#524: I Believe In Music by Gallery
Peak Month: November 1972
9 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG’s chart
Peak Position #4
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #22
YouTube: “I Believe In Music”
Lyrics: “I Believe In Music”
Gallery was formed in Detroit in 1971 by Jim Gold, who was born in ‘the Motor City’ in 1947. In 1971, while he and a friend were playing at a Detroit club called the Poison Apple, he was discovered by Dennis Coffey and Mike Theodore. Coffey learned to play guitar at the age of thirteen, in the Michigan Upper Peninsula town of Copper City. In 1955, as a fifteen-year-old sophomore at a Detroit high school, Dennis played his first record session, backing Vic Gallon in “I’m Gone”, on the Gondola Record label. In the early 1960s he joined The Royaltones who played sessions with other recording artists including Del Shannon and Bobby Rydell. By the late 1960s as a member of the Funk Brothers studio band, Coffey played on dozens of recordings for Motown Records, and introduced a hard rock guitar sound to Motown including distortion, Echoplex tape-loop delay, and wah-wah: most notably heard on “Cloud Nine”, “Ball of Confusion”, and “Psychedelic Shack” by The Temptations. He played on numerous other hit records of the era: Edwin Starr’s “War”, Diana Ross & The Supremes’ “Someday We’ll Be Together”, and Freda Payne’s, “Band of Gold”.
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#807: Louisiana by Mike Kennedy
Peak Month: April 1972
7 weeks on CKVN chart
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #2
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #62
YouTube: “Louisiana”
Lyrics: “Louisiana”
Michael Volker Kogel was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1944. His father acted in cabaret and hardly spent anytime with the family. His mother struggled and ended up taking her life when she was 65. Kogel grew up with his grandmother who was a Jehovah’s Witness. In the late 50s, Kogel was an apprentice to become a brewmaster. He got captivated with rock ‘n roll played at the American military base in Cologne. He started singing songs by Elvis Presley, Eddie Cochran, Pat Boone, and Ricky Nelson, in local clubs. In 1962, he released a pop single in West Germany titled “Ein Mädchen Nach Maß”. It was credited to ‘Michael.’ In 1964 he was fronting a beat band named Mike and the Firebirds. They had a single in West Germany titled “Der Knüller Mausi Müller”. A second release was a cover of the Zombies’ “She’s Not There” titled “Lass Sie Gehn”. Sometime in 1965, Michael Kogel became the lead singer for Mike Rat and the Runaways. They released a cover of the Major Lance tune “Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um”. Next up, Kogel became the lead singer for Los Bravos. The band had an international Top Ten hit in 1966 titled “Black Is Black”.
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#51: Julia Get Up by Rich Dodson
City: Calgary, AB
Radio Station: CKXL
Peak Month: December 1972
Peak Position in Calgary ~ #9
Peak position in Vancouver ~ Hitbound
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Julia Get Up”
Rich Dodson was born in Sudbury, Ontario, in 1947. In 1964, living now in Calgary, he formed an instrumental band called The Rebounds. By 1965, the band morphed into The Stampeders, named after that city’s football team, The Calgary Stampeders. Although, it could be argued that the yearly Calgary Stampede was also an inspiration for their name. During the band’s most successful chart run from 1968 to 1976, it was made up of guitarist Rich Dodson, bass player Ronnie King (born Cornelius Van Sprang) and drummer Kim Berly (born Kim Meyer). All three provided vocals. Originally, the band was a group of five formed in 1964 called The Rebounds. The Rebounds had five members: Rich Dodson, Len Roemer, Brendan Lyttle, Kim Berly, and Race Holiday. They renamed themselves The Stampeders in 1965 and Len Roemer was replaced with Ronnie King and Van Louis, making them a band of six for a few years. But after a temporary move to Toronto in 1966 the band was down to three members, Dodson, King and Berly by 1968. Between 1967 and 1976 The Stampeders charted 15 singles into the Canadian RPM Top 40.
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#18: Hard Life Alone by Ray Materick
City: Edmonton, AB
Radio Station: CFRN
Peak Month: November 1972
Peak Position in Edmonton: #2
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Hard Life Alone”
Lyrics: N/A
Ray Materick was born in Brantford, Ontario, in 1943. His father was an evangelical preacher, and also had been a dance band leader. Ray Materick tried to learn the guitar at the age of 8, but found it too challenging. In his teens he became proficient at guitar and was in a band called The Chevron Sextet. In his late twenties, he moved to Toronto in 1970. For several years he performed at concerts in the coffee house circuit in the Toronto regional area. In 1972, Materick recorded an album titled Sidestreets. It was hailed as a stellar example of roots-folk. The Toronto Star wrote, “Just remarkable. Ten autobiographical song sketches that make emotional participation mandatory and inescapable.” From the album came a single titled “Season of Plenty”. It was released on Kanata Records 1010, with the B-side, “Goodbye”. But it didn’t chart nationally, though the B-side charted in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Kanata re-released the song on Kanata 1013. At last, “Season of Plenty” began to appear on the Canadian RPM Top Pop Singles Chart on October 7, 1972.
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#143: Conquistador by Procol Harum
Peak Month: July 1972
10 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG Chart
Peak Position ~ #1
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #16
YouTube: “Conquistador”
Lyrics: “Conquistador”
Procol Harum named themselves after a male blue Burmese cat, which had been bred by Eleonore Vogt-Chapman and belonged to her friend Liz Coombes. Band manager Guy Stevens suggested the group name themselves after its name, to which the group immediately accepted. However, the cat’s pedigree name was in fact Procol Harun, the Procol being the breeder’s prefix. But the name was taken down over the telephone, causing a misspelling with the final letter an “m” instead of the correct “n.”
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#186: Stay With Me by Faces
Peak Month: January-February 1972
9 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position ~ #1
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #17
YouTube: “Stay With Me”
Lyrics: “Stay With Me”
In the summer of 1964 musician Steve Marriott met bass player Ronnie Lane and drummer Kenney Jones at a club when they were playing with their band, the Outcasts. They added Jimmy Winston on keyboards and began releasing singles, including “Sha-la-la-la-lee”, which went to #3 in the UK in 1966. The Small Faces were part of the British mod subculture, sharp-dressed and absorbed with looks and fashion. The word Faces was a nod to the new mod fashion, and Small was a reference to all of them being no taller than 5’6”.
