#1: Rockabilly Party by Hugo and Luigi
City: Saint-Jerome, PQ
Radio Station: CKJL
Peak Month: July 1957
Peak Position in Saint-Jerome ~ #2
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Rockabilly Party”
Lyrics: N/A
Hugo Peretti was born in New York City in 1916 in an Italian-American family. Peretti began his music career as a teenager, playing the trumpet in the Borscht Belt in update New York. He graduated to playing with orchestras, then partnered with his cousin Luigi Creatore. Luigi Creatore was born in New York City in 1921, also to an Italian-American family. His father, Giuseppe Creatore, was an orchestra bandleader. Luigi was drafted into the United States military in WWII. Once the pair teamed up, they cowrote “Wimoweh” (along with four other cowriters) which was a #4 hit for The Weavers in 1952. They also cowrote Sarah Vaughan’s #14 hit in 1955 “Experience Unnecessary”. They also produced a number of hits for Jimmie Rodgers including “Honeycomb”, “Oh-Oh, I’m Falling In Love Again”, “Secretly”, “Bombombey”, “Are You Really Mine” and other hits for .
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#1: Words by the Monkees
City: Prince George, BC
Radio Station: CKPG
Peak Month: August 1967
Peak Position in Prince George ~ #2
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ #3
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #11
YouTube: “Words”
Lyrics: “Words”
Robert Michael Nesmith was born on December 30, 1942 in Houston, TX. His mother, Bette invented liquid paper and would later leave the $20 million estate to him. Affectionately nicknamed “Nez,” he learned to play saxophone as a young child and joined the United States Air Force years later. After two years in the Air Force, he left to pursue a career in folk music. In 1962 Nesmith won a talent contest at San Antonio College. He left Texas and moved to Los Angeles, with the intent of getting into the movie business. He became the “hoot master” at a regular hootenanny at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. In 1963 Nesmith released a 45 of a song he wrote called “Wanderin’”. In 1964 Nesmith wrote “Different Drum”, which was a #13 hit for Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 in Vancouver in 1967.
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#102: Rubber Duckie by Ernie
City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CHAM
Peak Month: September 1970
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #2
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #16
YouTube: “Rubber Duckie”
Lyrics: “Rubber Duckie”
Jim Henson was born in 1936 in Greenville, Mississippi, by the Mississippi River. His family moved to a Maryland suburb of Washington DC in the late ’40s. Henson recalled the arrival of the family’s first television as “the biggest event of his adolescence.” He was heavily influenced by radio ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and the early television puppets of Burr Tillstrom on Kukla, Fran and Ollie, (an ad-libbed television show with puppets that ran from 1947 to 1957) and Bil and Cora Baird (best known for the puppetry sequence in “The Lonely Goatherd” in The Sound of Music).
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#1: Substitute by The Who
City: Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, PQ
Radio Station: CHRS
Peak Month: August 1970
Peak Position in Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu ~ #1
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Dutch Singles chart ~ #2 (1966)
Peak Position on UK Singles chart ~ #5 (1966)
Peak Position on West German Singles chart ~ #13 (1966)
YouTube: “Substitute”
Lyrics: “Substitute”
The Who are an English band who emerged in 1964 with singer Roger Daltry, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. The band enjoyed popular singles, such as “I Can See For Miles”, “Pinball Wizard” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. In Vancouver the band had eleven Top Ten hits, while in the UK they charted fourteen singles into the Top Ten. But in America, between 1965 and 1982, the Who only charted one single – “I Can See For Miles” – into the Top Ten of the Billboard Hot 100. The band were innovators of new genres in rock n’ roll with their rock operas Tommy and Quadrophenia. The Who early on were known for outlandish antics on stage. At the Railway Hotel in Wealdstone, England, in June, 1964, Peter Townshend destroyed his guitar on stage and smashed it into other instruments. The Who stand alongside The Beatles and The Rolling Stones as among the most influential rock bands from Britain. They had their first Top Ten single in the UK and in Vancouver in 1965 titled “I Can’t Explain”, which peaked at #8 in the UK and #2 in Vancouver.
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#2: Nineteen Days by the Dave Clark Five
City: Saguenay, PQ
Radio Station: CKRS
Peak Month: November 1966
Peak Position in Saguenay ~ #3
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ #22
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #48
YouTube: “Nineteen Days”
Lyrics: “Nineteen Days”
The Dave Clark Five were formed in 1958 in Tottenham, London, England. Dave Clark played drums and contributed background vocals, alongside a frequently changing line-up. Clark and guitarist Rick Huxley both participated in the 1958 line-up. Clark and his bandmates eventually split with the lead vocalist, Stan Saxon, and reconstituted themselves as a standalone concern in January 1962, making their home in the South Grove Youth Club in Tottenham. After a little more evolution, a lasting ensemble was settled, with Clark on drums, Huxley moving to bass, Lenny Davidson on lead guitar, Denis Payton on saxophone (and harmonica and rhythm guitar), and Mike Smith on keyboards and lead vocals. Davidson’s previous bands were the Off Beats and the Impalas.
