# Do Americans Know These Ubiquitous Canadian Pop Musicians?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [December 24, 2005, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051 "2005-12-24T04:11:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/21 "2005-12-24T06:32:09Z")

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> [@RickJay](#):
>
> Actually, the artist doesn’t even have to be Canadian. If the work was written by a Canadian, for instance, it’s technically “Cancon” even if the artist is from somewhere else.
> 
> If Green Day were to record a punk cover of the Barenaked Ladies’ “Grade Nine,” that would be Cancon, as both the music and lyrics were written by Canadians.

Yes; I should have been more specific than “artist.”

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**Author:** ![marque\_elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@marque\_elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marque_elf)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/22 "2005-12-24T06:41:03Z")

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I can add several bands/artists to the list:

Loreena McKennitt  
Arcade Fire  
The Odds (who often toured with Warren Zevon)  
Delirium  
Kate and Anna McGarrigle  
Rufus Wainwright  
Martha Wainwright  
Leonard Cohen  
Adam Cohen (Leonard’s son. He was born in Montreal. He might have dual citizenship. I couldn’t find any info about who is mother was.)  
Jesse Winchester (of the Youngbloods. He was born in Tennessee but went to Ontario to escape the Draft and got naturalized.)  
Most of Tom Rush’s backup band was Canadian but Rush is from Vermont.  
The Corn Sisters are half Canadian. Neko Case is from Tacoma, Wa. but Carolyn Mark is Canadian as is the band she tours with. They call themselves Carolyn Mark and Her Roommates. They really are her roommates.)

Of the names listed in o.p., I’ve heard of about 3/4 of them. I’ve never heard of Martha & The Muffins. What kind of music do they play?

By the way, I’m not Canadian. I just like music a whole bunch. I live in Seattle which is just a little too far south to pick up Vancouver’s FM stations. There used to be a pretty good station in Bellingham that played music from both sides of the border that I could pick up most nights in Seattle. My last few times through Bellingham, it had pretty much deteriorated into a pop station. They’re probably making more money but they’re just another waste of airtime now.

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**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/23 "2005-12-24T07:24:12Z")

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> [@Bryan Ekers](#):
>
> \<snip\>  
> I’m Canadian. I recognize maybe one name in eight. I guess I’m not cool.

Dang - I was aiming for a list of Canadian artists that any non-country listening Canadian would recognize because most of them have been on pop radio playlists for decades now.

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**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/24 "2005-12-24T07:26:18Z")

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**marque elf** , Martha & the Muffins were fairly big in the 80’s. Most Canadians (with the exception of **Bryan Eckers** , maybe 😃 ) would recognize their signature song, Echo Beach.

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**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/25 "2005-12-24T07:50:04Z")

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From what I’ve read, Blood, Sweat & Tears was an American band. They formed in New York, debuted in New York and were initially made up of New Yorkers. It wasn’t until '69–two years after they formed–that the first Canadian, David Clayton-Thomas, joined the band as the singer.

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**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/26 "2005-12-24T08:08:50Z")

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Where’s **Sloan**? 😃

Anyone who watched The Virgin Suicides will have heard them. **Air** may have done the soundtrack, but the music they listened to was **Sloan**.

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**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/27 "2005-12-24T08:14:33Z")

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I know all of those people on your list, and have records by most of them. But I’m Canadian! However, it is my mission to turn Americans on to these artists whenever I can. It’s my ambition to get a radio show on the public station where I work, one of these days, to do just that. I just need to wait for the guy who does the “music of your life” program to retire from playing big bands. By that time, the artists on your list will be the music of our lives.

I’ve converted one to a Kim Mitchell / Max Webster fan. He was blown away! It’d help a lot if the radio stations down here didn’t just play three songs by The Guess Who, three songs by BTO, four songs by Rush and three songs by Bryan Adams.

And hey, you left out:

A Foot In Coldwater  
Murray McLauchlan  
Pat Travers  
Saga  
Teenage Head  
Crowbar  
Ian Thomas  
Michel Pagliaro  
Fludd  
Moxy  
Goddo  
Downchild  
Ken Tobias  
Valdy  
The Bells  
Ronney Abramson  
Edward Bear

…and those are just off the top of my head!