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#204: Joy by the Ventures
Peak Month: February 1972
13 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #1
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #109
YouTube: “Joy”
In 1958, The Ventures were formed by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle in Tacoma, Washington. They are an American instrumental rock band that helped popularize electric guitar in pop music during the 1960s. The band’s founders first met in 1958, when Bogle was looking to buy a car from a used car dealership in Seattle owned by Wilson’s father. Finding a common interest in guitars, the two decided to play together, while Wilson joined Bogle performing masonry work. They bought two used guitars in a pawn shop for about $10 each. Initially calling themselves the Versatones, the duo played small clubs, beer bars, and private parties throughout the Pacific Northwest. Wilson played rhythm guitar, Bogle lead. When they went to register the band name, they found that it was already taken. Disappointed, they cast about for an appropriate name. Wilson’s mother suggested the name “The Ventures”, upon which they eventually agreed in 1959.
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#1360: Take The Blindness by Joey Gregorash
Peak Month: December 1972
Peak Position ~ #16
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG Chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Take The Blindness”
Joey Gregorash was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His dad played the violin and young Joey took an interest in learning the instrument. In February 1964 Gregorash saw the Beatles perform on the The Ed Sullivan Show and was turned onto rock ‘n roll. He learned how to play the drums and formed a band called The Mongrels in 1965 with childhood friend John Nykon. Later Gregorash went solo and won a 1972 Juno Award in 1972 for Outstanding Performance-Male for his hit single “Down By the River”. For over a decade Gregorash pursued other interests until in 1987 his single, “Together (The New Wedding Song),” became a hit in Canada.
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#259: Love Me Love Me Love by Frank Mills
Peak Month: February 1972
9 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #1
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #46
YouTube: “Love Me Love Me Love”
Lyrics: “Love Me Love Me Love”
In 1942, Frank Mills was born into a musical household in Montreal, and grew up in Verdun, Quebec. His older sister and mother both played the piano. Young Frank learned to play piano by ear. He also learned to play trombone in high school and played in a school band. His parents both died of cancer by the time Frank was seventeen. Initially, he entered McGill University in pre-med. However, his marks weren’t good enough to continue. When he scored 98% on a Music Department entrance exam, his direction was certain.
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#279: Stairway To Heaven by Led Zeppelin
Peak Month: August 1972
9 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
1 week Preview
Peak Position #1
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Stairway To Heaven”
Lyrics: “Stairway To Heaven”
Robert Anthony Plant was born in 1948 in West Bromwich, six miles northwest of Birmingham, England. He became the lead singer of Led Zeppelin, along with bandmates Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham. At an early age Robert Plant was interested in being a pop singer. He said in an interview in 1994 on the Denton Show in Australia, “When I was a kid I used to hide behind the curtains at home at Christmas and I used to try and be Elvis. There was a certain ambience between the curtains and the French windows, there was a certain sound there for a ten-year-old. That was all the ambience I got at ten years old … And I always wanted to be … a bit similar to that.”
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#359: Concrete Sea by Terry Jacks
Peak Month: September 1972
9 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #2
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Concrete Sea”
Lyrics: “Concrete Sea”
Terrence Ross Jacks was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1944. During his career as a recording artist he became a household name and recognized as a singer, songwriter, record producer and environmentalist. His family moved to Vancouver in 1961 and he formed a band named The Chessmen along with local guitarist, Guy Sobell. The Chessmen had four singles that made the Top 20 in Vancouver, two which were double-sided hits. These included three Top Ten hits: “Love Didn’t Die”, “The Way You Fell” and “What’s Causing This Sensation”. In 1966 Terry Jacks met Susan Pesklevits on a local CBC music show called Let’s Go.
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#385: You Could Have Been A Lady by April Wine
Peak Month: April 1972
11 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN Chart
Peak Position ~ #1
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #32
YouTube: “You Could Have Been A Lady”
Lyrics: “You Could Have Been A Lady”
April Wine is a Canadian rock band that has released 34 singles, 16 studio albums and 9 live albums. They formed in Waverly, Nova Scotia, in 1969. The founding members were brothers David Henman (guitar) and Ritchie Henman (drums) and Myles Goodwyn (lead vocals, guitar). The Henman brothers cousin Jim Henman was also part of the band, but was replaced by bass player Jim Clench in 1971, a year after the band moved to Montreal and released their self-titled debut album. Miles Francis Goodwin was born in Woodstock, New Brunswick, in 1948. James Patrick Clench was born in Montreal in 1949. The Henman brothers were born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
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#406: Black Dog by Led Zeppelin
Peak Month: January 1972
8 weeks on CKVN’s Vancouver Chart
1 week Preview
Peak Position ~ #1
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #15
YouTube: “Black Dog”
Lyrics: “Black Dog”
Robert Anthony Plant was born in 1948 in West Bromwich, six miles northwest of Birmingham, England. He became the lead singer of Led Zeppelin, along with bandmates Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham. At an early age Robert Plant was interested in being a pop singer. He said in an interview in 1994 on the Denton Show in Australia, “When I was a kid I used to hide behind the curtains at home at Christmas and I used to try and be Elvis. There was a certain ambience between the curtains and the French windows, there was a certain sound there for a ten-year-old. That was all the ambience I got at ten years old … And I always wanted to be … a bit similar to that.”
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#436: Taos New Mexico by R. Dean Taylor
Peak Month: May 1972
9 weeks on CKLG’s Vancouver Chart
Peak Position ~ #4
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #83
YouTube: “Taos New Mexico”
Lyrics: “Taos New Mexico”
Richard Dean Taylor was born in Toronto in 1939. At the age of 12 in 1951, he made his debut singing performance at open-air Country & Western shows in Greater Toronto. In 1960 he recorded his first single release titled “At The High School Dance”, and also formed a band. Taylor toured around south-central Ontario and into Upstate New York and Michigan. In 1962 he went to New York City, recorded and released “I’ll Remember”. It was a Top 30 hit on CHUM-AM in Toronto. In 1963 R. Dean Taylor auditioned to be a writer for a new record label called Motown. He was hired to work at Motown and released a Beatlemania-themed song titled “My Ladybug (Stay Away From That Beatle)”. However, the label chose not to release the single.
