#2: Mary Lou by Ronnie Hawkins
City: Cornwall, ON
Radio Station: CJSS
Peak Month: October 1959
Peak Position in Cornwall ~ #5
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #13
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #26
YouTube: “Mary Lou”
Lyrics: “Mary Lou”
Ronnie Hawkins was born in Huntsville, Arkansas, on January 10, 1935, two days after Elvis Presley. Hawkins’ mother was a teacher; his father, a barber. Known affectionately over the years as “Mr. Dynamo,” “Sir Ronnie,” “Rompin’ Ronnie,” and “The Hawk,” Hawkins’ love of music started in high school. He formed the first version of his band The Hawks while studying at the University of Arkansas in the 1950s. Ronnie remembers, he’d commandeer an old gas station on Dickson street for rehersals. “We’d unplug their outside Coke machine and plug in our instruments,” Hawkins said. “They had the warmest Cokes in town.” In 1958, on the recommendation of Conway Twitty – who considered Canada to be the promised land for a rock’n roll singer – Hawkins came to Hamilton, Ontario to play a club called The Grange. He never left. Adopting Canada as his home, Hawkins became a permanent resident in 1964. In 1958 he released his first single, “Hey, Bo Diddley”.
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#1: Happy Feeling/If There’s A Thought by the Happy Feeling
City: Calgary, Alberta
Radio Station: CKXL
Peak Month: November 1968
Peak Position in Calgary ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ Hit-bound #36
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Happy Feeling”
Lyrics: N/A
City: Calgary, Alberta
Radio Station: CKXL
Peak Month: March 1969
Peak Position in Calgary ~ #4
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
B-side: “If There’s A Thought”
Happy Feeling was a band from Calgary, Alberta. They formed in the late 60s. Gordie Moffat played bass guitar, keyboards, harmonica, lead and backing vocals. Bob Moffat played rhythm guitar, lead guitar, keyboards, percussion, and backing vocals. Jim Aiello played keyboards, and was the frontman and lead vocalist for the band. Bruce Frost played bass guitar. Gerry Mudry was the bands’ drummer, and Dan Ferguson played lead guitar, and shared lead and backing vocals.
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#2: Blue Bonnie Blue by 49th Parallel
City: Calgary, Alberta
Radio Station: CKXL
Peak Month: February 1968
Peak Position in Calgary ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Blue Bonnie Blue”
Lyrics: N/A
Singer Dennis Abbott and guitar player Dan Lowe formed a band in the mid-60’s called The Real McCoys. The name was soon discarded in favor of The Shades of Blond. The band consisted of Abbott and Lowe, joined by Bob Carlson on guitar, Dave Petch on organ, Mick Woodhouse on bass guitar, and Terry Bare on drums. The Shades of Blond played covers of British Invasion hits. As well, they began to write some songs and experimented with a fuzz-guitar garage rock sound. This got them a contract to record on International Master Discovery Records, which put out an album featuring four of the new Calgary bands. By ’67 they’d changed their name to 49th Parallel, and had all but outgrown the local circuit. They played the prairies relentlessly for the next year or so, making over a dozen stops in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan at The Temple Gardens alone.
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#4: Jezebel by Witness Inc.
City: Calgary, Alberta
Radio Station: CKXL
Peak Month: February 1968
Peak Position in Calgary ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Jezebel”
Lyrics: “Jezebel”
Witness Inc. was a band from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. They formed in 1967 and won the Saskatoon Teen-Town Band Battle. They immediately became a touring sensation in the western provinces. They released a series of singles which became increasingly pop after the second. The band finally caught on in Ontario after several years and many personnel changes. The original band consisted of Kenny Shields on lead vocals, Ed Clynton on guitar, Dennis Tremeer on bass guitar, Les Bateman on organ and piano, and Craig Kaleal on drums. The website, Citizen Freak, “was surprised to learn that the band traveled to New Mexico to record their first 45, probably at Norman Petty’s studio in Clovis.” Their first single release was “I’ll Forget Her Tomorrow”. It peaked at #3 in Regina on CJME in August 1967. The picture sleeve for “I’ll Forget Her Tomorrow” features a different band lineup than the group on the recording, with new members Dave Tupper on drums and Allen Ayers on bass.
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#1: Pop Goes The World by Men Without Hats
City: Burnaby, BC
Radio Station: CFML
Peak Month: January 1988
Peak Position in Burnaby ~ #2
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ #9
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #20
YouTube: “Pop Goes The World”
Lyrics: “Pop Goes The World”
Men Without Hats is a band formed in 1977 in Montreal. Founder Ivan Doroschuk, was born in Champaign, Illinois, in 1957. His parents are Ukrainian-Canadian. After growing up in Montreal from the age of five, Doroschuk graduated from high school and studied in Film and Communications at McGill University. Initially, Men Without Hats was a punk band, as this was the edgy sound in 1977. There were changes in the lineup and by 1980 the bandmates joining Ivan were Jérémie Arrobas on vocals and keyboards, and Ivan’s brothers Stefan Doroschuk on bass guitar, and Colin Doroschuk on guitar. The group’s name came about because the brothers, following a self-described principle of “style before comfort”, refused to wear hats during Montreal’s cold winters, calling themselves “the men without hats.”
