#98: X-Ray Eyes by Jim Foster
City: Regina, SK
Radio Station: CJME
Peak Month: April 1986
Peak Position in Regina ~ #13
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ #27
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “X-Ray Eyes”
Lyrics: “X-Ray Eyes”
James Edwin Foster was born in Victoria, Canada, in 1950. His family moved to Edmonton and then Calgary. There he met Vern Willis around 1970 and they played in a few bands and learned the ropes of performing in concert. Willis moved on to New York City while Jim Foster formed a quartet named Fosterchild where they were a regular band at Calgary’s the Scotch and Sirloin. The band went to Edmonton and recorded a demo of a song Jim Foster wrote called “Let Me Down Easy.” On the strength of that demo the band got a record deal with CBS Records. However, CBS was unimpressed with the other three musicians in Fosterchild and got session musicians to work on the single release. Consequently, Jim Foster had a new record out to the general public but no intact Fosterchild band. It was 1976 and Vern Wills had come back to Calgary since his US visa had expired. Jim Foster recalls, “So I called Vern who was living in Edmonton. He said he’d just heard me on the radio. I said ” You wanna join forces?” and that was it. He’d always been one of my faves. Then we had to find more players and get an album together.”
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#230: Golden Girl by The Rabble
City: Montreal, PQ
Radio Station: CJMS
Peak Month: July 1967
Peak Position in Montreal ~ #5
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Golden Girl”
Lyrics: “Golden Girl”
Formed in 1965, The Rabble were a psychedelic/garage act that hailed, originally from Pointe-Claire, Quebec on Montreal’s west island. They consisted of Tim Charbonneau on bass guitar, Mike Harris on guitar, Rick Metcalfe on guitar, and John Pimm on vocals. McMahon had previously been with The Mighty Avengers who released a cover of the Rolling Stone’s “Blue Turns To Grey” in 1965, and also a cover of the Tymes’ number-one hit from 1963 titled “So Much In Love”. The Rabble’s first single was the Mike Harris written “I’m Alaboundy Bam” released in 1966. With no substantial support from RCA, and a failing debut single, the band recorded their next single, “Golden Girl”, in December 1966 which saw release in the summer of 1967 on Trans-World Records. Late addition, Walter “Wally” O’Reilly, was on drums for both the single and the album after Brian Robillard (formerly of The Haunted) quit The Rabble to form his own band. Though Brian Robillard was in the recording studio for “Golden Girl” and other tracks on the band’s debut album, he was not in the photo with the other five bandmates for the album photoshoot.
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#57: My Boyfriend Got A Beatle Haircut by Donna Lynn
City: Saskatoon, SK
Radio Station: CKOM
Peak Month: March 1964
Peak Position in Saskatoon ~ #6
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #83
YouTube: “My Boyfriend Got A Beatle Haircut”
Lyrics:
Camille Donna Albano was born in 1950. In April 1964, The Pittsburgh Press in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, had an article about the 14-year-old pop singer Donna Lynn. The paper wrote of “The short dark-haired Maureen O’Hara in Christine, and Anna Marie Alberghetti in Carnival. She has played Helen Keller as a child, in a summer stock production of The Miracle Worker. In Pittsburgh today to promote her new release, “Java Jones,” backed by “The Things that I Feel,” Donna expressed a strong desire to continue her professional career. She hopes to eventually end up back on Broadway or in the movies.” The article described Donna Lynn as “a 14-year-old who belts out rock ‘n roll for Capitol records,” and who “also knows her way around.” A subtitled in the article exclaimed “DONNA LYNN: Broadway her goal.” The Pittsburgh Press contrasted “Lynn, the recording artist” with “Camille Albano, the girl from around the corner.” Reflecting on her anonymity as a girl from around the corner, Donna Lynn told reporter Barbara Holsopple, “…there is a little jealousy. I guess that’s the price you have to pay for being a public figure.”