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#32: She’s On A Mountain by Five Guys Named Moe
City: Burnaby, BC
Radio Station: CFML
Peak Month: October 1990
Peak Position in Burnaby ~ #14
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ #27
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ no chart
YouTube: “She’s On A Mountain”
Lyrics: N/A
Five Guys Named Moe is a band formed in Waba, Ontario, which is a small town 45 minutes northwest of Ottawa. Their music is characterised by its diversity, drawing on pop, jazz and country influences. They showcased brilliant harmonies as a feature of their performances. The group consisted of Jonathan Evans on guitar and vocals, Meg Lunney on piano and vocals, Tom McKay on bass guitar and vocals, and the one native Scotlander, Graeme Murray on drums and vocals. If you’re counting, Five Guys Named Moe had four bandmates. Jonathan, Tom and Meg were students at the University of Ottawa.
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#1: Secret Love by Billy Stewart
City: Saguenay, PQ
Radio Station: CKRS
Peak Month: November 1966
Peak Position in Saguenay ~ #3
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ #8
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #48
YouTube: “Secret Love”
Lyrics: “Secret Love”
William Larry Stewart II was born in Washington D.C. in 1937. In 1949, at the age of 12 Stewart he and his three younger brothers began singing under the billing The Four Stewart Brothers. Singing gospel music, they were given a weekly spot on Sundays from 1949 to 1954 on WUST-AM in Washington D.C. In his teens he also won a talent singing contest performing George Gershwin’s “Summertime”. In 1955 Bo Diddley encountered Billy Stewart playing piano. Diddley was impressed and invited Stewart to become one of his backing musicians. During his time with Bo Diddley, Billy Stewart was able to expand his musical repertoire to include playing organ, bass and drums. In 1956 Bo Diddley played guitar on Stewart’s first single titled “Billy’s Blues” recorded on the Chess label. In 1957, Stewart released “Billy’s Heartache” which featured backing vocals from 18-year-old Marvin Gaye. In 1962, Stewart recorded a tune based on his nickname called “Fat Boy”. The song climbed to #18 on the Billboard R&B charts.
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#21: Do You Love Me by the Dave Clark Five
City: Ottawa, ON
Radio Station: CFRA
Peak Month: June 1964
Peak Position in Ottawa ~ #1
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ #2
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #11
YouTube: “Do You Love Me”
Lyrics: “Do You Love Me”
The Dave Clark Five were formed in 1958 in Tottenham, London, England. Dave Clark played drums and contributed background vocals, alongside a frequently changing line-up. Clark and guitarist Rick Huxley both participated in the 1958 line-up. Clark and his bandmates eventually split with the lead vocalist, Stan Saxon, and reconstituted themselves as a standalone concern in January 1962, making their home in the South Grove Youth Club in Tottenham. After a little more evolution, a lasting ensemble was settled, with Clark on drums, Huxley moving to bass, Lenny Davidson on lead guitar, Denis Payton on saxophone (and harmonica and rhythm guitar), and Mike Smith on keyboards and lead vocals. Davidson’s previous bands were the Off Beats and the Impalas.
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#1: Tin Soldier by Streetheart
City: Regina, SK
Radio Station: CJME
Peak Month: January 1981
Peak Position in Regina ~ #1
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Tin Soldier”
Lyrics: “Tin Soldier”
Kenny Shields was from Nokomis, Saskatchewan in 1947. When he was six years old he won an amateur talent contest. Once he graduated from high school he pursued music and in 1967 formed a band in Saskatoon named Witness Inc. The band had several Top Ten hits in local radio markets in the Canadian Prairies and in Ontario. These include “I’ll Forget Her Tomorrow”, “Jezebel” and “Harlem Lady”. In 1969 Shields had a near fatal car accident and had to undergo therapy and rehab for a number of years. This meant he had to quit the band. In 1975 Shields was back with Witness Inc. and by that time he was the only original member in the band. But the pseudo-psychedlic sound that Witness Inc. was known for was no longer in vogue. The band changed its name to Streetheart and with it got a newer rock ‘n roll sound. Bass player Ken “Spider” Sinnaeve and keyboard player, Daryl Gutheil, made the transition from Witness Inc. As Streetheart, they were joined by Paul Dean and Matt Frenette who both moved on to form Loverboy.
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#2: All Strung Out by Nino Tempo and April Stevens
City: Peace River, AB
Radio Station: CKYL
Peak Month: October 1966
Peak Position in Peace River ~ #5
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ #17
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #26
YouTube: “All Strung Out”
Lyrics: “All Strung Out”
Caroline Vincinette LoTempio was born in 1929 in Niagara Falls (NY). She started recording at age fifteen. From the official website of April Stevens & Nino Tempo comes this story: “One day, while standing outside Hollywood’s famous Wallach Music City on Sunset and Vine, she was approached by Tony Sepe, the owner of Laurel Records, who asked her if she could sing. The young teenager thought he was probably flirting, but answered his question in the affirmative. Before long, she changed her name to April Stevens and recorded a few songs for Sepe’s small independent label. An aunt of Carol LoTiempo’s had suggested April as a name, and as she was born in April LoTiempo liked the name. Still in high school, April then moved on to record for Society Records. On her first Society label release, “Don’t Do It”, her sweetly innocent approach to addressing very real concerns for a teenage girl was given a twist at the end. She gives in to the boy’s advances, as long as there’s a commitment. “Don’t Do It” was banned from airplay… “”Stop holding my hand,” April pleaded. But in the second verse, she suggestively purred “I need it, how I need it…ooooh I want it.” Consequently, “Don’t Do It” sold by word of mouth only, from under the counter.”
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