#1202: Sunrise to Sunset by Five Man Electrical Band
Peak Month: September 1969
8 weeks on CKLG chart
Peak Position #12
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~did not chart
YouTube.com: “Sunrise to Sunset”
The Five Man Electrical Band was a Canadian mainstream rock band from Ottawa. They had an international hit in 1970 called “Signs”. Their other hits did well in Canada, including “Absolutely Right” and “I’m A Stranger Here”. Prior to 1969 the band was known as the Staccatos.Continue reading →
#1203: It’s Over by Prism
Peak Month: May 1978
8 weeks on CFUN
Peak Position #15
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ no US chart
YouTube.com: “It’s Over”
Lyrics: “It’s Over”
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 (ex of Denise McCann), keyboardist John Hall, and drummer Rodney Higgs. Higgs was actually a pseudonym for Jim Vallance, the future songwriting partner of Bryan Adams. The band released a self-titled album in 1977 that included two local singles “Take Me To The Kaptin” and “It’s Over”.
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#1204: Drop the Needle by Maestro Fresh Wes
Peak Month: June 1990
3 weeks on CKLG chart
Peak Position #15
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~did not chart
YouTube.com: “Drop The Needle”
Lyrics: “Drop The Needle”
Wes Williams was born in Toronto in 1968. In the mid-80s he attended Carleton University in Ottawa and studied Political Science and Law. Deciding to focus on music, Maestro Fresh Wes released the first Canadian hip-hop single to break into the Top 40 in Canada and the USA with “Let Your Backbone Slide”. Williams’ first show in Ottawa affirmed his decision to pursue music full time. About 2,000 people showed up to watch him open for Public Enemy at Astralite, a now-defunct club on St. Laurent Boulevard. For a hip-hop show, it was a huge crowd by Ottawa standards in the late 80s.
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#1402: It’s True by The Eternal Triangle
Peak Month: September 1966
9 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #16
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “It’s True”
Born in Vancouver in 1943, when he was in his teens Tom Northcott was gaining a reputation while making his rounds through the Vancouver coffeehouse circuit in the early ’60s. In particular, he frequented the Kitsilano area, the focal point of the hippie counterculture north of San Francisco. In 1965, Northcott took over from Ronnie Jordan as the frontman for the Vancouver Playboys, already an established BC band that wore identical suits. They were considered one of BC’s top emerging bands, mixing a Beatles look with music stylings of The Ventures. Northcott established one of Vancouver’s first labels, Syndrome Records, which LA execs at Warner were impressed enough with to offer him distribution. While the Playboys toured the country that summer and fall, the label served home to their first single, “Cry Tomorrow”.
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#1211: A Criminal Mind by Gowan
Peak Month: May 1985
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #12
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “A Criminal Mind”
Lyrics: “A Criminal Mind”
Lawrence Gowan was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1956. His family moved to Scarborough, Canada, a suburb of Toronto, when he was a child. He recalls that his “marks in high-school were of a caliber that left me no option but to pursue the occupation of Rockstar.” He practiced piano and was trained at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. He formed a trio called Rhindgold in 1976. As the lead vocalist and keyboardist, Lawrence Gowan also demonstrated acrobatics on the stage and dancing on top of his baby grand piano. Rhinegold was a progressive rock act in the mold of Supertramp, Electric Light Orchestra and Yes.
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#1401: Tomcat Prowl by Doug and the Slugs
Peak Month: July 1988
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #17
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com link: “Tomcat Prowl”
Lyrics: “Tomcat Prowl”
Doug Bennett was born in Toronto in 1951. He worked as a graphic designer after his schooling and at the age of 22 moved to Vancouver in 1973. He got a job as a cartoonist and editor for the weekly alternative paper the Georgia Strait. He also played with a number of bands. By 1977 Bennett was in search of some new outlets for his creativity and was introduced to guitarist John Burton. Burton had been in a group called The Ugly Slugs. Bennett and Burton began performing locally and added bassist Dennis Henderson, drummer Ted Laturnus and and Drew Neville on keyboards. They became Doug and The Slugs.
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#1216: I’m A Stranger Here by the Five Man Electrical Band
Peak Month: June 1973
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #13
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #76
YouTube.com: “I’m A Stranger Here”
Lyrics: “I’m A Stranger Here”
The Five Man Electrical Band was a Canadian mainstream rock band from Ottawa. They had an international hit in 1970 called “Signs”. Les Emmerson was born in 1944. In 1963 the Staccatos were formed in Ottawa. The group included lead singer and local disc jockey Dean Hagopian. After some local hits they got the attention of Capitol Records. Other Staccatos bandmates included Vern Craig on guitar, Brian Rading on bass guitar and Rick Bell on drums and vocals. Meanwhile, Hagopian left the band by the end of 1964, and was replaced on lead vocals by Les Emmerson.
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#1218: Saving All My Love by Charity Brown
Peak Month: January 1976
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #13
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Saving All My Love”
Lyrics: “Saving All My Love”
Phillis Boltz was born in Kitchener, Ontario. After she graduated from high school she started singing in a band called Landslide Mushroom. By the late 60s she was a lead vocalist in another Kitchener band called Rain, who she remained with into the early 70s. From the outset her stage name with Rain was Phyllis Brown. Among the singles they released was a “Out Of My Mind” in 1971. It became a Top 30 hit in a number of radio markets between the spring of 1971 and the winter of 1972.
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#1220: Georgia Eyes by Mary Saxton
Peak Month: August 1977
5 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #12
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Georgia Eyes”
Born in the early 50s, Mary Saxton grew up in Edmonton. Her musical influences included big band, pop-rock and Motown. In her teens she put her talents to use at various live festivals and any other chance she could get to get on stage. She was barely old enough to drive when she signed with local Pace Records in 1966. From there she went to hollywood where she worked with producer Gary Paxton who had produced some recent number one hits with novelty tunes “Alley Oop” and the “Monster Mash”. She released a pair of singles, “Losing Control” and “Ask Any Girl”. There was some buzz by Alberta music critics who hailed Saxton as a Canadian answer to the Motown sound.
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#1224: Carey by Joni Mitchell
Peak Month: September 1971
8 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #12
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #93
YouTube.com: “Carey”
Lyrics: “Carey”
Roberta Joan Anderson was born in 1943, in Fort Macleod, Alberta. Her father was a grocer and her mother a schoolteacher. After the end of World War II, her family moved to North Battleford, Saskatchewan. When she was 9 years old, Joni and her family moved 85 miles southeast to Saskatoon. She took piano lessons as a child. In her teenage years, since she couldn’t afford a guitar, Joni taught herself to play the baritone ukelele which she bought for $36. In her teens Anderson listened to rock-n-roll radio broadcasts out of Texas where the radio signals were especially strong at night. She played at parties and also hung out at a local coffeehouse in Saskatoon called the Louis Riel. She later learned the guitar. In 1964 she began her professional musical career by playing clubs and festivals around Canada. Her repertoire consisted mostly of standard folk songs, many recorded by her idol, Judy Collins, until she began writing her own songs, starting with “Day After Day”, which she wrote while on her way to the Mariposa Folk Festival in 1965.
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