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#616: Julianna by the Five Man Electrical Band
Peak Month: March 1972
10 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #4
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Julianna”
Lyrics: “Julianna”
The Five Man Electrical Band was a Canadian mainstream rock band from Ottawa. They had an international hit in 1970 called “Signs.” Les Emmerson was born in 1944. In 1963 the Staccatos, an Ottawa group, was formed. It included lead singer and local disc jockey Dean Hagopian. After some local hits they got the attention of Capitol Records. When Dean Hagopian left around 1964, Les Emmerson stepped in as lead vocalist. One of their 1965 singles imitated the surfing sound with “Moved To California.” In 1966 their Top 40 hit on the Canadian RPM singles chart, “Let’s Run Away,” won the group the two Juno awards that year for Best Produced Single and Vocal Instrumental Group Of The Year.
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#467: Brandy by Scott English
Peak Month: April 1972
10 weeks on CKVN’s Vancouver Charts
Peak Position ~ #3
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #91
YouTube: “Brandy”
Lyrics: “Brandy”
Scott English was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1937. He released his first single when he was 17 years old in 1960 called “4,000 Miles Away”. It didn’t crack the Billboard Hot 100. In the winter of 1963 he had a regional hit that reached the Top Five in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Columbus (OH) and Springfield (MA). It was called “High on a Hill”. In 1966, The Animals recorded English’s song “Help Me Girl”. It became a national Top 30 hit. The following year English wrote “Bend Me, Shape Me”, a #5 hit for the American Breed in the USA. It was covered by the Amen Corner and peaked at #3 in Britain.
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#484: Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard by Paul Simon
Peak Month: May 1972
9 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN
1 week Preview
Peak Position #4
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #22
YouTube.com: “Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard”
Lyrics: “Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard”
Paul Frederic Simon was born in 1941 in Newark, New Jersey, to Hungarian-Jewish parents. His dad was a bandleader who went by the name Lou Sims. When he was eleven years old he met Art Garfunkel and were both part of a sixth grade drama production of Alice In Wonderland. By 1954 Paul and Art were singing at school dances. In 1957, in their mid-teens, they recorded the song “Hey, Schoolgirl” under the name “Tom & Jerry”, a name that was given to them by their label Big Records. The single reached No. 49 on the pop charts.
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#488: Fly Across The Sea by Edward Bear
Peak Month: January 1972
10 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN
Peak Position #4
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Fly Across The Sea”
Lyrics: “Fly Across The Sea”
In the mid-60’s Larry Evoy and Paul Weldon were jamming in basements and experimenting with blues rock tunes. In 1966 bass player Craig Hemmings and drummer Dave Brown formed a band with Evoy and Weldon. They got guitarist Danny Marks to join them after he answered an ad. (Marks left the band in 1970 and was replaced by Roger Ellis). After a year they settled on the name The Edward Bear Revue. They got the name from A.A. Milne’s children’s book, Winnie The Pooh, whose central character has the proper name of Edward Bear. In time the band shortened their name to Edward Bear. The band originally was a blues and rock band and opened in 1968 for a Toronto concert with Led Zeppelin as the headliner.
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#713: Rock And Roll Song by Valdy
Peak Month: September 1972
8 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG
Peak Position #6
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Rock And Roll Song”
Lyrics: “Rock And Roll Song”
Paul Valdemar Horsdal was born in Ottawa in 1945. Valdy was a member of the London Town Criers during the 1960s and subsequently joined Montreal band The Prodigal Sons. Prior to beginning his solo career, he was based in Victoria. There he worked with various artists, including Canadian country music singer Blake Emmons. Emmons was the host of CTV show Funny Farm (Canada’s answer to the CBS TV show Hee Haw).
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#520: One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show by Honey Cone
Peak Month: January 1972
9 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN
Peak Position #2
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #15
YouTube.com link: “One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show”
Lyrics: “One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show”
Edna Wright was born in Los Angeles in 1944. She grew up in the church and sang with the Church of God in Christ Singers. In 1965 she recorded under the pseudonym Sandy Wynns, and had a minor hit in Los Angeles with “A Touch Of Venus”. In 1969 she sang backing vocals on an album for the Righteous Brothers. In 1969, Honey Cone was formed by lead singer Edna Wright (sister of Darlene Love, who provided lead vocals for the Crystals “He’s A Rebel”) with Carolyn Willis and Shelley Clark. (Note: Clark’s first name is spelled differently by Wikipedia, Discogs and AllMusic as either Shelly, Shellie or Shelley). Willis was born in 1946 in Los Angeles. In 1966, Shelley Clark had been one of the trio backing singers with the Ikettes for Ike & Tina Turner at the time they recorded “River Deep – Mountain High”. Willis had been part of a girl group in 1964 named the Girlfriends. They scored a minor Top 50 hit that year with “My One And Only Jimmy Boy”. Willis and Wright also had recording and performing experience in Darlene Love’s girl group the Blossoms from 1962 to 1964. The Blossoms sang backing vocals on “Monster Mash” for Bobby “Boris” Pickett, “Johnny Angel” for Shelley Fabares, and “Be My Baby” for the Ronettes, and “He’s A Rebel” (credited to The Crystals and not the Blossoms who actually recorded the record for Phil Spector). Willis and Wright also provided backing vocals for Darlene Love’s “He’s Sure The Boy I Love”.
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#523: Mouldy Old Dough by Lieutenant Pigeon
Peak Month: December 1972
8 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG’s chart
Peak Position #3
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com link: “Mouldy Old Dough”
Both Rob Woodward and Nigel Fletcher had played in bands in the early 1960s, they’d even been writing songs together since 1963. But it would be much later in the decade before they would eventually join forces and launch ‘Stavely Makepeace’. In the mid sixties Nigel fulfilled an ambition and joined the merchant navy, where he stayed for almost three years. In the summer of 1967 he left his last ship and moved to London where he stayed until early 1969. Meanwhile Rob worked in various office jobs and continued to play in bands on a semi-pro basis. By 1966 however he was working full time in the music business, traveling the country with his one man cabaret act. At the close of 1968, Rob traveled to visit Fletcher in London with an idea. He suggested they collaborate writing songs, produce records and build a sound recording studio.
