#1: Je T’aime Moi Non Plus by Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg
City: Ottawa, ON
Radio Station: CFRA
Peak Month: November-December 1969
Peak Position in Ottawa ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #58
Peak position on Austrian Singles chart ~ #1
Peak position on Norwegian Singles chart ~ #1
Peak position on Swiss Singles chart ~ #1
Peak position on UK Singles chart ~ #1
Peak position on Dutch Singles chart ~ #2
Peak position on Irish Singles chart ~ #2
Peak position on West German Singles chart ~ #3
Peak position on Mexican Singles chart ~ #5
YouTube: “Je T’aime Moi Non Plus”
Lyrics: “Je T’aime Moi Non Plus”
Serge Gainsbourg was born Lucien Ginsburg in Paris, France, in 1928. His parents were Russian Jewish immigrants. Lucien enrolled in the Ecole Normal in Paris at age 12. His childhood was profoundly affected by the occupation of France by Germany during World War II. The identifying yellow star that Jews were required to wear haunted Gainsbourg. In later years he was able to transmute this memory into creative inspiration with his 1975 song “Yellow Star”. During WWII he escaped with his family to Limoges, in France’s free zone. The family took refuge in the town of Grand Vedeix in the commune of Saint Cyr in the Haute-Vienne department, using the name Guimbard. He was hidden by nuns at Sacré-Cœur. He remained a boarder there for six months under his false identity. One evening, the Gestapo raided the establishment to check that no Jewish children were hiding there. Warned, the boarding school officials sent him to hide alone in the forest, equipped with an axe to defend himself, where Lucien spent the entire night in fear of being caught and killed.
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#22: Resurrection Shuffle by Ashton, Gardner & Dyke
City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CKOC
Peak Month: August 1971
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #11
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #40
YouTube: “Resurrection Shuffle”
Lyrics: “Resurrection Shuffle”
Ashton, Gardner & Dyke were a British rock trio. Anthony “Tony” Ashton was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, in 1946. At the age of 13, in 1959, he joined a local group, the College Boys, on rhythm guitar and piano. When Ashton left school at the age of 15 he was already an accomplished pianist. By 1961 he fronted the Tony Ashton Trio at the Picador Club in Blackpool. He was asked to join The Remo Four, managed by Brian Epstein (who also managed the Beatles). Among the quartet was drummer Roy Dyke (born in 1945 in Liverpool). The Remo Four were voted No. 3 Group in a 1961 Mersey Beat poll. While the Beatles travelled back and forth to Hamburg, the Remo Four began playing U.S. Air Force bases in France, building their stage and musical experience. Johnny Sandon joined the band as vocalist in 1962, and stayed for two years. Ashton and Dyke replaced others in the line-up in 1963. The Remo Four (including Tony Ashton and Roy Dyke) were an opening act for The Beatles on a fall 1964 tour in the UK, along with Mary Wells. The Remo Four released a debut album in 1966 titled Smile!
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#24: I Knew The Bride (When She Used To Rock and Roll) by Nick Lowe
City: Ottawa, ON
Radio Station: CFRA
Peak Month: January 1986
Peak Position in Ottawa ~ #2
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #77
YouTube: “I Knew The Bride (When She Used To Rock and Roll)”
Lyrics: “I Knew The Bride (When She Used To Rock and Roll)”
Nicholas Drain Lowe was born in 1949 in Surrey, UK. He formed a band in 1968 named Kippington Lodge. The band was renamed Brinsley Schwartz and veered into a fusion of country and blues-rock. In 1974, Lowe wrote “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding”. The song was covered by Elvis Costello in 1979. In 1976, Dave Edmunds co-founded a band named Rockpile with Nick Lowe, drummer Terry Williams and guitar player Billy Bremner. But, immediately, Rockpile ran into recording problems since Lowe and Edmunds were signed to different recording labels. Nonetheless, Rockpile went on tour in the UK in 1976. As well, in 1976 Lowe recorded “So It Goes”. The single was voted the fifth-best single of the year according to the New Musical Express critics poll. That year, Lowe produced a single by The Damned titled “New Rose”, along with the album Damned Damned Damned. In 1977, Nick Lowe produced Elvis Costello’s first album, My Aim Is True. In 1978, Lowe produced Elvis Costello’s second album, This Year’s Model, with the outstanding track “Pump It Up”. In 1978, Lowe had a Top Ten hit single in the UK titled “I Love The Sound of Breaking Glass”. A third album by Elvis Costello, Armed Forces, was also produced by Nick Lowe.
