Every RPM Canadian Content #1 single discussion thread 1964-2000

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by bunglejerry, Aug 17, 2020.

  1. bunglejerry

    bunglejerry Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto, ON
    I'm sorry. I don't mean to offend. I suppose for me it's just the ol' whistle test, particularly when stacked up against other UA-era compositions like "I'm Not Sayin'", "Spin Spin", "Early Morning Rain", and my personal favourite "Go Go Round". Just a question of taste.

    But it's also because of how enamoured I am with "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" - it's one of my favourite Dylan songs, particularly in its original Highway 61 version, and the set-up of the single invites the comparison.

    In any case, I try to keep my own opinions in the main daily write-up to a minimum. Thanks for the reminder of why that's a good thing to do.
     
    7solqs4iago likes this.
  2. bekayne

    bekayne Senior Member

     
    Paul C and John B Good like this.
  3. bekayne

    bekayne Senior Member

    Oddly enough it made only #18 on the CanCon chart (November 8).
     
  4. Pelvis Ressley

    Pelvis Ressley Down in the Jungle Room

    Location:
    Capac, Michigan
    "Negotiations" c/w "It's Too Late, He Wins" was released under three names: Gord Lightfoot in Canada on Chateau, Gordon Lightfoot in the USA on ABC Paramount, and Gordie Lightfoot in the UK on Fontana.
     
    JamieC likes this.
  5. GodBlessTinyTim

    GodBlessTinyTim Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    I have the single of "Remember Me". The label proudly states "RECORDED IN NASHVILLE", I guess to signify that it's lushly adorned with strings 'n' things. The song could have been a big US hit if it were covered by Don Gibson or Jim Reeves.
     
  6. bekayne

    bekayne Senior Member

    At #2 on November 8 is "It Was I" by the Big Town Boys", which would peak at #5 on the big chart on December 13. It was produced by Stan Klees.



    [​IMG]
     
  7. bekayne

    bekayne Senior Member

    At #7 also on November 8 is "Put Down" by Regina's Loreen Church. It was written and produced by two members of the Chicago band The Mob and recorded there as well.



    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    kenlea522 and John B Good like this.
  8. GodBlessTinyTim

    GodBlessTinyTim Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Original by Skip & Flip (Clyde Battin & Gary Paxton).

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YJBYs9AFgiM
     
    John B Good and bekayne like this.
  9. bekayne

    bekayne Senior Member

    At #17, from Clarkson, Ontario it's the Last Words with their debut single for RCA Victor, "The Laugh's On Me". We'll be hearing more from them later. Bassist Brad Campbell would later be a member of the Paupers and Janis Joplin's Full Tilt Boogie Band.


    [​IMG]
     
    darvit and Foreign Object like this.
  10. JamieC

    JamieC Senior Member

    Location:
    Detroit Mi USA
    No worry. the thing you have to think about IS the Grossman connection. He was swapping song around among his clients. These songs of Gordons were bouncing around and getting covered before he had his deal with UA, and may have been the reason. Putting them out there maybe put some jingle in his pocket so he didn't go starving into a record deal. Phil Ochs was also a client but fired Grossman when he didn't get the same level. But that could be why Gord covered Changes
     
  11. bunglejerry

    bunglejerry Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto, ON
    I guess that explains why both Janis and Gord covered Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee".

    Did Grossman have shares in Witmark?
     
  12. Pelvis Ressley

    Pelvis Ressley Down in the Jungle Room

    Location:
    Capac, Michigan
    If Gordon's contract was anything like Bob Dylan's, Grossman was getting a nice chunk of the publishing.
     
    bunglejerry, bekayne and JamieC like this.
  13. John B Good

    John B Good Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    NS, Canada
    Never heard that Tom Thumb by Lightfoot before. Rather enjoyed it.

    IIRC I was told in Ottawa that Lightfoot would come into a local used record store and buy any copies of some of his earlier records that might have come in, in order to destroy them?
     
    bekayne and bunglejerry like this.
  14. jalexander

    jalexander Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    This is the most Canadian thing I have ever seen or heard right down to the Hudson Bay coat.
     
    GodBlessTinyTim, JamieC and bekayne like this.
  15. jalexander

    jalexander Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Never clued into the Bob and Michelle McAdorey connection which opens up a whole tree of Cancon icons... Crash Vegas was started by Michelle and her then boyfriend Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo. And their bass player was a past member of Martha and the Muffins and the sister of none other than Daniel Lanois. And their guitar player was Colin Cripps who went on to produce and marry (and divorce, but still play music with) Kathleen Edwards...
     
    gabbleratchet7, Adam9 and bunglejerry like this.
  16. JamieC

    JamieC Senior Member

    Location:
    Detroit Mi USA
    And the toque, eh? Is he supposed to be Paul Bunyon? He's bigger than most of the trees. The dangers of primitive photo shopping.
     
    bekayne and jalexander like this.
  17. bunglejerry

    bunglejerry Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto, ON
    I didn't know the Kathleen Edwards connection, though I did know the other bits. I saw Crash Vegas live touring Aurora, and it was one of the best concerts I've ever seen. It's a pity that album is so forgotten.
     
    jalexander likes this.
  18. jalexander

    jalexander Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Crash Vegas were great (I look forward to hitting the 80s in this thread - I think a Canadiana genre emerged in that era that’s similar to but distinct from Americana). Here’s Colin backing Kathleen just two weeks ago. The first song is a tribute to the good parts of their marriage.
     