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#1182: Rock Me Baby by David Cassidy
Peak Month: November 1972
5 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN’s chart
Peak Position #6
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #38
YouTube.com link: “Rock Me Baby”
Lyrics: “Rock Me Baby”
David Bruce Cassidy was born in 1950 in New York City, and was raised by parents who were both actors. His father, Jack Cassidy, was bipolar, was an alcoholic and had numerous same-sex relationships outside of his marriage, including one with Cole Porter. David Cassidy’s mother, Eveyln Ward, made her acting debut on Broadway in 1943, and appeared in about ten TV shows. She retired from acting in 1967. She divorced Jack Cassidy in 1954, and remarried in 1961, while Jack married Shirley Jones in ’56. But the Cassidy children weren’t told about the divorce for two years, while their parents hid the fact behind extensive touring and acting schedules. This, according to David Cassidy’s 1994 memoir.
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#553: From The Beginning by Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Peak Month: November 1972
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #5
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #39
YouTube.com: “From The Beginning”
Lyrics: “From The Beginning”
Keith Emerson was born in 1944 in Todmorden, in West Yorkshire, England. His pregnant mom had been evacuated from London during the war. As a two-year-old, Keith’s father taught him his first song on an Italian Scandali accordion. The song was “Now Is The Hour” by Bing Crosby. His father also played the piano, and by the age of seven it was agreed that Keith should take piano lessons, and not just plunk out tunes with one finger. In his teens, Emerson was bought a guitar for Christmas. He also learned to play the harmonica. He joined the Worthing Youth Swing Orchestra, playing jazz standards and new hits by Chris Barber, Dave Brubeck and Acker Bilk. In 1962, Keith Emerson founded a breakaway band from the Swing Orchestra called the Keith Emerson Trio. But, as a career as a musician was viewed as a pipe dream, Keith’s parents were delighted when he got a proper job out of high school at a local branch of the Lloyds Bank.
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#557: Good Friends by the Poppy Family
Peak Month: April 1972
8 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #3
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #105
YouTube.com: “Good Friends”
Lyrics: “Good Friends”
Susan Pesklevits was born in 1948 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. When she was seven years old she was a featured singer on a local radio station. At the age of eight her family moved to the Fraser Valley town of Haney, British Columbia. When she was 13 years old she had her own radio show. In a December 1966 issue of the Caribou newspaper, the Quesnel Observer noted that Susan Pesklevits had auditioned for Music Hop in the summer of 1963 when she was only 15 years old. She had her first public performance at the Fall Fair in Haney when she was just 14 years old. It was noted she liked to ride horseback, ride motorcycles and attend the dramatic shows. Asked about what she could tell the folks in Quesnel about trends in Vancouver, Pesklevits had this to report, “the latest things in Vancouver are the hipster mini-skirts, bright colored suit slacks, and the tailored look. The newest sound is the “Acid Sound,” derived from L.S.D…. it is “pshodelic” which means it has a lot of fuzz tones and feed back. As an example, she gave “Frustration” recorded by the Painted Ship” a local band from Vancouver. Pesklevits added that on the West Coast “the latest dance is the Philly Dog. It mainly consists of two rows, one of girls and one of boys. The idea is to take steps, move in unison, while doing jerking motions and using a lot of hand movement.”
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#566: Wild Eyes by The Stampeders
Peak Month: August 1972
10 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #6
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Wild Eyes”
Lyrics: “Wild Eyes”
The Stampeders are a rock trio from Calgary named after that city’s football team, The Calgary Stampeders. Although, it could be argued that the yearly Calgary Stampede was also an inspiration for their name. During the band’s most successful chart run from 1968 to 1976, it was made up of guitarist Rich Dodson, bass player Ronnie King (born Cornelius Van Sprang) and drummer Kim Berly (born Kim Meyer). All three provided vocals. Originally, the band was a group of five formed in 1964 called The Rebounds. The Rebounds had five members: Rich Dodson, Len Roemer, Brendan Lyttle, Kim Berly, and Race Holiday. They renamed themselves The Stampeders in 1965 and Len Roemer was replaced with Ronnie King and Van Louis, making them a band of six for a few years. But after a temporary move to Toronto in 1966 the band was down to three members, Dodson, King and Berly by 1968. Between 1967 and 1976 The Stampeders charted 15 singles into the Canadian RPM Top 40.
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#568: I Am The Preacher by Tony Kingston
Peak Month: February 1972
8 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #2
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “I Am The Preacher”
Lyrics: “I Am The Preacher”
In 1967 Tony Kingston had a record deal with Pye and released “Master Hand” in the fall of the year. The British singer Tony Kingston had a brief deal with Decca Records in England in the late 1960’s with a single called “Mama Come On Home” released in April that year. The record is now considered a Northern Soul classic. Tony Kingston sang two songs from the 1970 British film I Start Counting, namely “They Want Love” and “Children”. After relocating to Canada in the early ’70s Kingston was signed to Yorkville Records in Toronto where he recorded “I Am The Preacher”.
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#575: Hey Big Brother by Rare Earth
Peak Month: January 1972
8 weeks on CKVN’s Vancouver Charts
Peak Position ~ #2
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #19
YouTube.com: “Hey Big Brother”
Lyrics: “Hey Big Brother”
In Detroit in 1960, a group of high school buddies formed a band and called themselves The Sunliners. Two of the founding members who remained with the band when it morphed into Rare Earth were Gil Bridges on flute, saxophone, and vocals; And Peter Hoorelbeke (aka Peter Rivera) on lead vocals and drums. In 1962 John Parrish (aka John Persh) joined The Sunliners on bass guitar, trombone and vocals. In 1966 Rod Richards (born Rod Cox) joined The Sunliners on guitar and vocals; And Kenny James (born Ken Folcik) was added on keyboards. The group’s recording style evolved over time.
