Sometimes it's easy for Americans to forget, much to the chagrin of our neighbor to the north, that we are not alone on this continent. Canadians, of course, can't help but be reminded that they aren't alone, with their big, noisy, neighbor to the south. Naturally, much American media has flooded across the borders, in the form of music, movies, television, radio. So much so in fact that Canada had to pass the Canadian Content Law in 1975 to make sure their own culture and artists weren't overrun; media outlets are required to contain at least 25% homegrown content. This ushered in a golden age for Canadian rock; preserving older artists in rotation, and assuring at least limited space for new ones. As a result, there are far too many worthwhile Canadian artists to include in a top-20 list. Still, a top-20 makes for an interesting playlist, and a good overview.
An overview of important/influential artists/songs include:
1. Rush: Tom Sawyer
One of the longest-lived and most popular of Canadian musical exports to America, Rush has had a recording career stretching as far back as 1974; their current line-up of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart have been together since then, one of the longest spans of no personnel changes of any band in history. The band actually dates all the way back to 1968, when a trio of Lee, Lifeson, and drummer John Rutsey formed in Toronto. Rutsey lasted through their 1974 self-titled debut, after which he was replaced by Peart. The highpoint of their career was Moving Pictures, from 1981, which peaked at #3 in America. "Tom Sawyer" marked a maturation of their sound, from a murky heavy metal band into a cleanly produced progressive one. Rush's career has remained fairly consistent and successful; their most recent release, Feedback, made the top-20 in 2004.
2. April Wine: Just Between You And Me
While April Wine's popularity in the U.S. was limited to a relatively short stretch in the early 80's, they are among Canada's most enduring and respected bands. April Wine was formed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1969, but soon relocated to Montreal, which became their base of operations. Their 1976 album, The Whole World's Goin' Crazy was the first Canadian album to go platinum. Situated somewhere between hard rock and heavy metal, with pop impulses, the band evolved through the 70's into a more mainstream outfit, scoring their biggest American hit in 1981 with "Just between You And Me", a power ballad from Nature of the Beast. Despite some key lineup changes, the band is active today, under founding member Myles Goodwyn's leadership.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Mary K. Williams
Thanks for sharing the history (and geography!) behind some of the most popular songs and musicians of the last 50 years or so.
2 - Chas
These two came to mind:
Doug and the Slugs - Real Enough
Jane Siberry - Mimi on the Beach
3 - Chas
one more:
Martha and the Muffins - Echo Beach
4 - Paul Roy
Glad to see Rush at the top of this pretty comprehensive list of Cunucks, but you completely forgot Triumph.
5 - Cdn Cowboy
The Rheostatics are sorely missing from this list. They have produced the most "Canadian" music of every band you have listed.
6 - Aaman
What - no Celine Dion? May your iceberg melt!
7 - Victor Plenty
Yeah, no Celine Dion and no William Shatner either.
8 - El Bicho
How can you have no Neil Young on this list??
9 - uao
I left Neil Young off the list because he's been California based since the Buffalo Springfield days; I also left off Joni Mitchell for the same reason.
I also didn't include Alanis Morissette, although I probably should have.
Triumph would have been a good inclusion; I forgot Martha and the Muffins, and never heard any of Jane Siberry and Doug and the Slugs' stuff.
Sorry to the Celine Dion fans. Glad I'm not on an iceberg...
10 - EZ
And Sloan! Where's the Sloan??
11 - yyzyy
Rush is the best pick to be #1. But no Triumph? Or Saga?
But Rush...definetely a #1 in my books!
12 - Mark Saleski
Trooper - Raise A Little Hell
13 - Mark Saleski
Loverboy - Working For The Weekend
(sorry, it needed to be said)
14 - Mark Saleski
Saga - On The Loose
15 - uao
Thanks for the suggestions Mark, and everyone else.
Fact is, this list could be double its length, and I'm sure some deserving artists would be left out. I always cut my lists at twenty; otherwise, I'd never get any sleep at all...
;-)
However, for those who were hoping to find an exhaustively conclusive list of Canadian artists, here it is!
16 - Phil
Wow. Good picks...Rush is perfect at #1 even though i am biased b.c rush is my fav band....but ya arcade fire....i heard of em through my gf and they arent to shabby.. glad to see them up there!
17 - BADfan
how is it possible Bryan Adams is so low on the list? He's one of the (read THE) greatest Canadian musicians!
And where is Shania Twain?
this aint a good list!
18 - eEL
SKINNY PUPPY info is incorrrect ::
"Keyboardist Wilhelm Schroeder joined up in 1985"
it was Dwayne R. Goettel who joined up after the 1985 tour and "added dimension"... Bill Leeb didn't even know how to play a keyboard when he joined PUPPY, let alone "added dimension"...
19 - uao
Sorry, eEl, I morphed Schroeder and Goettel into the same guy--
Schroeder DID join in 85 and appeared on the Bites disc, but then Goettel replaced him.
Goettel is the one who had the impact.
Thanks for the correction.
20 - RockGeezer
Thanks for being one of the few to mention Max Webster.
They remain one of my all-time favorite groups (I'm also a big Rush fan) to this day. Don't think I'll ever get sick of listening to them!
21 - yvonne
Bryan Adams middle name is Guy..not Fawkes.
22 - uao
Thanks yvonne, that was just retarded typing on my part, I fixed it.
RockGeezer: I had never heard of Max Webster until a few years ago when a Canadian turned me on to them. They deserved a bigger audience
23 - Rob
Thanks for including Blue Rodeo on your list. They're one of Canada's gems. It was also nice to see Max Webster on there. I always thought they never got the respect they were due and were always forced to take a back seat to Rush by their record label. Kim Mitchell did go on to have a successful solo career in Canada and is now hosting the afternoon show on Q107 in Toronto.
24 - Gareth edwards
What an eclectic list. Some great sounds.
I also liked the Headpins, Toronto and Boys Brigade.
Gareth
25 - Tube
Uao, great post. No Sarah McLachlan?