June 7, 2012 saw the passing of former Fleetwood Mac guitarist, Bob Welch. Another great one lost. He committed suicide at the age of 66. In addition to his time with the band, he had a successful solo career. Here are a couple of those solo hits in his honor.
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Back home and figured this was an appropriate segue to getting back into things. A classic song from a great story-teller. Chris De Burgh released this song a long, long time ago and now that I have experienced the Spanish train system firsthand……it is fitting.
Today’s collection includes some country rock, some classic staples, some music from my favourite city and some really sappy 70’s pop.
Murray had a strong career in the 70’s and 80’s, writing and recording many current staples on Canadian classic radio. Unfortunately, he never hit mainstream elsewhere.
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Smaltzy Canadian pop at its’ best (worst?). The Poppy Family had a string of North American hits in the late 60’s and early 70’s. The group was made up of Susan and Terry Jacks.
Hello Saskatoon, Canada‘s greatest city.
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BTO’s very first release, very different from everything they did afterwards. My favourite song by them by a country mile. This clip is of Randy Bachman only, but it is live and is at a great venue in Vancouver called the Commodore Ballroom. Great groove.
I have not done one of these for a while, so it’s time to pick up where I left off and continue the series. I think we all might have needed a break. Only 380 songs to go. This set is heavy on the classic rock and features an icon of my generation, one of the founders of The Band, Robbie Robertson. Also included is one of the judges for Canadian Idol, Sass Jordan and one of the worlds greatest bands, Rush.
One of the rock era’s greatest bands, The Band, spawned several major solo careers. Robbie Robertson is one of the major talents of the era. This version is live on Letterman, supported by fellow Canadian Paul Schaffer. This is one hot version.
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Coney Hatch was an 80’s rock band who created 3 albums. The band was produced by Kim Mitchell, an accomplished Canadian act in his own right. Carl Dixon, the lead, played with April Wine and the Guess Who in later years.
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Another 80’s band, Strange Advance were more of a new wave style group. They won Juno’s (Canada’s Grammy) in 1982 as Most Promising Group and were 1985’s Group of the Year. “We Run”s off their 1985 album “2WO”, which won them their Juno that year.
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The best thing I can say about any Rush song is, “ENJOY”. One of the world’s finest groups.
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Sass Jordan had a great run from the late 80’s through the 90’s. When Canada pursued their own version of American Idol, she was selected as one of the judges. This was her first hit in Canada, recorded in 1988. Don’t panic, the song starts at about 22 seconds.
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Lets dip into the past and visit the 90’s. Always liked this one. A Girl Like You was released in 1994 by Scottish artist Edwyn Collins and had great success in both the USA and the UK, reaching #4 on Billboard. The song (and artists) are classic one hit wonder material, meaning, an extremely talented musician with many good albums to his credit, caught he world’s imagination only once. Check out his other material.
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A great set if you like classic rock. Max Webster is featured with 2 songs in the grouping.
Max Webster was the starting point for 2 of Canada’s most brilliant songwriters, Kim Mitchell and Pye Dubois. The band formed in 1973 and had a string of hits and gold albums until 1981. The principals all went on to great solo careers.
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Nothing to say, except they are from small town Alberta. Major international stars, you either like them or you don’t.
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Great song. I always thought their early material was far superior. Kind of like the jazzy sound they had before they went straight power chords.
The second entry. Both these songs were from the same album. There will be more.
The Band is likely the best band to come out of our country. Great music. This video is absolutely spectacular.
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Today’s 5 spot includes a classic female singer of the 60’s, another entry from Blue Rodeo some classic rock and folk, and a current superstar.
Buffy Ste. Marie is a native Canadian artist, born in Saskatchewan. Her music is a mix of history and mysticism. She is a true Canadian treasure.
This is one of her anti-war anthems.
Love these guys. Another entry from a great band. This song is off Casino, recorded in 1990.
Crash Vegas was a Canadian folk-rock band from the late 1980’s. It has a connection to Blue Rodeo in that Greg Keelor, the other singer and songwriter for Blue Rodeo was one of the founding members. He left the band before they had recorded anything. This song is from their 1989 record, “Red Earth”. The quality of the clip is lacking and I apologize. Could not find anything better.
Another entry from a Canadian classic band.
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The first entry on the list by Canadian international superstar, Nelly Furtado. Great song.
This week’s grouping is heavy on the classic 80’s rock material, but does include some classic Quebec music.
Frozen Ghost was formed in the mid 80’s, recording until their break up in 1993. They had a string of hits in the late 80’s, winning the 1987 Juno award as most promising new group. Should I See is their first entry on the list.
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Robert Charlebois is a composer, singer, author from Montreal. He was awarded the Order of Canada in 1999. This song was originally recorded way back in 1967.
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A great classic rock song from Glass Tiger, and their 3rd entry on the list. This is the version with Rod Stewart singing in parts of the song.
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Another 80’s band out of Ontario. A little harder edge than a lot of their contemporaries, except in this song. Kind of sound like Simple Minds.
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Another entry from one of Canada’s finest bands. This is an outstanding vocal performance by Jim Cuddy.
It is Sunday and time for the next 5 in my list of Canada’s best music. In this edition, 2 by a current Canadian favourite, a classic rock song, a second entry by the great Joni Mitchell and some garage rock by Ugly Duckling.
1. Blue Rodeo
Blue Rodeo are Canada’s number one alt-country, rock band. They have been churning out the hits for many years and are still at the top of Canada’s popular music game. This song was released in 1989.
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“Nothin'”
Waaaay back in the 60’s, The Ugly Ducklings were the best there was on the Toronto music scene. Garage rockers extraordinaire. The version here is from a 2000 concert. Love it live.
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3. Blue Rodeo
“Hasn’t Hit Me Yet”
A second song by Blue Rodeo in this set. This is from 1993.
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4. Joni Mitchell
A second tune on the list by the incomparable Joni Mitchell. Easily one of the greatest ever. This video features a live version and features an incredible band. Really, really good!!
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5. Chilliwack
“My Girl (Gone Gone Gone)”
Chilliwack is one of those bands that really should have made it big worldwide. Very talented with strong songs.