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#1441: He’s An Indian Cowboy In The Rodeo by Buffy Sainte-Marie
Peak Month: September 1972
6 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #14
Preview August 7/72
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #98
YouTube.com: “He’s An Indian Cowboy In The Rodeo”
Lyrics: “He’s An Indian Cowboy In The Rodeo”
In 1942 Beverly Sainte-Marie was born on the Piapot Cree Reserve in southwestern Saskatchewan. From her early childhood she was called Buffy. As a child she was orphaned. Her aunt and uncle in Maine of Mi’kmaq First Nation descent then adopted her. Growing up in Maine, Buffy taught herself how to play piano and guitar. After high school took Fine Arts courses at the University of Massachussetts in Amherst to study in the Fine Arts fields, continuing to write music in her spare time. She graduated in the Top Ten in her class but chose to devote her life to music. She began to appear at coffee houses in the folk music circuit in New England, barely making ends meet.
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#1404: Like A Cannonball by Van Morrison
Peak Month: April 1972
6 weeks on CKVNs Vancouver Charts
Peak Position ~ #16
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #119
YouTube.com: “Like A Cannonball”
Lyrics: “Like A Cannonball”
Sir George Ivan “Van” Morrison, was born in Belfast on August 31, 1945. He is a singer, songwriter and musician. He has received six Grammy Awards, the 1994 Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, and has been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 1996 he was given the Order of the British Empire for his service to music enriching the lives of people in the UK (and beyond). Since 1996 his formal title has been Sir “Van” Morrison, OBE. In 2016 he was knighted for his musical achievements and his services to tourism and charitable causes in Northern Ireland.
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#741: My Love Sings by Joey Gregorash
Peak Month: February 1972
9 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #9
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com link: “My Love Sings”
Joey Gregorash was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His dad played the violin and young Joey took an interest in learning the instrument. In February 1964 Gregorash saw the Beatles perform on the The Ed Sullivan Show and was turned onto rock ‘n roll. He learned how to play the drums and formed a band called The Mongrels in 1965 with childhood friend John Nykon. Later Gregorash went solo and won a 1972 Juno Award in 1972 for Outstanding Performance-Male for his hit single “Down By the River”. For over a decade Gregorash pursued other interests until in 1987 his single, “Together (The New Wedding Song),” became a hit in Canada.
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#532: Poor Little Fool by Frank Mills
Peak Month: June 1972
11 weeks on CKVN’s Vancouver Charts
Peak Position ~ #3
1 week Preview
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #106
YouTube.com: “Poor Little Fool”
Lyrics: “Poor Little Fool”
YouTube: “Poor Little Fool” (Ricky Nelson version)
In 1942, Frank Mills was born into a musical household in Montreal, and grew up in Verdun, Quebec. His older sister and mother both played the piano. Young Frank learned to play piano by ear. He also learned to play trombone in high school and played in a school band. His parents both died of cancer by the time Frank was seventeen. Initially, he entered McGill University in pre-med. However, his marks weren’t good enough to continue. When he scored 98% on a Music Department entrance exam, his direction was certain.
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#752: Levon by Elton John
Peak Month: February 1972
8 weeks on CKVN’s Vancouver Charts
Peak Position ~ #3
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #24
YouTube.com: “Levon”
Lyrics: “Levon”
Reginald Kenneth Dwight was born in 1947. When he was three years old he astounded his family when he was able to play The Skater’s Waltz by Émile Waldteufel by ear at the piano. When he was eleven years old he won a scholarship as a Junior Exhibitor at the Royal Academy of Music. Between the ages of 11 and 15 he attended the Academy on Saturday mornings. In 1962, by the age of 15, he was performing with his group, The Corvettes, at the Northwood Hills Hotel (now the Northwood Hills Public House) in a northern borough of London. While he was playing with a band called Bluesology in the mid-60s he adopted the stage name Elton John. His stage name, which became his legal name in 1967, was taken from Bluesology saxophonist Elton Dean, and their lead singer, Long John Baldry.
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#781: New York Is Closed Tonight by Greenfield
Peak Month: August 1972
11 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #7
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “New York Is Closed Tonight”
Lyrics: “New York Is Closed Tonight”
Barry Greenfield was born in the UK in early 1951. He spent his childhood in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He moved with his parents to Vancouver in 1967. It was in Vancouver he soon attended his first rock ‘n roll concert featuring Herman’s Hermits, The Who and Buffalo Springfield. The concert was a catalyst for buying a guitar and Barry Greenfield soon began writing songs. Then in May 1968, he watched a telecast of NBC’s Tonight Show with featured guests John Lennon and Paul McCartney. On the show they spoke about their new Beatles’ record label, Apple. During the interview, young Barry Greenfield heard them say “Come to London! Come to Apple.” Greenfield took them seriously. He promptly bought a plane ticket to London, UK, and made his way to Apple Records at 3 Saville Road. As he tells it on his website, Barry Greenfield “met John Lennon and was told that his songs were special. Barry called his mom that night from a London payphone to share his joy at the reaction from Apple.” Things started to unfold quickly and he was given an offer off a recording contract with EMI. But Barry Greenfield turned it down. On his website, bio, Greenfield recalls the reason was “he felt that stardom was not a journey he wanted to apply for.” Back in Vancouver, he was focused on going into Law School.
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#792: Mexican Lady by Steel River
Peak Month: February 1972
8 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #6
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Mexican Lady”
In 1965 an R&B group formed in Toronto called The Toronto Shotgun. Coincidentally, possibly there was a huge Motown hit that year called “Shotgun,” by Junior Walker & the Allstars. The band consisted of vocalist John Dudgeon, drummer/percussionist Ray Angrove, bass player Rob Cockell, guitarist Tony Dunning and on keyboards, Bob Forrester. In 1969, Toronto Shotgun changed their name to Steel River. As Toronto Shotgun, they had played a lot of dances at high schools and performed at clubs in town on the weekends. As Steel River they became a full time rock n’ roll act. Their producer, Greg Hambleton owned his owned Tuesday Records and signed the band to the label.
