce Cockburn and Willie P. Bennett.

[edit] The Diamonds

Main article: The Diamonds

Formed in 1953 the first recording for Mercury was "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" , a cover of The Teenagers’ version. They also covered songs by such artists as The Clovers, The Willows, and The Heartbeats. Their biggest hits were 1957's "Little Darlin'" (originally by The Gladiolas) and 1958's "The Stroll", which was an original song written for the group by Clyde Otis, and came from an idea by Dick Clark. In 1984 they were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame; in October 2004, into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame[1] in Sharon, Pennsylvania, and in 2006 into The Doo-Wop Hall of Fame.

[edit] The Four Lads

Main article: The Four Lads

In 1950 they began to sing in local clubs in Toronto and soon were noticed by scouts. Recruited to go to New York, they were noticed by Mitch Miller, who asked them to do backup for some of the artists he recorded. In 1953 they made their first of five gold records, "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)", which launched them to stardom and kept them busy throughout the 1950s and 1960s in the USA and Canada. Their most famous hit was "Moments to Remember" in 1955, and their next best known was "Standin' on the Corner" in 1956. They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003.

[edit] Paul Anka

Main article: Paul Anka

In 1955 at age 14 he recorded his first single, "I Confess." In 1957 he went to New York City where he auditioned for ABC the song, "Diana". The song brought Anka instant stardom as it rocketed to number one on the U.S Billboard charts. "Diana" is one of the best selling 45s in music history. He followed up with four songs that made it into the Top 20 in 1958, making him one of the biggest teen idol of the time. He elected to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1980. In 1991, the Government of France honoured him with the title '"Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters". He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6840 Hollywood Blvd.[2] In 2005, he received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame,[3] and was also appointed an officer of the Order of Canada.[4]

[edit] Bobby Curtola

Main article: Bobby Curtola

A rock and roll singer and teen idol, Bobby Curtola had several songs on the Canadian music charts beginning with "Hand In Hand With You" in 1960. His biggest chart-topper came in 1962 with the song, "Fortune Teller" which was also successful internationally. In 1966 he won an RPM Gold Leaf Award for becoming the first Canadian to have a gold album. In 1998, in recognition of his long service to the Canadian music industry as well as his humanitarian work around the world, he was made a member of the Order of Canada. His pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.[5]

[edit] Ronnie Hawkins / The Band

Main article: Ronnie Hawkins

Main article: The Band Born January 10, 1935 in Huntsville, Arkansas, was a pioneering rock and roll musician and cousin to fellow rockabilly pioneer Dale Hawkins. Known as "Rompin' Ronnie" Hawkins or "The Hawk," he was a key player in the 1960s rock scene in Toronto and for the next 40 years, performed all over North America, recording more than twenty-five albums. His 1984 LP, 'Making It Again', garnered him a Juno Award as Canada's best Country Male Vocalist. In 1958 he formed a backing band called The Hawks, which produced some of the earliest Canadian rock stars. Among them were the members of The Band, who began touring with Bob Dylan in 1966 and then struck out on their own in 1968, releasing well-remembered albums like Music from Big Pink and The Band. The Band also have been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Ronnie Hawkins with The Band, helped tear down the Berlin Wall in 1989 and performed at President Bill Clinton's 1992 inaugural party.

[edit] David Clayton Thomas

Main article: David Clayton-Thomas

He idolized the music of John Lee Hooker and began playing guitar and singing, and by the time he was twenty one had his own band in 1964, "The Shays". In 1967, he joined forces with former members of the Toronto R&B outfit, Jon and Lee & The Checkmates and renamed them his new backing band, The Phoenix. David Clayton Thomas is best known as a vocalist with the band Blood, Sweat & Tears, whose first album with him as lead singer in 1969 produced three gold singles and three Grammy Awards including the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. The album included his own composition "Spinning Wheel" which became a big single hit on both sides of the Atlantic. In 2002, the album was honored with a Grammy Hall of Fame Award and was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1996.

[edit] Steppenwolf

Main article: Steppenwolf

Although only 2 of the original 5 members were born in Canada (Jerry Edmonton and Goldy McJohn), Steppenwolf and German born frontman John Kay were among the biggest names in Canadian music in the 1960s and 1970s. Kay would later become a Canadian citizen and has been recognized (by himself) with induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and Canada's Walk of Fame. Steppenwolf is most famous for the songs Born to Be Wild, Magic Carpet Ride and The Pusher. Born to be Wild is the group's biggest hit, making it to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968 and receiving recognition by being named one of the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll by the Rock Hall of Fame and one of the The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine.

[edit] 1970s

By the end of the 1960s, the American and British counterculture and hippie movement had moved rock towards psychedelic rock, heavy metal, progressive rock and other styles, incorporating, for the first time in popular music, socially and politically incisive lyrics.