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**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/28 "2005-12-24T08:58:56Z")

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> [@featherlou](#):
>
> \*54-40  
> A Foot In Coldwater  
> \*Alanis Morissette  
> \*Alannah Myles  
> \*Aldo Nova  
> Amanda Marshall  
> \*April Wine  
> \*Avril Lavigne  
> \*Bachman Turner Overdrive  
> \*The Band  
> \*Barenaked Ladies  
> Barney Bentall  
> \*Blood, Sweat & Tears  
> Blue Rodeo  
> \*Bruce Cockburn  
> \*Bryan Adams  
> Burton Cummings  
> \*Celine Dion  
> Chalk Circle  
> Chilliwack  
> Colin James  
> \*Corey Hart  
> \*\*Cowboy Junkies  
> \*Crash Test Dummies  
> Dan Hill  
> David Wilcox  
> Doucette  
> Doug & The Slugs  
> Five Man Electrical Band  
> \*Gino Vannelli  
> \*Glass Tiger  
> \*Gordon Lightfoot  
> Gowan  
> Great Big Sea  
> \*Guess Who  
> Harlequin  
> Haywire  
> Helix  
> ? Honeymoon Suite  
> Jann Arden  
> Jeff Healey  
> \*Joni Mitchell  
> \*\*k. d. lang  
> Kim Mitchell  
> \*\*Klaatu  
> \*\*\*Lee Aaron  
> Lighthouse  
> \*Loverboy  
> Luba  
> \*Martha & The Muffins  
> Max Webster  
> \*Men Without Hats  
> \*Neil Young  
> Nelly Furtado  
> \*Nick Gilder  
> \*\*\*The Nylons  
> The Original Caste  
> Parachute Club  
> \*Paul Anka  
> Paul Janz  
> \*\*Payola$  
> \*Platinum Blonde  
> Prism  
> The Pursuit of Happiness  
> \*\*Red Rider  
> Rough Trade  
> \*Rush  
> \*Sarah McLachlan  
> Sass Jordan  
> \*Shania Twain  
> Snow  
> \*\*Spoons  
> The Stampeders  
> \*Tom Cochrane  
> Toronto  
> \*\*Tragically Hip  
> \*Triumph  
> \*Trooper

- I know some of their music  
\*\* I’ve heard of them  
\*\*\* I know the guy who produced them. (err, knew. He’s dead at the moment)

? Honeymoon Suite was an 80’s bad yes?

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**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/29 "2005-12-24T11:11:34Z")

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These are the bands that I’ve never heard (or perhaps heard once or twice in the middle of the night) on a corporate U.S. radio station. You’re likely to hear a few of them on public radio stations, college stations, and satellite radio, but most Americans don’t listen to those, so I think that this pared-down list should give you a general idea of the bands that the average American casual music listener has never heard of.

I left in the one-U.S.-hit-wonders that never, ever get played anymore, but took out the ones that do. The exception to that is songs that don’t get played anymore, but are recent, or otherwise memorable enough to have not faded from the public consciousness.

My tastes tend to skew towards classic and modern rock stations, so I may have missed a recent pop artist or two:

54-40  
A Foot In Coldwater  
Aldo Nova  
Amanda Marshall  
Barney Bentall  
Blue Rodeo  
Bruce Cockburn  
Burton Cummings  
Chalk Circle  
Chilliwack  
Colin James  
Dan Hill  
Cowboy Junkies  
David Wilcox  
Doucette  
Doug & The Slugs  
Five Man Electrical Band  
Gino Vannelli  
Glass Tiger  
Gordon Lightfoot  
Gowan  
Great Big Sea  
Harlequin  
Haywire  
Helix  
Honeymoon Suite  
Jann Arden  
Kim Mitchell  
Klaatu  
Lee Aaron  
Lighthouse  
Luba  
Martha & The Muffins  
Max Webster  
Nick Gilder  
The Nylons  
The Original Caste  
Parachute Club  
Paul Janz  
Payola$  
Platinum Blonde  
Prism  
The Pursuit of Happiness  
Rough Trade  
Sass Jordan  
The Stampeders  
Toronto  
Tragically Hip  
Trooper

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**Author:** ![The\_Big\_Cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@The\_Big\_Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Big_Cheese)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/30 "2005-12-24T12:00:30Z")

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No Stompin’ Tom Connors??