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#799: Can’t You Hear The Song by Wayne Newton
Peak Month: December 1972
8 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #7
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #48
YouTube.com: “Can’t You Hear The Song”
Lyrics: “Can’t You Hear The Song”
Carson Wayne Newton was born in 1942 in Norfolk, Virginia. When he was four years old his parents took him to see the Grand Ole Opry. He began to learn guitar, steel guitar and piano from the age of six. At the age of six he was featured on a local radio show each morning on his way to elementary school. At the age of six, young Wayne also performed in front of the USO and for President Harry Truman. With his brother, Jerry, they performed at country fairs and clubs as the Rascals in Rhythm. They had several guest spots with the Grand Ole Opry roadshows and on ABC-TV’s Ozark Jubilee. They also gave a performance for President Eisenhower. From 1958 to 1962 the brothers performed six days a week on the Lew King Rangers Show. Further success awaited them with their first of twelve guest appearances on The Jackie Gleason Show on September 29, 1962.
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#821: Sign Of A Gypsy Queen by Lorence Hud
Peak Month: December 1972
9 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #9
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com link: “Sign Of A Gypsy Queen”
Lyrics: “Sign Of A Gypsy Queen”
Lorence William Hud was born in 1947 in Saskatchewan. He signed with A&M Records in 1972 and released a self-titled album that year. The single from his debut album, “Sign of the Gypsy Queen”, was his most successful charting single at #16 on the RPM charts and #9 on CKLG. He would release seven more singles between 1973 and 1982. However, none of them cracked the Top 30. The Canadian band, April Wine, had a Top 40 hit in Canada with “Sign of the Gypsy Queen” in 1981.
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#867: Heartbroken Bopper by The Guess Who
Peak Month: March 1972
8 weeks on CKLG chart
Peak Position ~ #6 (CKVN)
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #47
YouTube.com link: “Heartbroken Bopper”
Lyrics: “Heartbroken Bopper”
Randolph Charles Bachman was born in 1943 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. When he was just three years old he entered the King of the Saddle singing contest on CKY radio, Manitoba’s first radio station that began in 1923. Bachman won the contest. When he turned five years he began to study the violin through the Royal Toronto Conservatory. Though he couldn’t read music, he was able to play anything once he heard it. He dropped out of high school and subsequently a business administration program in college. He co-founded a Winnipeg band called Al & The Silvertones with Chad Allan in 1960.
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#876: No by Bulldog
Peak Month: January 1973
8 weeks on CKLG chart
Peak Position ~ #7
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #44
YouTube.com: “No”
Lyrics: “No”
Dean Cornish was born in Ottawa, Canada, in 1943. In his childhood, he moved with his single mother to Rochester, New York. At the age of nine he learned to play the ukulele. By the age of eleven Cornish was playing guitar and country songs. In an interview with the National Association of Music Merchants in January 2016, Cornish remembers seeing Elvis Presley on the Tommy Dorsey Show and getting the guitar of his choice by the late 50’s and learning to play songs by Duane Eddy. By his teens he was playing guitar and harmonica in local Rochester bands. In 1962, when he was 19, Gene formed a band called the Gene Cornish Nobles who recorded a couple of singles. In 1964 Cornish joined Joey Dee and the Starliters who had charted a #1 hit in January 1962 called the “Peppermint Twist.” While playing with Joey Dee, Gene met up with Felix Cavaliere and another musician, a drummer named Dino Danelli. The three became the nucleus of what would become The Young Rascals.
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#978: Angelsea by Cat Stevens
Peak Month: December 1972
6 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #6 ~ LP cut
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Angelsea”
Lyrics: “Angelsea”
Steven Demetre Georgiou was born in 1948 in the West End of London, UK. His father was a Greek Cypriot and his mother was Swedish and they ran a restaurant. Young Steven learned the piano as a child and added mastery of guitar by the age of fifteen. After public school, in 1965 he studied for a year at Hammersmith School of Art, hoping to become a cartoonist. Concurrently, he began to perform in public billed as Steve Adams. That year he got a publishing contract and wrote “The First Cut Is The Deepest”. Georgiou hunched his name might not catch on with record buyers, so he decided on the stage name of Cat Stevens. A girlfriend had told him he had eyes like a cat, plus he thought the general public could relate to cats. In 1966, at the age of 18, Cat Stevens had a #2 single on the UK Singles chart titled “Matthew And Son”. This was followed by a song concerning workplace violence called “I’m Gonna Get Me A Gun” which also made the Top Ten in the UK. In 1967 a song he wrote, “Here Comes My Baby”, became an international hit for The Tremeloes.
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#984: One More Chance by Ocean
Peak Month: October 1972
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #7
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #76
YouTube.com: “One More Chance”
Dave Tamblyn and Greg Brown were high school friends in London, Ontario. Dave played guitar and Greg played keyboards. They played gigs on the weekends with a variety of bands. In time they added singer Janice Morgan and became Leather and Lace. From London, they relocated to Toronto and performed in the hipster scene in trendy Yorkville. They added to their number bass player Jeff Jones and drummer Chuck Slater. In 1970 Yorkville Records was able to get Capitol Records to be the distributor for Ocean. Their debut single, “Put Your Hand In The Hand” went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 in Vancouver. The song had been recorded as a track by Anne Murray on one of her albums a few years prior. Ocean quickly went from playing gigs at high schools and night clubs in Toronto to doing concerts across North America and Europe, as well as starring on the A list of pop music TV shows.
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#989: Softly Whispering I Love You by The English Congregation
Peak Month: March 1972
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #3
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #28
YouTube.com: “Softly Whispering I Love You”
Lyrics: “Softly Whispering I Love You”
Roger John Reginald Greenaway was born in 1938 and Roger Frederick Cook was born in 1940. Both were born in a suburb of Bristol, England. Roger Greenaway was one of the founding members of a close harmony group called The Kestrels, who formed in 1955. The group provided backing vocals for recording artists Billy Fury, Eden Kane, Lonnie Donegan and singer/comedian Benny Hill. Roger Cook joined The Kestrels in 1964. It was when Greenaway and Cook got to know each other as members of The Kestrels they glimpsed a creative fusion they wanted to pursue. In 1965 the pair co-wrote “You’ve Got Your Troubles“, which became a Top Ten intentional hit for The Fortunes. Between 1965 and 1967 the pair billed themselves as David and Jonathan, after two characters in the Hebrew scriptures who had name recognition in the wider culture. As David and Jonathan they recorded a cover version of The Beatles song, “Michelle”, followed by a song they wrote titled “Lovers of the World Unite”.