With the introduction in 1970 of the CRTC's broadcast regulations the Canadian recording industry made rock a major focus of its activity. Increased production and the ground-breaking international popularity of The Guess Who at the end of the 1960s opened markets outside Canada to the country's musicians. Moreover, success abroad usually ensured success in Canada. most immediate effect of the Canadian content regulations was the sudden rise to fame of Anne Murray, whose 1970 "Snowbird" was a multi-million selling record. Led by The Guess Who, Anne Murray and The Poppy Family the early 1970s were a golden age for Canadian music. Many performers from the late 1960s came to the fore front in the following years, among them The Bells from Montreal, Chilliwack from Vancouver, Five Man Electrical Band from Ottawa, Lighthouse from Toronto, The Stampeders from Calgary.

Canadian cultural critics have noted that in general, the late 1970s were a lesser era for Canadian music. Many of the acts who had defined the earlier half of the decade were no longer recording, and the new artists emerging in this era simply didn't seem to be able to capture the Canadian pop zeitgeist in the same way. Many of them, in fact, were only "one-hit wonders".

However, a number of established Canadian acts, including Rush, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Bruce Cockburn, April Wine, Pat Travers and Neil Young, remained influential and recorded some of their most popular material of all during this period, and former Guess Who lead singer Burton Cummings emerged as a popular solo artist in soft rock. Another of this period's most influential and popular rock bands, Heart, resulted from the collaboration of two sisters from Seattle with a supporting band from Vancouver.

With the introduction in this period of rock music on FM radio stations, where it was common practice to program extended performances, musicians were no longer limited to songs of three minutes' duration as dictated by AM stations. The Canadian music industry was still nascent, however, with little independent music media and a limited distribution infrastructure. The two most internationally renowned bands to arise from this industry were Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Rush, both dominated by powerful managers. Bachman-Turner Overdrive's manager, Bruce Allen, went on to produce Loverboy and eventually manage such major pop stars as Bryan Adams, Martina McBride, and Anne Murray.

[edit] The Guess Who

Main article: The Guess Who

The Guess Who formed in 1962 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and was the first Canadian rock band to establish a major successful following outside their own country while still residing there. Produced by the legendary Jack Richardson, they were the first Canadian rock group to have a No.1 hit reached the top on the Canadian Singles Chart and the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time (1970), an achievement not matched again by a Canadian band until Nickelback did it in 2002. The Guess Who have won two Juno Awards from four nominations.

Originally named "The Expressions", the band wanted radio stations and record buyers to believe they were a British Merseybeat band in disguise. So when they released their debut album, it didn't bear their own name — instead, it was labelled "Guess Who?". The ruse worked, and within a few years The Guess Who were one of Canada's biggest musical names. To this day, their best-known songs ("American Woman", "Share the Land", "These Eyes", etc.) remain among Canada's most enduring classic rock anthems.

[edit] BTO

Main article: Bachman-Turner Overdrive

A hard rock band formed in 1970 by Randy Bachman and Chad Allan (both of The Guess Who). The band released their first album under the name Bachman-Turner Overdrive in the spring of 1973 and it won two Juno Awards despite being largely ignored in the United States. Their second album was Bachman-Turner Overdrive II the album hit #4 in the U.S., and won Juno Awards for Best Group, Album, and Producer. BTO II was certified gold in eight countries. It also yielded their best-remembered # 1 single, "Takin' Care of Business" written by Randy Bachman. 1974's album Not Fragile went straight to the top of the charts, and the single "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" hit #1 in the U.S. and #2 in the U.K. From today's point of view, BTO were one of the early hard rock bands which opted for songs backed by catchy melodies and powerful riffing. The band has a total of seven Juno Awards from twelve nominations.

[edit] Rush

Main article: Rush

A progressive rock band from Willowdale, Ontario formed in 1968, Rush are one of the longest-lived and most popular of Canadian musical exports. Rush boasts 23 gold records and 14 platinum (3 multi-platinum) records, making them one of the best-selling rock bands in history. Rush currently place fifth behind The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, KISS and Aerosmith for the most consecutive gold and platinum albums by a rock band. They have been awarded several Juno Awards and were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994. Additionally, Lee, Lifeson, and Peart are all Officers of the Order of Canada, the first rock musicians so honoured.[6]

[edit] Hard Rock & Heavy Metal

Following in Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Rush footsteps, a wave of hard rock and heavy metal acts emerged, including Triumph and Moxy from Toronto, Trooper from Vancouver, and April Wine from Halifax. In 1971 the Canadian content law was passed ensuring Canadian culture and artists weren't overrun by the American media outlets. Artists like Prism, Crowbar, Saga, Nick Gilder, Ian Thomas, Goddo, Harlequin, Mahogany Rush, Streetheart, Pat Travers, Max Webster and Ironhorse saw their greatest success during this time.

[edit] April Wine

Main article: April Wine

A Hard rock band from Halifax, Nova Scotia, April Wine would release over 20 albums with The Nature of the Beast going Platinum. They have forged a live performance reputation that sees them still drawing devoted crowds all across Canada and around the world 37 years after taking their first steps into the hard rock spotlight. Though April Wine's accomplishments have been many, they have yet to be "officially" recognized by the Canadian Music/Entertainment Industry's governing bodies. They have never been awarded a Juno, but have been nominated eleven times, they have yet to be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame or the Canadian Walk of Fame. Myles Goodwyn, however, was awarded the ECMA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.

[edit] Moxy

Main article: Moxy

A hard rock and heavy metal group from Toronto, Ontario, Moxy were formerly known as Leigh Ashford in the 1960s. They were one of the rare Canadian bands of the time to see more success outside of Canada then inside. They toured in Canada, then mostly the Southern USA- especially Texas (where the fan base has always been the strongest) from late 1974 until 1977, and released three albums over this time in the band's original incarnation. Mike Reno then called Michael Rynoski (who would later form Loverboy) replaces Buzz Shearman as singer and made his debut in music on Moxy's fourth album in 1978. Moxy was nominated for a Juno Award in 1977 (Most Promising Group of the Year) for their third album "Ridin' High".

[edit] Trooper

Main article: Trooper

A hard rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia, that saw great success in Canada during the late 1970s and early 1980s. After hearing Trooper perform, Randy Bachman of Bachman-Turner Overdrive and The Guess Who signed the band to his "Legend" label and produced the band's first album, Trooper , that containing the Canadian hit "Baby Woncha Please Come Home". In 1980 Trooper was honoured with a Juno Award for "Best Group", and two of their albums (Hot Shots and Flying Colors) were also nominated that year for "Best Album". Although the band has had only two American hits with "The Boys in the Bright White Sportscar" and "Raise A Little Hell", the band has released ten albums with mainstream success all over Canada.

[edit] Triumph

Main article: Triumph

A power trio, Triumph were often compared to Rush in Canada. In the US their own brand of heavy rock remained structured and traditional, eschewing concept albums and instrumental improvisation. The band is considered heavy metal by most standards, though the band themselves were reluctant to embrace this term. They have 3 certified Gold albums and one certified Platinum album called "Allied Forces", and have been nominated for five Juno Awards.

[edit] Burton Cummings

Main article: Burton Cummings

A soft rock, pianist and showman, Cummings was the lead singer for The Guess Who from 1965 to 1975. Starting in 1976 his solo hits in Canada ruled the charts for the next five years. The album "Dream of A Child", released in 1978, was one of the best-selling Canadian album in history at that time. Cummings charted outside Canada with "Stand Tall" and "You Saved My Soul and inside Canada with "Stand Tall", "I'm Scared", "Break it to Them Gently," and "Fine State of Affairs." He has been awarded with four Juno Awards from his nineteen nominations.

[edit] Neil Young

Main article: Neil Young

First came to prominence as a member of the folk-rock band Buffalo Springfield in the mid-1960s and then as a solo performer backed by the band Crazy Horse. He reached his commercial peak during the singer-songwriter boom of the early 1970s with the albums After the Gold Rush and Harvest as well as with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. He has five Juno Awards from twenty-four nominations, has been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2000, the cable music channel VH1 ranked Young 30th on a list of the Top 100 Artists of Rock and Roll. He was also 39th on VH1's list of Top 100 Hard Rock Artists

[edit] Punk

Many acts have had equally vital, if less remunerative careers outside the mainstream in punk rock and its derivations, generally distinguished by a tendency to extremes of one sort or another. Whether in instrumental intensity, lyric content, or performance style Canadian pop music evolved with the times, reflecting worldwide trends. In the late 1970s, as punk rock and disco ruled the landscape, Canadian punk groups such as D.O.A.., The Viletones, The Forgotten Rebels, Rough Trade, Diodes, Teenage Head, The Demics, and The Young Canadians emerged and continued in the 1980s with popular bands like SNFU and Dayglo Abortions.

[edit] D.O.A.

Main article:D.O.A.

A band from Vancouver, British Columbia who's music was often described as hardcore punk and they are often referred to as the "founders" of Hardcore by their following along with Bad Brains and D.C's Minor Threat. Their second album Hardcore 81 was thought by many to have been the first actual reference to the second wave of American punk bands sound as "Hardcore".

[edit] 1980s

Things changed course in the 1980s, the changing of the political culture was accompanied by an explosion in youth culture. Until the mid-1960s little attention was paid to rock by daily newspapers except as news or novelty. With the introduction during the 1970s of the "rock critic" coverage began to rival that of any other music and Canadian acts were getting international press coverage by the late 1970s. The 1980s saw Canada support and promote many of its own talent in pursuit of true originality. Canadian rock generally had been discouraged by market forces before the 1980s, in particular the need to conform to the taste of a Canadian audience that has had its standards and expectations formed by constant exposure to US and British acts for the past three decades. The popularity of Chilliwack, for example, rose dramatically after the band turned from the experimental nature of its first few LPs to a mainstream pop style consistent with the US style.

Music videos assumed a major role in the promotion of pop rock recordings in 1980s for US exposure. Videos produced many mainstream pop-rockers that saw huge success in and outside of Canada. Success in the larger US market remained the major goal of most, if not all, post-1970 Canadian rock acts; a goal in fact reached with some greater or lesser degree of consistency by several, among them Bryan Adams, Corey Hart, Alannah Myles, Lee Aaron, Tom Cochrane, Loverboy, Honeymoon Suite and Glass Tiger. As well, the era produced the country cowpunk of k.d. lang, who did eventually become one of pop music's biggest names.

[edit] Bryan Adams

Main article: Bryan Adams

Awarded the Order of Canada and the Order of British Columbia for his contribution to popular music and his philanthropic work, Adams was also inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 1998, and more recently inducted into the Music Hall of Fame at Canada's Juno Awards in April 2006. He has won 1 Grammy for the song "Everything I Do I (Do It For You)", and has also been nominated for three Academy Awards for songwriting. He has won eighteen Juno Awards from fifty-five nominations. The album Reckless went to #1 on the Billboard charts and sold over 5 million copies in the US on the strength of six massive hits.

[edit] Chilliwack

Main article: Chilliwack

The band initially formed in 1964 as the Classics in Vancouver, British Columbia, but later changed the name to the Collectors in 1966 and then to Chilliwack in 1970. First hit the charts in Canada in 1974 with "Crazy Talk" , but are perhaps best remembered for their three biggest songs from the 1980s "My Girl (Gone Gone Gone)", "I Believe" and "Whatcha Gonna Do." Even though those three hits were their only popular singles in America. In Canada the band has achieved legendary status, releasing over a dozen albums. Bill Henderson, the founder of the band, won the Best Producer Juno Award in 1982 for the album Opus X. Henderson has also won a Genie Award for best original song in a movie ("When I Sing", from Bye Bye Blues), and was musical director for the Canadian edition of Sesame Street from 1989 to 1995.

[edit] Tom Cochrane

Main article: Tom Cochrane

In 1980 Tom became a part of a popular Toronto rock band called Red Rider. Red Rider soon became known as "Tom Cochrane & Red Rider", and released a total of five albums. Tom then decided to go solo and he started his solo career in 1990. His story-telling songs have earned him the nickname "The thinking man's rocker". He has released more than six solo albums, has won six Juno Awards from twenty-two nominations, six SOCAN awards and was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2003.

[edit] Loverboy

Main article: Loverboy

An arena rock band from Calgary, Alberta, Loverboy accumulated numerous hit songs in Canada and the United States, making four multi-platinum albums. The band's hit singles, particularly "Lovin' Every Minute of it" have become arena rock staples, and are still heard on classic rock radio stations across the United States and Canada. The band held the record for the most Juno Awards ever received, having a total of eight from the early 1980s. In 1982, the band won five Juno awards, the highest number for any one year.

[edit] New Wave & Glam Rock

As in the United States on MTV, music videos became more and more important as a marketing tool for bands by the mid 1980s. With the debut of MuchMusic in 1984 and MusiquePlus in 1986, both English and French Canadian musicians had outlets to promote their music through video in Canada. The networks, however, were not just an opportunity for artists to get their videos played — the networks created VideoFACT, a fund to help emerging artists produce their videos. New Wave, Glam Rock and heavy metal had become the most popular style of rock in the mid 1980s; acts such as Platinum Blonde, Helix, Toronto, The Parachute Club, Rough Trade, Spoons, Trans-X, Rational Youth, Men Without Hats, Norman Iceberg, Images in Vogue, Headpins,Sheriff, Teenage Head and Martha and the Muffins were along for the ride. Rough Trade were particularly notable for "High School Confidential", one of the first explicitly lesbian-themed pop songs to crack the Top 40 anywhere in the world.

[edit] Platinum Blonde

Main article: Platinum Blonde

A Canadian New Wave group. With the release of the album Standing in the Dark, the band invaded the airwaves in Canada with four hit singles, a double platinum album, and two Juno Award nominated songs: "Standing in the Dark" and "It Doesn't Really Matter". Their music videos were placed into high rotation on the newly created Much Music. In 1985, the band released a second album called Alien Shores, which went quintuple platinum in Canada.

[edit] Kim Mitchell

Main article: Kim Mitchell

A singer and guitarist from Sarnia, Ontario, Mitchell formed the band Max Webster in the 1970s with fellow Sarnia native, Pye Dubois. Max Webster toured extensively and built a string of hits in Canada. Mitchell's solo career began in 1983, with session work and a succession of solo albums. In 1985 the song "Go For Soda" from the Akimbo Alogo album became an international hit and remains his best known song outside of his native Canada. Mitchell has been awarded several Juno Awards for his work incuding "Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year" in 1983, "Album of the Year" for the triple Platinum Shakin' Like A Human Being, and "Male Vocalist of the Year" in 1990.

[edit] Helix

Main article: Helix

A heavy metal band that formed in 1974, Helix had several Canadian hits in the mid 1980s. Their album Walkin' the Razor's Edge sold more than 100,000 copies in Canada and 400,000 internationally. Helix has been nominated for two Juno Awards.

[edit] Alternative Rock

In the late 1980s, the Canadian recording industry continued to produce popular acts such as Blue Rodeo. However, alternative rock also emerged as an influential genre, with independent artists such as 54-40, The Tragically Hip, Sarah McLachlan, Spirit of the West, The Waltons, Cowboy Junkies, The Pursuit of Happiness, and The Grapes of Wrath all gaining their first widespread attention during this time. Also notable are Canadian progressive thrash metal band Voivod and industrial band Skinny Puppy.

[edit] Blue Rodeo

Main article: Blue Rodeo

A country rock band formed in 1984, Blue Rodeo is one of the most successful and well known contemporary Canadian bands, having released 10 studio albums. They have won many Canadian music awards, including 7 Juno Awards and 7 SOCAN awards. They have also collaborated extensively with other notable Canadian artists, including Sarah McLachlan, The Tragically Hip, Burton Cummings, Great Big Sea, Jann Arden, The Sadies, Skydiggers, and the Cowboy Junkies.

[edit] Cowboy Junkies

Main article: Cowboy Junkies

A country rock and alternative rock band, The Trinity Session is perhaps their best known record, recorded live in a single day on a single microphone in a church in Toronto. The album also included cover version of The Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane" based on the 1969 Live album version rather than the studio version from Loaded. None of the band's subsequent albums have been hits outside of Canada, although the band has maintained a dedicated following and have continued to have chart hits in their native country having been nominated for three Juno Awards.

[edit] Blues-Rock

Main article: Canadian blues

Canada's most successful rock artists by the late 1980s have worked in a relatively generic, mainstream pop rock, New Wave or alternative rock style. Some, however, may be ascribed to more specific substyles like Colin James, David Wilcox and Jeff Healey to blues-rock. With Stompin' Tom Connors and Great Big Sea to folk rock, that saw the start for both styles, a very large following all across Canada.

[edit] Colin James

Main article: Colin James

A blues-rocker from Regina, Saskatchewan, James has released nine studio albums that blend the blues, rock, and swing genres starting in 1988. As well, he has won six Juno Awards in 1989 for Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year, 1991 for Single of the Year ("Just Came Back"). 1991 and 1996 for Male Vocalist of the Year, 1998 for "Best Blues Album" for National Steel, and 1999 for Best Producer.

[edit] Jeff Healey

Main article:Jeff Healey

A blues-rocker from Toronto, Ontario, his 1989 debut album achieved platinum sales in the US, in part due to the hit single Angel Eyes. His band The Jeff Healey Band won the Juno Award for Canadian Entertainer of the Year and two Grammy nominations 1990. The song "Hideaway" was nominated for the "best instrumental" Grammy Award. Other hits have included "How Long Can a Man Be Strong" and a cover of The Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".

[edit] 1990s

Starting in the 1990 many new Canadian publications devoted to Canadian rock and pop music, either exclusively or in tandem with more general editorial content directed to young readers was expanding. Giving to the rise of alternative rock and Grunge music revolutions of the 1990s that was kicked off in the United States by Nirvana and in the United Kingdom by The Stone Roses, in Canada it was ignited by an unassuming demo tape by the Barenaked Ladies. After the Yellow Tape became the hottest item in Canadian record stores in the fall of 1991, Barenaked-mania took the country by storm — in turn, paving the way for an explosion of Canadian bands to rule the airwaves unlike any era before. The 1990s also saw the 1971 CRTC law (25% Canadian content on Canadian radio) finally come into full effect and by the end of the decade, radio stations would be playing almost 35% Canadian content. In 1996, VideoFACT launched PromoFACT, a funding program to help new artists produce electronic press kits and websites.

The roster of artists emerging in this decade includes The Headstones, The Tea Party, Matthew Good Band, Sloan, The Gandharvas, Change of Heart, Skydiggers, Eric's Trip, the Doughboys, Crash Test Dummies, The Lowest of the Low, 13 Engines, Odds, I Mother Earth, Age of Electric, The Rankin Family, Alanis Morissette, Rheostatics, Susan Aglukark, Our Lady Peace, The Philosopher Kings, Junkhouse, Treble Charger, Delerium and Jann Arden. The Barenaked Ladies didn't just clear the way for alternative bands, but for a whole new Canadian pop landscape, defined by a national pride and self-confident distinctiveness that had never been seen before in Canadian music.

[edit] Barenaked Ladies

Main article: Barenaked Ladies

Sales for the band began to steamroll based simply on word of mouth and their live shows. Their first release Yellow Tape in 1991, became the first indie release by any band to achieve platinum status (100,000 copies) in Canada. The album Stunt became their greatest success, buoyed by "One Week", which coincidentally spent one week' at the number one spot on the storied Billboard Hot 100. Their trademark at live shows is humorous banter between songs, and improvised raps/songs. They have won seven Juno Awards from seventeen nominations.

[edit] Great Big Sea

Main article: Great Big Sea

A folk-rock band from Newfoundland and Labrador formed in 1992, are best known for performing energetic rock interpretations of traditional Newfoundland folk songs including sea shanties, which draw from the island's 500-year-old Irish, English, and French heritage. The band also performs original material that won them Entertainer of the Year award at the East Coast Music Awards for every year between 1996 and 2000. They have also been nominated for nine Juno Awards, including Group of the Year in 1998 and 2005.

[edit] The Tea Party

Main article:The Tea Party

A power trio formed in Windsor, Ontario in 1990. Initially playing indie rock and blues-based music, they developed a dedicated following while experimenting with musical style, incorporating diverse instruments. They have toured with a symphony orchestra, and it was estimated that they used more than 30 different instruments to record their album The Edges of Twilight. The band experienced great success in their homeland, being nominated for an unprecedented 22 MuchMusic Video Awards, with six in 1998 alone. They were awarded three People's Choice Awards for Favourite Music Video and were nominated for thirteen Juno Awards.

[edit] The Tragically Hip

Main article: The Tragically Hip

No band benefited more from that landscape, however, than The Tragically Hip. Unlike the Guess Who, The Tragically Hip's lyrics proudly wore their Canadian perspective on their sleeves. And while the Hip never made it big outside of Canada, it finally didn't matter: their Canadian fan base alone was enough to sustain a long, healthy career. The band is one of Canada's homegrown heroes — they have been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, Canada's Walk of Fame, Royal Conservatory of Music and have won over a dozen Juno Awards from more than thirty nominations.

[edit] I Mother Earth

Main article: I Mother Earth

An alternative rock band from Peterborough, Ontario, represented by a professionally-recorded five-song demo, played a mere thirteen shows over the next year, and suddenly they were in the middle of a bidding war between labels in 1992. They ended up being signed to EMI in Canada, and Capitol for the U.S. and internationally are one of Canada's best know acts of the 1990s. They won a Juno Award in 1994 for Best Hard Rock album, and were also nominated for the Best Rock Album and Group of the Year in 1997. The album Scenery and Fish is certified double Platinum in Canada.

[edit] Matthew Good Band

Main article: Matthew Good Band

An alternative rock band from Burnaby, British Columbia. One of Canada's most successful band's, the 1997 album Underdogs spawned the hit singles "Everything is Automatic" and "Apparitions", the latter of which remains the band's most successful single. The album Beautiful Midnight earned him and his band two Juno Awards in 2000, for Best Group and Best Rock Album. Good's political outspokenness and brash confidence were unusual in the Canadian rock scene of the 1990s.

[edit] Canadian Women

At the close of the 1990s, Canadian women in the popular music field enjoyed greater international commercial success than ever before. Four women led the way: Sarah McLachlan, Céline Dion, Alanis Morissette and Shania Twain. Many other Canadian women musicians have achieved international success in the highly competitive world of popular music, including Joni Mitchell, Ginette Reno, Diane Dufresne, Diana Krall, Loreena McKennitt, Amanda Marshall, Holly Cole, Diane Tell and Jann Arden.

[edit] Alanis Morissette

Main article: Alanis Morissette

Alanis Morisette kicked off another revolution in Canadian music, just as Alannah Myles, Lisa Dalbello and Lee Aaron had a decade earlier. However, Morissette's transformation launched an era in which Canadian women like Avril Lavigne would rule the pop charts worldwide. According to the RIAA, Jagged Little Pill is the best-selling debut album of all time by a female artist, with over fourteen million copies sold in the U.S. As of 2005, it had sold thirty million worldwide..[7] She has was won seven Grammy and twelve Juno Awards out of twenty-one nominations.