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#5: Still Hill by Happy Feeling
City: Calgary, Alberta
Radio Station: CKXL
Peak Month: July 1970
Peak Position in Calgary ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Still Hill”
Lyrics: N/A
Happy Feeling was a band from Calgary, Alberta. They formed in the late 60s. Gordie Moffat played bass guitar, keyboards, harmonica, lead and backing vocals. Bob Moffat played rhythm guitar, lead guitar, keyboards, percussion, and backing vocals. Jim Aiello played keyboards, and was the frontman providing lead and backing vocals. Bruce Frost played bass guitar. Gerry Mudry was the bands’ drummer, and Dan Ferguson played lead guitar, and shared lead and backing vocals. The first single the band recorded was “Happy Feeling”, a psychedelic rock tune. It peaked at #1 in Calgary.
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#7: (Alone) In My Room by Willie and the Walkers
City: Calgary, Alberta
Radio Station: CKXL
Peak Month: February 1968
Peak Position in Calgary ~ #2
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “(Alone) In My Room”
Lyrics: N/A
Will MacCalder was born in Victoria, British Columbia, in 1947. His family moved to Edmonton, Alberta, while he was an infant. In his teens he began to follow the CFRN hit parade in Edmonton. At the age of 13 he began to learn to play the saxophone. He formed a band called the Barons, and subsequently the Casuals and in the mid-60s, the Tempests. Another bandmate with the Tempests was drummer Rolie Hardie. MacCalder recalls, “I thank him from the bottom of my heart. He taught me what it was to play in time! And he caught me on numerous occasions playing out of time! He just had the knack.” Rolie Hardie was born in Kelowna, British Columbia, in 1949. His older brother, Bill – born in 1947 in Kelowna – learned to play Hawaiian steel guitar. Bill Hardie was part of a band called the Nobles, and later the Vacqueros who had a guitarist named Dennis Petruk. Before they split up, the Vacqueros recruited Rolie Hardie from the Tempests to join their band.
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#8: Harlem Lady by Witness Inc.
City: Calgary, Alberta
Radio Station: CKXL
Peak Month: May 1968
Peak Position in Calgary ~#2
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Harlem Lady”
Lyrics: “Harlem Lady”
Witness Inc. was a band from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. They formed in 1967 and won the Saskatoon Teen-Town Band Battle. They immediately became a touring sensation in the western provinces. They released a series of singles which became increasingly pop after the second. The band finally caught on in Ontario after several years and many personnel changes. The original band consisted of Kenny Shields on lead vocals, Ed Clynton on guitar, Dennis Tremeer on bass guitar, Les Bateman on organ and piano, and Craig Kaleal on drums. The website, Citizen Freak, “was surprised to learn that the band traveled to New Mexico to record their first 45, probably at Norman Petty’s studio in Clovis.” Their first single release was “I’ll Forget Her Tomorrow”. It peaked at #3 in Regina on CJME in August 1967. The picture sleeve for “I’ll Forget Her Tomorrow” features a different band lineup than the group on the recording, with new members Dave Tupper on drums and Allen Ayers on bass.
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#2: Rose Garden by k.d. Lang and the Reclines
City: Burnaby, BC
Radio Station: CFML
Peak Month: April 1987
Peak Position in Burnaby ~ #10
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Rose Garden”
Lyrics: “Rose Garden”
Kathryn Dawn Lang was born in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1961. When she was nine her family moved to the town of Consort, Alberta, where her father ran a drug store. After secondary school, lang attended Red Deer College, where she became fascinated with the life and music of Patsy Cline and decided to pursue a career as a professional singer. She moved to Edmonton after her graduation in 1982 and formed a Patsy Cline tribute band called the Reclines in 1983. She and the Reclines recorded their debut single, “Friday Dance Promenade”, at Sundown Recorders.
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#10: Laborer by 49th Parallel
City: Calgary, Alberta
Radio Station: CKXL
Peak Month: June 1967
Peak Position in Calgary ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Laborer”
Lyrics: “Laborer”
Singer Dennis Abbott and guitar player Dan Lowe formed a band in the mid-60’s called The Real McCoys. The name was soon discarded in favor of The Shades of Blond. The band consisted of Abbott and Lowe, joined by Bob Carlson on guitar, Dave Petch on organ, Mick Woodhouse on bass guitar, and Terry Bare on drums. The Shades of Blond played covers of British Invasion hits. As well, they began to write some songs and experimented with a fuzz-guitar garage rock sound. This got them a contract to record on International Master Discovery Records, which put out an album featuring four of the new Calgary bands. By ’67 they’d changed their name to 49th Parallel, and had all but outgrown the local circuit. They played the prairies relentlessly for the next year or so, making over a dozen stops in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan at The Temple Gardens alone.
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