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#11: Draggin’ You Down by Streetheart
City: Regina, SK
Radio Station: CJME
Peak Month: June 1980
Peak Position in Regina ~ #3
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Draggin’ You Down”
Lyrics: N/A
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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#25: Magic Power by Triumph
City: Regina, SK
Radio Station: CJME
Peak Month: November 1981
Peak Position in Regina ~ #5
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #51
YouTube: “Magic Power”
Lyrics: “Magic Power”
In 1975 three local Toronto rockers, guitarist Rik Emmett, drummer Gil Moore and bass and keyboard player Mike Levine decided to jam on a chance encounter at a club called the Hollywood Tavern on The Queensway in Toronto. They decided to form a band and started to perform in clubs in the local Toronto area. Moore and Emmett did the vocals for this hard rock trio. From their live performances they were able to secure a record deal with Attic Records.
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#9: You Gotta Have Love by Robbie Lane & the Disciples
City: Saint John, NB
Radio Station: VOCM
Peak Month: September 1966
Peak Position in Saint John ~ #9
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “You Gotta Have Love”
Lyrics: N/A
The Disciples were formed when Robbie Lane held auditions with members of various local bands in greater Toronto during the early sixties. By the summer of 1963 the lineup was Lane, Domenic Troiano on guitar, drummer Sonny Milne, Marty Fisher on piano, bassist Gene Trach, Bert Herriston on sax and flute, and William Cudmore on harmonica, sax and keyboards. After toiling away in the club scene their big break was when Ronnie Hawkins hired them in December of ’63 as a back up plan, since he knew his Hawks were intending to leave the nest.
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#29: Rock And Bird by Cowboy Junkies
City: Burnaby, BC
Radio Station: CFML
Peak Month: October 1990
Peak Position in Burnaby ~ #6
Peak position in Vancouver ~ Hit Bound
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Rock And Bird”
Lyrics: “Rock And Bird”
The Cowboy Junkies were formed in 1985 by Alan Anton on bass guitar, Michael Timmins on guitarist, Peter Timmins on drums and Margo Timmins on vocals. The three Timminses are siblings. Alan Anton worked with Michael Timmins during their first couple of bands prior to the formation of the Cowboy Junkies, including the Hunger Project. This was followed by an improvisational band named Germinal. In 1985, a fourth sibling, John Timmins, was also member of the band. But he but left the group before the recording of their debut studio album in 1986. The band line-up has never changed since: Margo, Michael, and Peter Timmins, and Alan Anton. All were born in Montreal. Michael and Alan in 1959, Margo in 1961, and Peter Timmins in 1965. When Margo was lobbied to join the Cowboy Junkies, she recalls, “I was contemplating going on to graduate school, staying in school. That was safe. I never wanted to be a musician or be onstage.”
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#6: If You Don’t Want My Love by Jack London & The Sparrows
City: Saint John, NB
Radio Station: CHSJ
Peak Month: January 1965
Peak Position in Saint John ~ #2
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “If You Don’t Want My Love”
Lyrics: N/A
The original Jack London and the Sparrows line-up was formed in Oshawa, Ontario, in early 1964. It was founded by British émigré Dave Marden, who took the stage name Jack London. He was born in 1944, in London, England. Another bandmate was guitarist Dennis Edmonton, who was born Dennis McCrohan, in 1943, in Oshawa. A third original member was keyboard player Dave Hare, who later played with Everyday People. Jack London and the Sparrows began as a beat group and played heavily on Dave Marden’s English background. Their early repertoire reflected the influence of the “British invasion” and London even went as far as coaxing the others to “fake” English accents, in order to convince the audience that they had just arrived from England. Early on, Dennis’ brother Jerry Edmonton, born Jerry McCrohan, in 1946, in Oshawa, joined the band on drums. The group began to build up a local following, playing at various venues, such as the local Jubilee Auditorium (which was owned by the Edmonton brothers’ father).
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#47: 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: 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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