[edit] 2000s

The start of the 2000s was dominated by Post-Grunge and continued to see the expansion of alternative rock, hard rock, and indie rock both artistically and commercially. The main musical phenomenon was the emergence of a new generation of singer songwriters that were the direct consequence of the previous generation's intellectual ambitions. The wide and diverse sound in 2000s rock has resulted in such acts as Sam Roberts, Nickelback, Simple Plan, Hot Hot Heat, Sum 41, Three Days Grace, The Trews, Billy Talent, Alexisonfire, Theory of a Deadman, Default and Bedouin Soundclash emerging during this era. Although many of them have not been overly successful in the United States, they remain extremely popular in Canada. The biggest factor that has contributed to the resurgence of rock music in the 2000s is the rise of paid digital downloads, The vast majority of songs bought on paid download sites are singles bought from full albums; songs that are bought on a song-by-song basis off artist's albums are considered sales of singles, even though they have no official buyable single. For more info see Rock music.

[edit] Nickelback

Main article: Nickelback

A post-grunge/hard rock band from Hanna, Alberta, is arguably the most successful Canadian group in decades, being nominated for four Grammy Awards (Including Record of the Year for How You Remind Me and Best Rock Album for The Long Road). The album Silver Side Up has sold over six million copies (6x Platinum) in the United States and 800,000 copies (8x Platinum) in Canada. Their most recent album All the Right Reasons has been on the American Billboard charts for 68 straight weeks - never dropping below Number 27, sold 4,755,011 (5x platinum) copies in the United States, and seven of the songs from the album have hit #1 in Canada. Although Nickelback has never been a favourite with music critics, their hit single "How You Remind Me" reached the top on the Canadian Singles Chart and the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time, making them the second Canadian band to accomplish this, the first being The Guess Who with "American Woman".[8] To date Nickelback has nine Juno Awards from nineteen nominations. "Hero", a song written by singer Chad Kroeger, was featured on the soundtrack for Spider-Man, hitting #1 on the Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts and placing highly on the Hot 100. In 2007, they were inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.

[edit] Three Days Grace

Main article: Three Days Grace

A Post-Grunge band, their self-titled debut album reached the top ten of the Canadian Singles Chart, the top 100 of the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart and number-one on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart, gaining Platinum certification. "I Hate Everything About You" was #1 in Canada and "Just Like You" hit #1 on the US Modern Rock Charts. One-X, the bands second album, was released in 2006 and landed at #5 on the U.S. Billboard 200 in its debut week and is certified Gold in the United States. "Animal I Have Become" and "Pain" hit #1 on the US Modern Rock Charts.

[edit] Sum 41

Main article: Sum 41

A Pop-Punk and Alternative Metal band from Ajax, Ontario, considered the Canadian response for blink-182. They are one of the more popular mainstream punk acts worldwide, and their song "Fat Lip" hit #1 on the US Modern Rock charts. Every single Sum 41 album has reached #1 in Canada and three of them reached top 10 in the USA. Sum 41 has also known success on UK and Europe, Asia, Mexico, Chile and Brazil. The band won the 2003 Juno Awards in category "Group Of The Year", they have been three times nominees of the "Best Rock Album" category, winning two times with All Killer No Filler and Chuck in 2001 and 2005 respectively, the 2000 they won the Canadian Radio Award for "Best New Group".

[edit] Rock Star

Main article: Rock Star

Rockstar is an American TV series, in which participants compete to join an established band in need of a singer. It debuted in 2005 and what differentiates it from other reality TV shows is that it allows participants from many different countries. There have been two seasons so far and both have been won by Canadians. The first season saw J.D. Fortune of Nova Scotia join the Australian group INXS. There had been several Canadian contestants and Suzie McNeil of Toronto finished fourth. The second season was to join the new group Supernova (featuring Tommy Lee, Jason Newsted and Gilby Clarke). Lukas Rossi of Toronto had a more hard rock style than the other contestants and won the season and thus joined the group.

[edit] Indie rock

The boom of independent music at the turn of the millennium had changed the dynamics of the music industry. At about the same time, the CD (cheap to manufacture) replaced the vinyl album and tape (expensive to manufacture). Shortly thereafter, the Internet allowed musicians to directly distribute their music, thus bypassing the selection of the old-fashioned "record label". The decade has been notable for a surprising number of ambitious indie rock albums by bands such as The New Pornographers, Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, The Hidden Cameras, The Dears, The Constantines, Metric, The Weakerthans, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Stars, Feist, Wolf Parade, The Stills, Final Fantasy, The Unicorns, Royal City, Cuff the Duke, Black Mountain, Wax Mannequin, The Meligrove Band, Jim Guthrie, Islands and Sunset Rubdown. The Canadian indie rock scene has been the focus of national and international attention in many publications, such as Spin, The New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, as well the Canadian edition of Time Magazine.