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#1015: We’re On Our Way by Chris Hodge
Peak Month: July 1972
6 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #3
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #44
YouTube.com: “We’re On Our Way”
Lyrics: “We’re On Our Way”
Ringo Starr was responsible for signing Chris Hodge with Apple Records. Hodge was 22-years-old when signed. Hodge had been living in Rome as a fashion photographer, but had come back to London and signed a music publishing deal with Robert Mellin Publishing. At the time he’d been given money to record some demos. Hodge called Apple’s A&R man Tony King and described his composition about UFO’s and later met with King and played him a demo. Tony played the demo tape for Ringo later and Ringo wanted to meet Chris Hodge. Ringo suggested some lyrical changes, but let Hodge record “We’re On Our Way” and “Supersoul” as he wished.
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#1025: Running Back To Saskatoon by The Guess Who
Peak Month: November 1972
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #8
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #96
YouTube.com: “Running Back To Saskatoon”
Lyrics: “Running Back To Saskatoon” (from Live at the Paramount liner notes)
Randolph Charles Bachman was born in 1943 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. When he was just three years old he entered the King of the Saddle singing contest on CKY radio, Manitoba’s first radio station that began in 1923. Bachman won the contest. When he turned five years he began to study the violin through the Royal Toronto Conservatory. Though he couldn’t read music, he was able to play anything once he heard it. He dropped out of high school and subsequently a business administration program in college. He co-founded a Winnipeg band called Al & The Silvertones with Chad Allan in 1960.
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#1040: Masquerade by Edward Bear
Peak Month: July 1972
8 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #10
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Masquerade”
Lyrics: “Masquerade”
In the mid-60’s Larry Evoy and Paul Weldon were jamming in basements and experimenting with blues rock tunes. In 1966 bass player Craig Hemmings and drummer Dave Brown formed a band with Evoy and Weldon. They got guitarist Danny Marks to join them after he answered an ad. (Marks left the band in 1970 and was replaced by Roger Ellis). After a year they settled on the name The Edward Bear Revue. They got the name from A.A. Milne’s children’s book, Winnie The Pooh, whose central character has the proper name of Edward Bear. In time the band shortened their name to Edward Bear. The band originally was a blues and rock band and opened in 1968 for a Toronto concert with Led Zeppelin as the headliner.
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#1363: Monday Morning Choo Choo by The Stampeders
Peak Month: March 1972
7 weeks on CKLG chart
Peak Position #15
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Record World ~ #107
YouTube.com: “Monday Morning Choo Choo”
Lyrics: “Monday Morning Choo Choo”
The Stampeders are a rock trio from Calgary named after that city’s football team, The Calgary Stampeders. Although, it could be argued that the yearly Calgary Stampede was also an inspiration for their name. During the band’s most successful chart run from 1968 to 1976, it was made up of guitarist Rich Dodson, bass player Ronnie King (born Cornelius Van Sprang) and drummer Kim Berly (born Kim Meyer). All three provided vocals. Originally, the band was a group of five formed in 1964 called The Rebounds. The Rebounds had five members: Rich Dodson, Len Roemer, Brendan Lyttle, Kim Berly, and Race Holiday. They renamed themselves The Stampeders in 1965 and Len Roemer was replaced with Ronnie King and Van Louis, making them a band of six for a few years. But after a temporary move to Toronto in 1966 the band was down to three members, Dodson, King and Berly by 1968. Between 1967 and 1976 The Stampeders charted 15 singles into the Canadian RPM Top 40.
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#1094: Sun Goes By by Doctor Music
Peak Month: August 1972
9 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #12
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Sun Goes By”
Lyrics: “Sun Goes By”
Instrumental in bringing jazz to the pop world, Dr Music was the brainchild of Toronto native and Doug Riley, who first took piano lessons as a child as a means of coping through polio. Born in Toronto in 1945, he took lessons in classical piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto beginning at the age of four. In 1969, Doug Riley became the music director for the television show “The Ray Stevens Show”. He was asked to put together a group of musicians to play for the 1969-1970 season of the show when Ray Stevens was continuing his string of hits including “Mr. Businessman”, “Guitarzan” and “Everything Is Beautiful”. Riley’s 16-piece vocal and instrumental band became known as Dr. Music.
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#1142: Take It Slow (Out In the Country) by Lighthouse
Peak Month: February 1972
10 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #11
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #64
YouTube.com: “Take It Slow (Out In The Country)”
Lyrics: “Take It Slow (Out In The Country)”
The Paupers were a garage band from Toronto active from 1965 to 1968. Their drummer was Skip Prokop. They performed as opening acts for American recording artists like Wilson Pickett and the Lovin’ Spoonful who were visiting Toronto. Then the Paupers played as an opening act for the Jefferson Airplane at Cafe Au Go Go in New York City from February 21 to March 5, 1967. This was three weeks after Jefferson Airplane released their album Surrealistic Pillow, and a month prior to their single release of “Somebody to Love”. The Paupers were the second act performing on the opening night of the Monterey International Pop Festival in Monterey, California, on June 16, 1967, following the opening set by The Association. The Paupers also had a few singles that year. “If I Call You By Name” peaked at #6 in Toronto, #7 in Hamilton and #8 in Kitchener. “Magic People” made the Top 30 in San Francisco and Sacramento, California. In 1968 Skip Prokop left the band and by the following year co-founded Lighthouse.
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#1149: I Turn To You by Spring
Peak Month: February 1972
9 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #13
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
After receiving his Bachelor of Music degree in Composition from the University of British Columbia, Terry Frewer did post graduate studies in ethnomusicology, specializing in the music of the First Nations, Japan and India. He also did advanced training in jazz orchestration at the Banff School of Fine Arts. He quickly launched into a highly successful career beginning with playing (along with drummer Ross Turney) as a late addition to the Classics, the CBC Let’s Go house band.* The Classics line-up was fronted by Howie Vickers on vocals, with reed player Claire Lawrence and bass player Glenn Miller. The Classics went on to become The Collectors who then morphed into Chilliwack. Meanwhile, in 1968 Terry Frewer helped found the Vancouver band Spring. This quartet scored a huge local hit in 1971 with “A Country Boy Named Willie”. The song peaked at #2 on CKVN for two weeks. Other primary members of Spring included Bob Buckley (vocals, keyboard, sax, woodwinds), Pete McKinnon (bass), and Kat Hendrikse (drums).