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#24: Wind Him Up by Saga
City: Ottawa, ON
Radio Station: CFRA
Peak Month: March 1982
Peak Position in Ottawa ~ #2
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #64
Peak Position on Norwegian Singles chart – #5
Peak Position on West German Singles chart ~ #7
YouTube: “Wind Him Up”
Lyrics: “Wind Him Up”
Saga is a band from Oakville (ON). They formed in Michael Sadler (born 1954 in Penarth, Wales) provided lead vocals and played keyboards. Ian Crichton (born in 1956 in Oakville, Ontario) played guitar. Jim Crichton (born in 1953 in Oakville, Ontario) played bass guitar, piano and keyboards. Jim Gilmour (born in 1958 in Carfin, Scotland) played clarinet, keyboards and contributed backing vocals. While Steve Negus (born in 1952 in Hamilton, Ontario) played drums. In 1978, they released their self-titled album Saga which reached #33 on the Swedish album chart. A second studio album, Images at Twilight, was released the following year. A third album, Silent Knight, reached #15 on the Norwegian pop album chart.
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#10: Mrs. Bluebird by Eternity’s Children
City: Guelph, ON
Radio Station: CJOY
Peak Month: August 1968
Peak Position in Guelph ~ #8
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #69
YouTube: “Mrs. Bluebird”
Lyrics: “Mrs. Bluebird”
Eternity’s Children was a sunshine pop group from Cleveland, Mississippi. They originated as a folk group known as the Phantoms. The Phantoms began in 1965 with two Delta College students, composed of vocalist/keyboardist Bruce Blackman and drummer Roy Whittaker (born in Biloxi, MS, in 1947). Soon, the group added lead guitarist Johnny Walker, rhythm guitarist Jerry Bounds, and bassist Charles Ross III (born in 1948 in Greenville, MS). The band played locally within the college and gained a sizable local following. They released a single titled “Workin’ Tired” on the local Flash label before relocating to Biloxi, Mississippi, in 1966. In Biloxi, the group became a house band in a basement nightclub of the Biloxi Hotel. The band, when they were not the lead performance, would back musicians like Charlie Rich and B.J. Thomas. In the same year, the band added folk singer Linda Lawley (born in Biloxi, MS, in 1949) and changed their name to Eternity’s Children.
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#29: Mirror Man by Human League
City: Ottawa, ON
Radio Station: CFRA
Peak Month: March 1983
Peak Position in Ottawa ~ #2
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #30
Peak Position on Irish Singles chart ~ #1
Peak Position on UK Singles chart ~ #2
Peak Position on Australian Singles chart ~ #4
YouTube: “Mirror Man”
Lyrics: “Mirror Man”
Human League was formed in 1977 and were originally named The Future. By early 1978 the band changed their name to Human League. Philip Oakley was co-founder and frontman for the band. He was born in 1955 in Leicestershire, England. He left school without finishing exams and worked at a university bookshop, and as a hospital orderly. Oakley’s former schoolmate Martyn Ware had already formed the band with Ian Marsh. Ware and Marsh were looking to get a new lead vocalist and Oakley agreed. In 1978, a non-album single titled “Being Boiled” was released. It climbed to #6 in the UK, and West Germany, #10 in Ireland, and #17 in Austria. Human League released their debut album, Reproduction, in 1979. A second album, Travelogue, was released in May 1980. Shortly after, Ware and Marsh left the band and later in 1980 formed new wave/synth-pop band Heaven 17. At the time of their departure, Human League was contracted to start a European tour the following week.
