#3: Try by Blue Rodeo
City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CKOC
Peak Month: November-December 1987
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #3
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #26
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Try”
Lyrics: “Try”
Blue Rodeo formed as a band in 1984 and had their first gig at The Rivoli in Toronto, February 1985. Blue Rodeo has sold over 4 million albums and won seven Juno awards. In 2012 they were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. In 1987 the band consisted of co-founders Jim Cuddy, Greg Keelor, and Bazil Donovan, Cleave Anderson and Bob Wiseman.
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#32: Easy Come, Easy Go by Barry Allen
City: Edmonton, AB
Radio Station: CHED
Peak Month: March 1965
Peak Position in Edmonton ~ #6
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Easy Come, Easy Go”
Lyrics: N/A
Barry Allen Rasmussen was born in 1945 in Edmonton, Alberta. His family was musical, and he learned guitar and sang from an early age. Barry wrote for the Canadianbands.com website decades later of himself: “While attending Victoria High School, he was a member of the curling club, and had aspirations of becoming a chartered accountant. But by the time he’d graduated, he was looking at a musical future, and spent the next couple of years in a number of makeshift groups, honing his chops and emulating his British invasion idols.” He joined Wes Dakus and the Rebels in 1965.
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#4: Til I Am Myself Again by Blue Rodeo
City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CKOC
Peak Month: February 1991
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #25
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #19
YouTube: “Till I Am Myself Again”
Lyrics: “Till I Am Myself Again”
Blue Rodeo formed as a band in 1984 and had their first gig at The Rivoli in Toronto, February 1985. Blue Rodeo has sold over 4 million albums and won seven Juno awards. In 2012 they were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. In 1987 the band consisted of co-founders Jim Cuddy, Greg Keelor, and Bazil Donovan, Cleave Anderson and Bob Wiseman.
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#4: Waiting For Love by Alias
City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CKOC
Peak Month: March 1991
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #7
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #13
YouTube: “Waiting For Love”
Lyrics: “Waiting For Love”
Federico “Freddy” Curci was born in Toronto in 1962. Growing up in his Italian-Canadian family, he was first exposed to opera. But in his late childhood he discovered Black Sabbath and the Doobie Brothers. In the mid-70s, Curci was part of a number of Italian wedding bands that played in Greater Toronto. Curci co-founded Sheriff with Steven “Steve” DeMarchi, also born in Toronto (1961 ?) and his parents also immigrated to Canada from Italy. They had a Canadian hit in 1983 titled “When I’m With You”. The power rock ballad became a giant hit in the USA in 1988. In 1988, Curci and DeMarchi founded Alias. The band recorded several albums, including the number-one hit in Canada, “More Than Words Can Say”, which climbed to #2 in the USA in 1990.
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#6: Ball Of Confusion by Love and Rockets
City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CKOC
Peak Month: November-December 1985
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #2
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Ball Of Confusion”
Lyrics: “Ball Of Confusion”
Love And Rockets is a band formed in 1985. They named themselves after a comic book series that began in 1981. The lead singer was Daniel Ash, who was born in 1957 in Northampton, England. He started playing guitar at the age of 15. He played in several cover bands, and met future Love and Rockets bandmates David “David J” Haskins and Kevin Dompe. As a child, Kevin Dompe banged on flowerpots, and kitchen pots and pans before getting bongo drums. In 1978, Ash, David J and Kevin Dompe (now billed as Kevin Haskins), formed gothic band Bauhaus. They had a an Indie #8 hit in the UK titled “Bela Lugosi’s Dead”. Bauhaus had two more Top Ten Indie hits in the UK in 1980 titled “Terror Couple Kill Colonel” and “Telegram Sam”. Bauhaus disbanded after the summer of 1983.
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#26: Bridget the Midget by Ray Stevens
City: Edmonton, AB
Radio Station: CHED
Peak Month: February 1971
Peak Position in Edmonton ~ #3
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #10
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #50
YouTube: “Bridget the Midget”
Lyrics: “Bridget the Midget”
Harold Ray Ragsdale was born in January 1939, in Clarkdale, Georgia. In high school he formed a group called The Barons. When he was 18, he was signed to Capitol Records on their Prep label. His debut single was “Five More Steps”. The single charted briefly on CKWX in Vancouver in February 1958. In the summer of 1960, Stevens “Sergeant Preston of the Yukon” climbed to #22 in Vancouver. While in 1961, Stevens released a single about unscrupulous pharmaceutical products pitched to cure whatever ails you. “Jeremiah Peabody’s Polyunsaturated Quick-Dissolving Fast-Acting Pleasant-Tasting Green and Purple Pills” reached #8 in Vancouver, and also charted in the Top 50 in Winnipeg and Montreal. For several decades, Ray Stevens’ song was the longest song title to make the Billboard Hot 100.