By the way, my all-time favorite song is "If You Could Read My Mind’ by Lightfoot.

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**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/31 "2005-12-24T12:30:14Z")

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> [@Rushgeekgirl](#):
>
> I’ve heard of most of them, but there’s one in particular that I’m quite fond of.  
> Can you guess which one? 😉

Geek?

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**Author:** ![Tenar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@Tenar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenar)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/32 "2005-12-24T12:38:04Z")

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I am “of a certain age.” And although I may not, at this point, be able to associate a particular song or song to some of the following names, I have most certainly heard of them all.

Alanis Morissette  
Aldo Nova  
April Wine  
Avril Lavigne  
Bachman Turner Overdrive  
The Band  
Barenaked Ladies  
Blood, Sweat & Tears  
Bruce Cockburn  
Bryan Adams  
Celine Dion  
Chilliwack  
Cowboy Junkies  
Crash Test Dummies  
Dan Hill  
David Wilcox  
Gino Vannelli  
Gordon Lightfoot  
Guess Who  
Joni Mitchell  
k. d. lang  
Loverboy  
Men Without Hats  
Neil Young  
Nick Gilder  
The Nylons  
Paul Anka  
Rush  
Sarah McLachlan  
Shania Twain  
Tragically Hip  
Triumph

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**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/33 "2005-12-24T12:45:25Z")

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> [@featherlou](#):
>
> **lissener** , your three artists are arguably important Canadian artists, but again, far from ubiquitous. Any Canadian who wasn’t watching “Friday Night Videos” in the 80’s wouldn’t have a clue who Jane Siberry was, and Holly Cole and Mary Margaret O’Hara are much more specialty acts. And I fully support CanCon - Canadian artists would be lost in a sea of American music if not for it.

CanCon is a load of crap if most Canadians haven’t heard (or heard of) Jane Siberry and Mary Margaret O’Hara. They should be worshipped like the musical goddesses they are. They’re not only two of the most interesting and creative artists in Canada, they’re two of the most interesting and creative artists in the **WORLD**. I’ve said this before, and I mean every word of it. **SHAME ON CANADA** that these two women aren’t known to every Canadaian of sentient age, and sponsored to the hilt so they can forget about bills and do nothing but be even more creative. What good is CanCon if it doesn’t help support ongoing older artists?

Anyway, I’ve heard/heard of about 3/4 of the people on your list.

My favorite Canadian artists are:

(actually, these are two of my favorite artists from anywhere)  
Jane Siberry  
Mary Margaret O’Hara

(from marque elf’s list, thanks)  
Loreena McKennitt  
Delirium  
Kate and Anna McGarrigle  
Rufus Wainwright  
Martha Wainwright  
Leonard Cohen

(from your list)

Bruce Cockburn  
Cowboy Junkies  
Joni Mitchell  
k. d. lang  
Sarah McLachlan

(I like one-off songs by these people)  
Nelly Furtado  
Jann Arden  
Alanis Morissette  
Martha & The Muffins  
Rough Trade  
Sass Jordan

Not listed, but I also like (alphabetical):

Autour de Lucie  
blueVenus  
Meryn Cadell  
Holly Cole  
Dalbello  
Kathleen Edwards  
Emma-Lee  
Feist  
Figgy Duff  
Gogh Van Go  
Emm Gryner  
Sarah Harmer  
The Henrys  
Veda Hille (I respect her more than I like her music)  
Rebecca Jenkins  
Jorane  
Lily Frost  
Mary Jane Lamond  
Tara MacLean  
Natalie MacMaster  
Ashley Maher  
Dayna Manning  
Holly McNarland  
Mecca Normal  
Rose Chronicles  
Sarah Slean  
Kristy Thirsk  
Nan Vernon  
Kathleen Yearwood

And probably a lot more I’m forgetting, and many more I haven’t heard yet but I’d love if I did.