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#48: For A Penny by Pat Boone
City: Ottawa, ON
Radio Station: CKOY
Peak Month: May 1959
Peak Position in Ottawa ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #22
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #23
YouTube: “For A Penny”
Lyrics: “For A Penny”
Pat Boone was born in Jacksonville, Florida, on June 1, 1934. He was the son of Margaret Virginia (Pritchard) and Archie Altman Boone. The Boone family moved to Nashville from Florida when Boone was two years old. In a 2007 interview on The 700 Club, Boone claimed that he is the great-great-great-great grandson of the American pioneer Daniel Boone. Boone is a singer, composer, actor, writer, television personality, motivational speaker, and spokesman. He won a talent contest on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour. He became a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He has sold over 45 million records, charted 38 Top 40 hits between 1955 and 1962. Boone has also appeared in more than a dozen Hollywood films. He still holds the Billboard record for spending 220 consecutive weeks on the charts with one or more songs each week.
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#34: Dreadlock Holiday by 10cc
City: Ottawa, ON
Radio Station: CFGO
Peak Month: December 1978
Peak Position in Ottawa ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #44
Peak Position on Belgian Singles chart ~ #1
Peak Position on Dutch Singles chart ~ #1
Peak Position on New Zealand Singles chart ~ #1
Peak Position on UK Singles chart ~ #1
Peak Position on Australian Singles chart ~ #2
YouTube: “Dreadlock Holiday”
Lyrics: “Dreadlock Holiday”
Kevin Michael Godley was born in 1945 in a suburb of Manchester, England. Raised in a Jewish family, he formed a group named Group 17, along with four other members of the Jewish Lads Brigade. Godley studied Art and Design at Stoke On Trent College of Art from 1966-68. In the late ’60s, Kevin Godley met Lol Creme at a wedding. Laurence Neil “Lol” Creme was born in 1947 in the same suburb of Prestwich as Kevin Godley. Creme was also raised in a Jewish family. The pair co-founded a band in 1970 named Hotlegs, which included Graham Gouldman. Hotlegs had a #2 hit in the UK titled “Neanderthal Man”. The band split in 1970 and morphed into 10cc.
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#9: I Would Be The One by Kensington Market
City: Guelph, ON
Radio Station: CJOY
Peak Month: August 1968
Peak Position in Guelph ~ #10
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “I Would Be The One”
Lyrics: “I Would Be The One”
Keith McKie was born in St. Albans, England, in 1947. He moved with his family to Canada in 1953. After high school, he formed a band called The Shades. This later morphed into the Vendettas. After that band dissolved, McKie was sought out by former Paupers manager Bernie Finkelstein who suggested he form a new group. To join McKie, they got former Bobby Kris & the Imperials guitarist and pianist Gene Martynec to sign. Martynec was born in 1947 in Coburg, West Germany. Former Vendettas bandmate, Alex Darou, was added to the emerging band. Darou, who played bass guitar, was born in Sault Ste. Marie (ON) in 1943. The oldest member of the band, he had already been part of a jazz trio. They also added drummer Jimmy Watson, who was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1950.
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#36: Planet Claire by B-52s
City: Ottawa, ON
Radio Station: CFGO
Peak Month: February 1982
Peak Position in Ottawa ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #29
Peak Position on New Zealand Singles chart ~ #35
YouTube: “Planet Claire”
Lyrics: “Planet Claire”
Frederick William Schneider III was born in 1951 in Newark, New Jersey. He went to college in Atlanta and wrote a book of poetry for one class project. After college, he was a janitor as well as a Meals on Wheels driver. At the time the B-52’s formed, Schneider III had very little musical experience. The B-52’s got their start when the fledgling bandmates played an impromptu number after drinking at a Chinese restaurant in Athens, Georgia. The band played their first real gig in 1977 at a Valentine’s Day party for their friends. Ricky Helton Wilson was born in 1953, and learned to play guitar in the winter of 1972-73. In the summer of 1969, Ricky Wilson met Wilson met Keith Strickland at a marijuana shop. In the following months, Wilson quietly came out as gay to Strickland while the two were in their teens. During mid-1969, both Wilson and Strickland collaborated in writing and performing music, loosely calling themselves Loon, and aspired to perform live. From 1969 to 1971, Wilson and Strickland collaborated with two high school friends in the four-member band Black Narcissus.
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