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#7: Violetta by Ray Adams
City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CKOC
Peak Month: June 1962
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Violetta”
Lyrics: “Violetta”
Ragnar Asbjørnsen was born in 1931 in Norway. In the late 1950s he was part of the vocal group named The Cavaliers. The group released “Eselsangen” in 1958, and In 1958, he was part of a recording duo called Ruth & Ragnar, releasing a single titled “Når Tusen Stjerner Tenner Lys”. The following year they released the single “Den Gamle Tango (Cocktail Tango)”. Additionally, he released a duet with Alf Blyverkets Kvartett titled “Ungkarsdilemma”. Asbjørnsen released “Jeg Håper, Jeg Ønsker, Jeg Drømmer” in 1959. In 1960, he released a solo single titled “Roser Vil Jeg Alltid Gi Deg”. He changed his name to Ray Adams and recorded his first single, “Ding Dong Girl Bonny Belle”, in 1960. In 1961, he released a single titled “Dagen Er Din”.
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#8: Mamma Mia by ABBA
City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CKOC
Peak Month: August 1976
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #32
YouTube: “Mamma Mia”
Lyrics: “Mamma Mia”
ABBA is a pop band from Sweden. Agneta Fältskog was born in 1950 in the lakeside city of Jönköping in southern Sweden. Fältskog wrote her first song at the age of six, which she named “Två små troll” (“Two Small Trolls”). In 1958, she began taking piano lessons, and also sang in a local church choir. In early 1960, Fältskog formed a musical trio, the Cambers. At age 15 she left school to pursue a career in music. She considers Connie Francis, Lesley Gore, Aretha Franklin and Marianne Faithfull as her prime influences on her musical style. Fältskog worked on reception for a car firm while performing with the Bernt Enghardt band. In 1967 she wrote “Jag var så kär” (“I Was So in Love”), after a dating relationship ended. The single topped the Swedish pop charts in early 1968. That year she met Björn Ulvaeus, a member of the Hootenanny Singers. Ulvaeus was born in the western coast city of Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1945. In the early Sixties, Ulvaeus joined the Hootenanny Singers. They had a #5 hit in Sweden in 1964 with “Gabrielle”, based on the Russian folksong “May Here Always Be Sunshine”. The folk group had many Top Ten hits in Sweden into the early 70s, including a cover of “Green, Green Grass of Home” (“En sång en gång för längese’n”).
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#9: Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode
City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CKOC
Peak Month: April 1990
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #4
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #28
YouTube: “Personal Jesus”
Lyrics: “Personal Jesus”
Depeche Mode is a band formed in Essex, UK, in 1980. Andrew “Andy” Fletcher was born in Nottingham, England, in 1961. His family moved to Basildon, Essex, when he was two-years-old. In 1977, when schoolmates Vince Clarke and Andy Fletcher formed a band called No Romance in China with Clarke on vocals and guitar and Fletcher on bass. In 1980, they formed the band Composition of Sound, and added Martin Gore, and later that year David Gahan. Vincent “Vince” Clarke was born in 1960 in Greater London. He learned violin and piano when he was a child. Martin Gore was born in 1961 in London. He learned to play keyboards through the 1970s. After graduating in 1979, he took a position working as a bank cashier.
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#33: Rovin’ Heart by The Lords
City: Edmonton, AB
Radio Station: CJCA
Peak Month: May 1967
Peak Position in Edmonton ~ #5
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Rovin’ Heart”
Lyrics: N/A
The Lords were a band formed in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1966. The members were Barry Allen, Lorne Peet and Mel Degen. Barry Allen Rasmussen was born in 1945 in Edmonton, Alberta. His family was musical, and he learned guitar and sang from an early age. Barry wrote for the Canadianbands.com website decades later of himself: “While attending Victoria High School, he was a member of the curling club, and had aspirations of becoming a chartered accountant. But by the time he’d graduated, he was looking at a musical future, and spent the next couple of years in a number of makeshift groups, honing his chops and emulating his British invasion idols.” He joined Wes Dakus and the Rebels in 1965. They band went to New Mexico and recorded with Norman Petty, producer of Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Roy Orbison, Buddy Knox and others. Petty was taken with Barry Allen’s vocal abilities and suggested Allen make some solo records. The outcome were the single releases in early 1965, “Easy Come Easy Go”, and “It’s Alright With Me Now”. The first single climbed to #6 in Edmonton in January 1965, and made the Top 30 in Regina (SK) and Calgary (AB). The followup single climbed to #9 in Edmonton in July 1965.
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