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#1194: What Would I Do Without You by Skylark
Peak Month: September 1972
9 weeks on CKVN chart
Peak Position #11
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “What Would I Do Without You”
Lyrics: “What Would I Do Without You”
If it hadn’t been for the wooden stage presence of David Foster in Ronnie Hawkin’s band, Skylark might have never come into being. After a concert, Hawkins pulled Foster aside and said ‘Son, you play like Beethoven, but looked like a cadaver on stage, so I’m gonna have to fire your ass.’ Foster, and his wife, BJ Cook, who was a vocalist in Hawkins’ band, moved back to the West Coast. While searching for the next thing, they reconnected with former Hawkin’s bandmate, bassist Steven Pugsley. Cook next got in touch with former bandmates from her previous group, Soul Brothers. Of these, vocalist Donny Gerrard became a core member. Duris Maxwell (ex Little Daddy and the Bachelors, The Chessmen, Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers) was added on drums. Later, Carl Graves was chosen as a third singer and percussionist.
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#1274: Some Sing Some Dance by Pagliaro
Peak Month: November 1972
6 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #8
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Some Sing Some Dance”
Lyrics: “Some Sing Some Dance”
Montreal’s Michel Pagliaro was born in 1948. He picked up guitar when he was eleven years old. At the age of 15 he was in a band les Stringmen. They morphed into les Bluebirds and finally les Merseys. Pagliaro got a break at the age of 18 when he was asked to join the Quebec band les Chanceliers. He was lead vocalist for the group which had a succession of singles and a self-titled album in the mid-60s. Their catalogue included “La generation d’aujourd’hui” (Today’s Generation), “Toi jeune fille”, a French version of “White Christmas”, and “Le p’tit popy” (The Little Poppy). In 1968, at the age of twenty, Pagliaro released some singles as a solo artist. His “Comme d’habitude” became a #1 hit in Quebec. Some of the lyrics in French “Tu the deshabillera come d’habitude” meant in English “you’ll take your clothes off as usual.” Nonetheless, the tune was adapted by Canadian pop singer Paul Anka and became the classic “My Way” popularized by Frank Sinatra. It was followed with another number one hit for Pagliaro in French Canada in 1968 called “Avec la Tete, Avec la Coeur”.Continue reading →
#1289: War Song by Neil Young
Peak Month: July 1972
6 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #10
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #61
YouTube.com “War Song”
“War Song” lyrics
In 1945 Neil Young was born in Toronto, Ontario, and then lived most of his years growing up in the town of Omemee in the Kawartha Lakes region near Peterborough. As a boy Neil Young was diagnosed with epilepsy, Type 1 diabetes and polio. By the age of six he was not able to walk. Despite his health challenges, he developed an interest in music and was taught to play the banjo and ukulele. After playing clubs in Toronto in the early 60s Young moved to Los Angeles by the time he turned twenty and became a member of the Buffalo Springfield.
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#1301: Get Up, Get Out, Move On by Fludd
Peak Month: May 1972
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #12
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Get Up, Get Out, Move On”
Lyrics: “Get Up, Get Out, Move On”
Fludd had its roots in a band called The Pretty Ones, formed by Ed Pilling and Greg Godovitz. The band was briefly part of Toronto’s Yorkville scene in the 1960s, but broke up before achieving much commercial success. Pilling and his brother Brian then moved to Birmingham, England, where they formed a band called Wages of Sin and spent some time touring as a backing band for Cat Stevens in 1970. However, disagreement over musical direction with Stevens led the brothers to return to Toronto by the end of the year. Inspired by the then-emerging psychedelic blues rock sound of British acts such as Small Faces, they then reunited with Godovitz, and recruited drummer John Andersen and guitarist Mick Walsh to create Fludd.
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#1311: Sing A Song by David Clayton-Thomas
Peak Month: April 1972
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #12
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Sing A Song”
In 1941 David Thomsett was born in Surrey, England. He immigrated with his family to Willowdale, a suburb of Toronto, when he was six years old. Living with an authoritarian father who physically beat him as a routine way of punishing his son, David left home and began to live on the streets at the age of 14. This led to a few years of petty crime, being in and out of juvenile detention centers, the Millbrook Reformatory and subsequently the Burwash Industrial Farm, an agricultural setting established in the 1910s to rehabilitate prison inmates, and next house Japanese-Canadians during World War II. While in jail a battered, old mail-order guitar was left to him by an outgoing inmate. It was then Clayton-Thomas discovered a talent for music that allowed him to believe in a different kind of life.
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#1319: Sweet Black Angel by The Rolling Stones
Peak Month: May 1972
5 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #3
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Sweet Black Angel”
Lyrics: “Sweet Black Angel”
Michael Philip Jagger was born in Dartford, Kent, England, in 1943, some 18 miles east of London. Though his father and grandfather were both teachers by profession, and he was encouraged to be a teacher, the boy had different aspirations. “I always sang as a child. I was one of those kids who just liked to sing. Some kids sing in choirs; others like to show off in front of the mirror. I was in the church choir and I also loved listening to singers on the radio–the BBC or Radio Luxembourg –or watching them on TV and in the movies.” In 1950 Mick Jagger met Keith Richards while attending primary school. They became good friends until the summer of 1954 when the Jagger family moved to the village of Wilmington, a mile south of Dartford. The pair bumped into each other at a train station in 1961 and resumed their friendship.
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#1371: Tupelo Honey by Van Morrison
Peak Month: February 1972
6 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #10
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 #47
YouTube.com: “Tupelo Honey”
Lyrics: “Tupelo Honey”
Sir George Ivan “Van” Morrison, was born in Belfast on August 31, 1945. He is a singer, songwriter and musician. He has received six Grammy Awards, the 1994 Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, and has been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 1996 he was given the Order of the British Empire for his service to music enriching the lives of people in the UK (and beyond). Since 1996 his formal title has been Sir “Van” Morrison, OBE. In 2016 he was knighted for his musical achievements and his services to tourism and charitable causes in Northern Ireland.
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