    Mr. D likes this.
  19. 7solqs4iago

    7solqs4iago Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto

    it's your thread, i'm amused by it and enjoying it and learning things, can't wait to get to the late 60s!

    your opinion is fine on here, it's your thread, there's not much you could say about CanCon that might not be true on a scale of probabilities :D
     
    bekayne and bunglejerry like this.
  20. bunglejerry

    bunglejerry Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto, ON
    21. YOU'VE REALLY GOT A HOLD ON ME
    by LITTLE CAESAR AND THE CONSULS
    #1 for 5 weeks: November 22 and 29 and December 6, 13 and 20, 1965




    [​IMG]
    Although this song did get an American release, on Bell Records' subsidiary Mala Records, it is apparently one of only five songs to top the RPM Chart (the main one, not the CanCon one) without entering the Billboard Top 100 at all. One of the others is the Eddie Rambeau song we've already discussed (the only non-Canadian song to do it), two of the others are patriotic Canadian songs, and the fifth is Platinum Blonde's "Crying Over You", which we'll get to... oh gosh. I don't even like to think of when we'll eventually get to 1985.

    On the week of December 13th, when this particular recording took its place not only at the top of RPM's CanCon chart but also its main chart, remarkably the 1st, 3rd and 5th positions on the main Top 40 chart were all Canadian - Lightfoot at number three, and "It Was I" by the Big Town Boys at number five.

    This is, of course, Smokey Robinson's classic song. Covered dozens of times, his original recording with the Miracles, the Beatles' classic version and this particular Stan Klees production are all substantially similar in arrangement and sound - though it might be added that whatever Bruce Morshead's charms might be as a singer, he pales in comparison to Smokey Robinson and John Lennon - but who wouldn't!

    The photo above is, as you can see, a promo copy. This is because the upload to Discogs of the commercial release is very poor quality.

    ON THE PAGES OF RPM: The November 22 edition gives its cover page to an editorial written by George Harrison (no, not that one) of RCA Victor Canada, where he outlines his company's plans to start emphasising Canadian talent. The introductory section:

    That sudden upsurge of nationalism took some people completely by surprise, even in this country. Canadians, traditionally modest people whose West Coast seldom knew what their East Coast was doing, were all at once flourishing flags and asking awkward questions about a national identity. It was all most confusing.

    But to the Canadian music business (where a little modesty goes a very long way) this new-found pride in home-grown products was the best bit of news since Nelson Eddy stopped masquerading as a Mountie. This was just what we needed to make the world sit up and take notice of Canadian talent. We had a story to tell and a country to sell, particularly with Expo '67 on the horizon. Now that we had a new national spirit, we could achieve international status for our recording stars.
     
  21. bekayne

    bekayne Senior Member

    At #4 on November 29 is "Take The First Train Home" by Toronto's Dee & The Yeomen. It would reach #10 on the big chart on December 20 and was the top Canadian record, but not really. As mentioned, Little Caesar, Gordie Lightfoot, the Big Town Boys were in the top 5 the previous week. All three dropped from their position, so like magic, all three vanished.



    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    Paul C likes this.
  22. bekayne

    bekayne Senior Member

    Peaking at #15 on December 6, from Etobicoke (outside of Toronto), are the Ardels with "But I Love You" b/w "So Glad You're Mine" on the Cancut label (as was the above mentioned Dee & the Yeomen 45).



    The Ardels | Garage Hangover
    The band had released a very rare privately pressed LP the previous year, also a single on the Hallmark label ("So Glad You're Mine").

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG] [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    John54 likes this.
  23. bekayne

    bekayne Senior Member

    The Ardels released one more 45 on Cancut, late in 1966 "Run Hully Gully Boy" b/w "Piece Of Jewellery". Contrary to the ads, it was not a "smash", which is why I'm talking about it here. In fact, "Run Hully Gully Boy" is not on youtube, but the B-side is:



    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]

    "Wheee!"

    [​IMG]
     
  24. bekayne

    bekayne Senior Member

    Hitting #16 on December 13 is Toronto's Jay Jackson with "Darling Don't You Go".



    Jay Jackson would later turn up as the lead singer with the Heads Of Our Time project.

    [​IMG]
     
  25. bekayne

    bekayne Senior Member

    Entering at #20 on December 20 are, all the way from Port-Aux-Basques Newfoundland, the Ducats with a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Off The Hook".

    [​IMG]


    They had previously released a single "Hey Woman" in 1964 on a local label:

    [​IMG]
    Their debut LP came out around the same time as "Off The Hook" (the Rolling Stones apparently were their favourites)

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    danasgoodstuff and Paul C like this.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine