#1: And She’s Mine by the Guess Who?
City: Medicine Hat, AB
Radio Station: CHAT
Peak Month: October 1966
Peak Position in Medicine Hat ~ #2
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #14
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “And She’s Mine”
Lyrics: “And She’s Mine”
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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#23: After The Heartache by Doug Lycett
City: Kingston, ON
Radio Station: CKWS
Peak Month: June 1963
Peak Position in Kingston ~ #6
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “After The Heartache”
Lyrics: N/A
Doug Lycett was born in Orono, Ontario. He headed a country-rockabilly band named Doug Lycett and the Kingston Monarchs. At this time of writing, little can be found online about the singer-songwriter.
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#4: Harvest Moon by Neil Young
City: London, ON
Radio Station: CFPL
Peak Month: February 1993
Peak Position in London ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
Peak Position on UK Singles Chart ~ #36
Peak Position Canadian RPM chart ~ #5
YouTube: “Harvest Moon”
Lyrics: “Harvest Moon”
Neil Young was born in Toronto in 1945. His family moved to Omemee, Ontario, and he contracted polio in 1951, two years before the polio vaccine was introduced. He learned guitar and dropped out of high school. He played in the Winnipeg based band called The Squires, who toured parts of Manitoba and northern Ontario. They played instrumental covers of Cliff Richard’s backup band, The Shadows. Young moved to California in 1966 where he was a founding member of the Buffalo Springfield. In 1968 he released his self-titled debut studio album. And in 1969 he became the fourth member of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
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#1: Falling Tears by the Eternals
City: Dryden, ON
Radio Station: CJCA
Peak Month: April 1968
Peak Position in Dryden: #6
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Falling Tears”
The Eternals were formed in 1961 by brothers Ron & Ted Paley from Rosa, Manitoba, and brothers John & Harry Hildebrand from Steinbach, Manitoba. Ted Paley played drums and fiddle. Ron Paley played piano, organ, drums and saxophone. John Hildebrand played on bass guitar and lead guitar. While Harry Hildebrand played bass guitar, rhythm guitar and lead guitar. The group was sometimes billed as Ronny and The Eternals.
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#10: Tom Sawyer by Rush
City: London, ON
Radio Station: CJBK
Peak Month: June 1981
Peak Position in London ~ #3
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #44
YouTube: “Tom Sawyer”
Lyrics: “Tom Sawyer”
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in Toronto in 1968. The classic lineup was comprised of Geddy Lee (vocals, bass guitar, keyboards), Alex Lifeson (guitar) and Neil Peart (drums, percussion). After Lee joined, the band went through a few line-up changes before arriving at its classic power trio line-up with the addition of drummer Neil Peart in July 1974.
Aleksandar Živojinović was born in Fernie, British Columbia, in 1953. His parents were Serbian immigrants from Yugoslavia. His stage surname, Lifeson, is a rough translation of the Serbian to English (which can literally be translated ‘son of life”). Lifeson was in a band in 1968 named The Projection. Geddy Lee joined the band. Geddy Lee Weinrib was born in North York, Ontario, in 1953. His parents were Jewish Holocaust survivors from Poland.
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#49: A Nice Young Girl From Houston by Stu Mitchell
City: Edmonton, AB
Radio Station: CHED
Peak Month: December 1970
Peak Position in Edmonton ~ #8
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “A Nice Girl From Houston”
Neville Stuart Mitchell was born in Saskatchewan in 1942. In his teens he played for a Saskatchewan band called the T-Birds. He learned how to play the drums and moved to Edmonton. It was there Mitchell joined Wes Dakus’ Rebels in 1960. With Wes Dakus, Mitchell was in the recording studio for “Cavalier Twist” in 1962, “Dog Food” in 1963,”Sour Biscuits” in 1964, and “Manipulator” in 1967, among others. In 1965, Stu Mitchell and Doug Roberts released “Wildcat”, which was a non-charting Capitol Records single. In 1966, Mitchell released a solo cover of the mid-50s R&B tune “Bo Diddley”. In 1966, Stu Mitchell and Doug Roberts recorded a duet titled “Say I Am” which charted in Edmonton. In 1967, Mitchell was in the recording studio while Wes Dakus and his band backed Barry Allen for his local Top Ten hit “Armful of Teddy Bears”.
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#13: Adam And Eve by Paul Anka
City: London, ON
Radio Station: CKSL
Peak Month: March 1960
Peak Position in London ~ #5
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #46
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #90
YouTube: “Adam And Eve”
Lyrics: “Adam And Eve”
Paul Anka was born in Ottawa, Canada, in 1941. His father was Syrian-American and his mother was Canadian-Lebanese. While growing up in Ottawa he was part of a vocal trio at Fisher Park High School called the Bobby Soxers. In the fall of 1956, Anka signed with the RPM label and released his first single, “Blau-Wile-Deveest-Fontaine”. It made the Top Ten in Smith Falls (ON). He had a #1 hit in 1957 titled “Diana”, and performed in concert at the Georgia Auditorium in Vancouver on October 23, 1957. Others on stage were Buddy Holly and The Crickets, Buddy Knox, Eddie Cochran, and Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers.
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#17: Spaceship Superstar by Prism
City: London, ON
Radio Station: CJBK
Peak Month: December 1977
Peak Position in London ~ #6
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Spaceship Superstar”
Lyrics: “Spaceship Superstar”
In 1967 a new rock group appeared on the Vancouver scene called the Seeds of Time. They had several local hits including “My Home Town” and “Crying The Blues”. There were a number of lineup changes, but the bands personnel included drummer Rocket Norton, guitarist Lindsay Mitchell, and bassist Al Harlow. These three reunited after the Seeds of Time disbanded in 1974. After a brief stint as an R&B band called Sunshyne, they became Prism under Lindsay Mitchell’s initiative. In the band were new singer Ron Tabak, bassist Tom Lavin, keyboard player John Hall and drummer Rodney Higgs. Higgs was actually a pseudonym for Jim Vallance, the future songwriting partner of Bryan Adams.
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#47: Walkin’ Mary Home by the Nomads
City: Edmonton, AB
Radio Station: CHED
Peak Month: March 1967
Peak Position in Edmonton: #9
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Walkin’ Mary Home”
The Nomads formed in 1958 and had nine members. Notable lead vocalist, Lennie Richards, was born in Edmonton in 1940. He joined the band in 1961. In 1962 Lennie Richards and the Nomads released “Teem Twist” in 1962. On the back of the 45 RPM record jacket it read “When he was 16 he began singing and playing the guitar. An Edmonton disc jockey heard him sing and arranged an audition which launched him on his singing career. Lennie performed with various local “Rock n’ Roll” groups throughout his high school days and after graduation up until 1961. In the spring of 1961, he joined the Nomads as their feature vocalist and rhythm guitar player. Today, Lennie Richards is one of the most popular young singers in Western Canada.” The band also released a cover of the Bell-Notes 1959 hit “I’ve Had It”.
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#22: You’re So Square by Uranus
City: London, ON
Radio Station: CJBK
Peak Month: April 1980
Peak Position in London ~ #8
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “You’re So Square”
Lyrics: “You’re So Square”
Uranus was a rock ‘n roll band from London, Ontario. They formed in 1977. The band consisted of drummer Dexter Clayton Beaugregard. On keyboards and guitar was Frank Risdale. On bass guitar and rhythm guitar was Jerry Fletcher. While Jack Whiteside was also on guitar. The four bandmates took turns with vocals, and all were born in the London area. In 1978, the band released a 45 EP with four tracks: “’53 Buick / Handcuffs / Tommy Get Your Gun / I’m Wonderful”. It got some local airplay.
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