#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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#64: 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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#68: 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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#72: 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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#81: 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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#82: I Been Moved by Andy Kim
City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CKOC
Peak Month: August 1971
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #9
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #15
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #97
YouTube: “I Been Moved”
Lyrics: “I Been Moved”
Andy Kim’s father came from Lebanon to Pennsylvania and finally settled in Montreal, where Kim was born in December 1946. Around the age of 15 Andrew Youakimm became fascinated with the music business in New York City. He’d travel from Montreal to the Big Apple by bus or train and try to figure out how to break into the music industry. He bought copies of Billboard Magazine, Cashbox Magazine and other trade papers to see which record companies had hits on the pop charts.
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#98: Love Makes No Promises by Candi
City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CKOC
Peak Month: May 1989
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #12
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #26
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Love Makes No Promises”
Lyrics: “Love Makes No Promises”
In the mid-80s, Candita Pennella fronted an Italian wedding band in Toronto named Sensation. Her nickname was Candi. The band consisted of bass player Nino Milazzo, drummer Paul Russo, keyboard player Rich Imbrogno and singer Candita Pennella. The band decided to change their name to Candi. They recorded an album in 1988 titled Candi. They released a single titled “Dancing Under A Latin Moon,” which made the Top 30 across Canada on the RPM singles chart and #68 on the Billboard Hot 100. Several follow up singles made the pop charts in Canada. Among these were “Missing You” and “Love Makes No Promises”.
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#83: Linda Put The Coffee On by Ray Materick
City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CKOC
Peak Month: January 1975
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #7
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Linda Put The Coffee On”
Lyrics: “Linda Put The Coffee On”
Ray Materick was born in Brantford, Ontario, in 1946. His father was an evangelical preacher and multi-talented musician. Ray followed in his fathers’ musical footsteps. While he was in high school, he was part of a band that played high school dances named The Chevron Sextet. He moved to Toronto in 1970, and spent several years in the coffee house circuit. At the age of 25, he released his first studio 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.
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#101: Can’t Wait For The Night by Brighton Rock
City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CKOC
Peak Month: March 1987
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #17
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Can’t Wait For The Night”
Lyrics: “Can’t Wait For The Night”
Brighton Rock is a band from Niagara Falls, Ontario, who formed in 1982. The original bandmates were lead singer Gerry McGhee, lead guitar player Greg Fraser, bass guitarist Steve Skreebs, keyboard player Martin Victor, and drummer Mark Cavarzan. Initially, they named themselves Heart Attack. They released a single titled “Breakin’ Down The Barricade”. In 1984, they changed their name to Brighton Rock. Gerald McGhee was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1962. He moved to Ontario, and was singing in a Hamilton (ON) based band called The Rockers. When he joined Heart Attack, his fans in Hamilton stayed loyal to McGhee, and followed their output with interest. Martin Victor left the band and was replaced by Johnny Rogers. In 1985, the band released a self-titled EP. Then in 1986, the band released their debut album, Young, Wild and Free.
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