It can be difficult for an indie group to break through in Canada because there is no nationwide rock station. In England, the BBC has its own nationwide rock network and any indie group that can get onto the playlist instantly gets nationwide play. It was because of this that groups like Oasis and Blur were able to become internationally famous. In Canada, on the other hand, although rock bands may get some exposure from outlets such as MuchMusic or CBC Radio 3, on terrestrial radio bands must largely rely on building an audience city by city, as each commercial radio station makes its playlist decisions independently.

[edit] Arcade Fire

Main article:Arcade Fire

An indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, their first album, Funeral, debuted in September 2004 in the USA and in February 2005 in the UK, and was highly acclaimed by critics. Without a major label backing, the success of the band and the album Funeral has been acclaimed as an Internet phenomenon. After a 9.7 rating from Pitchfork, Merge Records sold out their inventory of Funeral and it became the label's first album in the Billboard 200 chart. Arcade Fire were nominated for a Juno Award in 2005 for Alternative Album of the Year and subsequently nominated for a Grammy in 2006 for Best Alternative Music Album. Many experts picked them to win, but they lost to The White Stripes album Get Behind Me Satan.

[edit] Canadians in music Halls of Fame

[edit] Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Despite the successes of many Canadian groups worldwide, only three have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Officially there are three Canadian groups in the Hall of Fame, but several others have been recognized as part of American groups. The Canadians currently inducted are:

Neil Young has been inducted both individually and as part of Buffalo Springfield, but not as a part of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash were inducted, but Neil Young was not.

Among the most argued Canadian candidates are Rush, Heart, The Guess Who, Steppenwolf and Bryan Adams. These groups have had a substantial impact on rock music, and have distinct and varying styles that are famous throughout the world. These groups have produced several famous and well-recognized songs, such as Steppenwolf's Born to be Wild (which has been recognized by the Rock Hall of Fame as one of 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll) and The Guess Who's American Woman.

[edit] Canadian Music Hall of Fame

Canadian musicians can aspire to being inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. But, even the CMHF has its share of groups who are left out, such as Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Heart. Other groups like Lighthouse, Loverboy, Trooper and April Wine didn't achieve enough success to warrant induction into the Rock Hall of Fame but are quite successful for Canadian groups and could be considered for the CMHF.

[edit] Canada's Walk of Fame

There are several Canadian singers and groups on Canada's Walk of Fame. The Walk of Fame tends to recognize single performers as opposed to entire groups. For example, Robbie Robertson of The Band has a star, but the entire group does not have a star. John Kay of Steppenwolf has a star, but the entire group does not. Only four entire rock groups have stars: The Guess Who, Rush, The Tragically Hip and Nickelback. Other notable rockers with stars include Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Bryan Adams, Alanis Morisette, Jann Arden and famed music producer David Foster.

[edit] French-Canadian Rock

Main article: Music of Quebec

Quebec, meanwhile, Robert Charlebois introduced elements of rock into the music of the chansonnier in the late 1960s. Consolidated by Ville Émard, rock was thereafter a major influence on many French-language pop acts of the 1970s, among them Aut'Chose (with Lucien Francoeur), Contraction, Corbeau , Harmonium, Maneige, Morse Code, Octobre, Offenbach, Pagliaro, Sloche, and Gilles Valiquette. Sustained in the early 1980s by Corbeau, Francoeur, Madame, Offenbach, and the Taches, rock was renewed in Quebec pop later in the decade by Gerry Boulet, Les B.B., Laurence Jalbert, Jean Leloup,Daniel Bélanger, Marjo, Pagliaro, Parfaits salauds, and Vilain Pingouin.

Some examples of successful French-Canadian rock groups:

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[edit] References

  1. ^ VocalGroup Hall of Fame inductees. vocalgroup.org. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.
  2. ^ Hollywood Walk of Fame inductees. hollywoodchamber.net. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.
  3. ^ Canada's Walk of Fame inductees. canadaswalkoffame.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.
  4. ^ The Order of Canada member list. nndb.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.
  5. ^ Rockabilly Hall of Fame inductees. rockabillyhall.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.
  6. ^ The Order of Canada member list. Retrieved on 2006-03-16.
  7. ^ Newman, Melinda (2005-03-04). 10 Years On, Alanis Unplugs 'Little Pill'. Billboard magazine. Retrieved on 2006-11-16.
  8. ^ [http//www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:7cx1z8ba2yv6~T1 Nickelback Biography]. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.
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