#22: She Ain’t Pretty by the Northern Pikes
City: Calgary, ON
Radio Station: CFCN
Peak Month: August 1990
Peak Position in Calgary ~ #2
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #30
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #86
YouTube: “She Ain’t Pretty”
Lyrics: “She Ain’t Pretty”
In 1984, the Northern Pikes formed in their hometown Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The band was made up of members from three existing bands in the city: Doris Daye, The Idols and 17 Envelope. John Peter “Jay” Semko was from Saskatoon and was already a gifted singer, songwriter, bass guitar player and pianist. Bryan Anthony Potvin was born in 1963 in Ottawa and his family moved to Victoria where he began playing guitar. Merl Bryck, born in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, was a backing vocalist and rhythm guitarist. There were a number of lineup changes. In 1986 The Idols drummer, Don Schmid, made The Northern Pikes a permanent quartet, playing drums and percussion. Schmid was born in Saskatoon. Initially, the band released several EPs. The first was the self-titled The Northern Pikes in 1984. The second EP was Scene In North America, released in 1985. They recorded both EPs at a studio near Pike Lake, SK.
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#26: If You’re Lookin’ by Tranquility Base
City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CKOC
Peak Month: April 1970
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #3
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “If You’re Lookin’”
Lyrics: “If You’re Lookin’”
Originally formed in 1968 as Nora’s Truck Stop, the band was re-named to Tranquillity Base by RCA’s VP George Harrison when they signed with the company in late 1969. Prior to the formation of Nora’s Truck Stop, Ian Thomas, Nora Hutchinson and guitarist Oliver MacLeod, were a folk trio named Ian, Oliver and Nora. In 1950, Ian Thomas was born in Hamilton, Ontario. Once he began to play piano at the age of six Thomas fell in love with the world of music. He later learned the guitar. He co-founded Nora’s Truck Stop in 1968. Nancy Ward was born in Alberta. She had many musical talents and became a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She shared the stage with Gordon Lightfoot, Liona Boyd and Sylvia Tyson. Nora Hutchinson was the ‘Nora’ who inspired the original name for the group, Nora’s Truck Stop. Discogs.com states that Richard Yuen was a member of the band. Though he is not mentioned in the Canuckistanmusic.com website, that states Ian Thomas, Nancy Ward and Nora Hutchinson were joined by Oliver MacLeod and Bob Doidge. In promotional photos of Tranquility Base there are two women and three men.
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#27: Better Watch Out by McKenna Mendelson Mainline
City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CKOC
Peak Month: August 1969
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #4
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Better Watch Out”
Lyrics: N/A
Toronto-born, Mike McKenna (1946) and Joe Mendelson (1944), grew up fans of the blues, and both emulated their idols early in life while learning to play guitar. McKenna was with Luke & The Apostles from 1963 to 1967. That band played with Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead at Nathan Philips Square on July 23, 1967. Briefly, McKenna was a member of The Ugly Ducklings. McKenna placed a newspaper ad seeking musicians to form a new band. Joe Mendelson, then a student at the University of Toronto, responded. After McKenna and Mendelson teamed up, they hired former Paupers bassist Dennis Gerrard and former drummer with The Spastics, Tony Nolasco (born 1950 in Sudbury, Ontario).
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#37: Hands Up by Sway
City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CKOC
Peak Month: February 1988
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #2
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #24
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Hands Up”
Lyrics: “Hands Up”
Sharon Lee Williams, Vivienne Williams & Colina Philips formed Sway around 1987. Sharon Lee Williams website states, “She grew up in Montreal as a foster child. During her turbulent adolescent years she looked to acting as her means of escape.” She studied piano with Daisy Sweeney, Oscar Perterson’s sister. Sharon Lee Williams released her first single in 1971 titled “Loving & Laughing”. From 1975 to 1980, she fronted the Montreal funk/soul band Basic Black and Pearl. In 1976, Williams was a member of the Hollywood Vampires, named by Alice Cooper for the musicians working on his album Alice Cooper Goes To Hell. And in 1985, Williams teamed up with Shawne Jackson to record “Images (Theme from “Yuppies” The Musical)”. She was also one of the members of the Northern Lights ensemble who came together in 1985 to record the chart-topping famine relief single “Tears Are Not Enough”.
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#54: Go Back To Your Woods by Robbie Robertson
City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CKOC
Peak Month: February 1992
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #6
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Mainstream Rock chart ~ #32
YouTube: “Go Back To Your Woods”
Lyrics: “Go Back To Your Woods”
In 1943, Jaime Royal “Robbie” Robertson was born in Toronto. His biological father was a Jewish and a professional gambler named Alexander David Klegerman. He had impregnated Robertson’s mother, Rosemarie Dolly Chrysler, a Cayuga and Mohawk woman from the Six Nations Reserve, near Hamilton, Ontario. Dolly soon after met James Patrick Robertson at a jewelry plating factory in Toronto where they both worked. Dolly and James married in late 1942. And Alexander David Klegerman was killed in a hit-and-run accident just prior to their marriage. It wasn’t until “Robbie” Robertson was 14 that he was told who his real biological father was.
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#59: Second Thoughts by Cheyenne Winter
City: Calgary, AB
Radio Station: CKXL
Peak Month: October 1970
Peak Position in Calgary ~ #8
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak position on RPM Canadian Singles chart ~ #49
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Second Thoughts”
Lyrics: N/A
Cheyenne Winter were a band from Edmonton (AB) formed in 1970. They backed up Barry Allen who was the lead singer. Ken Dangerfield, the group’s bass guitarist, told Canuckistanmusic.com “Cheyenne Winter weren’t really a ‘band’ in the sense that ‘we formed a group and we’re all in this together, one for all, all for one, etc. The musicians in the group were selected by Barry and Wes to form a backup group for Barry, more or less as sidemen.” In addition, Cheyenne Winter went to the recording studio. In addition to Ken Dangerfield and Barry Allen were guitarist Jordan York, keyboardist Brad Carlson, drummer Dave Mitchell and a horn section of Earl Seymour on saxophone, Lorne Peet on trumpet, and Ed Gilchrist on trombone.
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#63: Kiss Me You Fool by Northern Pikes
City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CKOC
Peak Month: February 1991
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #8
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #29
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Kiss Me You Fool”
Lyrics: “Kiss Me You Fool”
In 1984, the Northern Pikes formed in their hometown Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The band was made up of members from three existing bands in the city: Doris Daye, The Idols and 17 Envelope. John Peter “Jay” Semko was from Saskatoon and was already a gifted singer, songwriter, bass guitar player and pianist. Bryan Anthony Potvin was born in 1963 in Ottawa and his family moved to Victoria where he began playing guitar. Merl Bryck, born in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, was a backing vocalist and rhythm guitarist. There were a number of lineup changes. In 1986 The Idols drummer, Don Schmid, made The Northern Pikes a permanent quartet, playing drums and percussion. Schmid was born in Saskatoon. Initially, the band released several EPs. The first was the self-titled The Northern Pikes in 1984. The second EP was Scene In North America, released in 1985. They recorded both EPs at a studio near Pike Lake, SK.
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#66: There Ought To Be A Law by Mickey & Sylvia
City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CHML
Peak Month: March 1957
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #6
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #13
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #47
YouTube: “There Ought To Be A Law”
Lyrics: “There Ought To Be A Law”
Mickey and Sylvia were a calypso-pop duo who were popular in the mid to late 50s. MacHouston “Mickey” Baker was born in 1925 in Louisville, Kentucky. His mother was black and his father is believed to be white. Baker was put in an orphanage at age 11 in 1936. After a series of escapes from the orphanage, at age 16 he headed to New York City. It was there he found work as a laborer and then a dishwasher. But after hanging out in the pool halls of 26th Street, he gave up regular work to become a full-time pool shark. At the age of 19, he saved $14 and bought a guitar. In 1949, he formed his own band. In the early 50s, Mickey Baker started working as a session musician.
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#70: April Fool by Chalk Circle
City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CKOC
Peak Month: July 1986
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #11
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “April Fool”
Lyrics: “April Fool”
Chalk Circle is a band from Newcastle, Ontario. Its origins grew from a band formed in 1982 called The Casualties. The continuous members were lead singer and guitarist Chris Tait, and bass guitarist Brad Hopkins. The band changed their name to The Reactors, and then to New Addition. In 1984 they became Chalk Circle. The name was taken from Bertolt Brecht’s play The Caucasian Chalk Circle. The play is set in the Soviet Union around the end of WWII. It shows a dispute between two communes, the Collective Fruit Farm Galinsk fruit growing commune and the Collective Goat Farmers. They are arguing over who is to own and manage an area of farm land after the Nazis have retreated from a village and left it abandoned. A parable has been organised by one group, an old folk tale, to be played out to cast light on the dispute. In one part of the play, two women argue over whether a boy named Michael is their own son. A chalk circle is drawn and Michael is placed in the center. The two women are invited to pull Michael out of the chalk circle. If they both pull, they will tear the child in half and get half each? Choosing such a reference for the band’s name, Chalk Circle recorded some interesting songs commenting on contemporary culture.
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#79: Saving Myself by Eria Fachin
City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CKOC
Peak Month: July 1988
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #7
Peak position in Vancouver ~ Hit Bound
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #50
YouTube: “Saving Myself”
Lyrics: “Saving Myself”
Eria Fachin was born in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1960. Around the age of 15, she began doing performance art, musical theatre, jingles for commercials, and appearing in nightclubs and TV variety shows. She released a few singles in her teens, but these got little notice. In 1988, Eria Fachin released her debut album, My Name Is Eria Fachin, on Critique Records. She toured across Canada to support the album as an opening act for Candi and the Backbeat. The debut single from her album was titled “Saving Myself”.
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