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**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/34 "2005-12-24T12:47:07Z")

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Btw, no, I’m not Canadian.

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**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/35 "2005-12-24T13:01:00Z")

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Here are the ones I would consider well known among the general American public:  
Alanis Morissette  
Avril Lavigne  
Bachman Turner Overdrive  
The Band  
Bryan Adams  
Celine Dion  
Gordon Lightfoot  
Joni Mitchell  
k. d. lang  
Neil Young  
Rush  
Sarah McLachlan  
Shania Twain

A surprising number of these were “one hit wonders” over here. And some of them may have had more hits here at the time, but only one survives in regular radio rotation. Here are the ones I would put into that category, and the “hit” I would attribute to them: (YMMV, of course!)

Alannah Myles–Black Velvet  
Corey Hart–Sunglasses at Night  
Crash Test Dummies–Mmmm-mmm  
Five Man Electrical Band–Signs  
Gino Vannelli–“I never wanna let you go…”  
Guess Who–American Woman  
Loverboy–Everybody’s Workin for the Weekend  
Men Without Hats–Safety Dance  
Nick Gilder–Hot Child in the City  
Red Rider–Lunatic Fringe  
Tom Cochrane (Solo)–Life is a Highway

Here are the ones that I can’t definitively say I’ve ever heard of at all:  
54-40  
A Foot In Coldwater  
Amanda Marshall  
April Wine  
Barney Bentall  
Blue Rodeo  
Bruce Cockburn  
Burton Cummings  
Chalk Circle  
Chilliwack  
Colin James  
Dan Hill  
David Wilcox  
Doucette  
Doug & The Slugs  
Glass Tiger  
Gowan  
Great Big Sea  
Harlequin  
Haywire  
Helix  
Honeymoon Suite  
Jann Arden  
Kim Mitchell  
Klaatu  
Lee Aaron  
Lighthouse  
Luba  
Martha & The Muffins  
Max Webster  
The Original Caste  
Parachute Club  
Paul Janz  
Payola$  
Platinum Blonde  
Prism  
The Pursuit of Happiness  
Rough Trade  
Sass Jordan  
Snow  
Spoons  
The Stampeders  
Toronto  
Trooper

Zoinks! That’s a lot! Maybe there is something to this whole Cancon thing. Our rock radio here is so stagnant with the lack of variety. Well, maybe you have the same thing, but with a different lack of variety.

Viva la internet radio!

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**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/36 "2005-12-24T13:51:58Z")

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I love Great Big Sea, to the point of ordering their CDs from Canada so I get them sooner when they’re released since they always seem to come out here weeks later. My mom, of all people, got me into them.

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**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/37 "2005-12-24T13:52:33Z")

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Out of the 78 bands listed I recognized 37 of them, or about 47%.

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**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/38 "2005-12-24T14:25:39Z")

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> [@dwc1970](#):
>
> Out of the 78 bands listed I recognized 37 of them, or about 47%.

Oddly enough, I recognized 37 as well. I’m a bit surprised that fewer people are identifying Triumph. I thought they made a bigger splash here than that. And Rush has been my favorite band for decades. I don’t think it’s Canadians alone that consistently make their albums gold and platinum certified.

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**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/39 "2005-12-24T14:50:49Z")

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I recognized 27 of the list, but I’m not really up on more recent acts.

Also, listing Blood Sweat and Tears as Canadian is stretching the definition. The original group didn’t have a single Canadian in its lineup: they were all born in the New York City area, other than one member from Philadelphia and anothe from Troy, NY. It wasn’t until David Clayton-Thomas joined the group that it had any Canadian members (and Clayton-Thomas wasn’t actually born in Canada, though he became a Canadian citizen at the age of four), and by that point they’d already produced their best work.

Better to list Clayton-Thomas, the the group was firmly American except for their lead singer.

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**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/40 "2005-12-24T15:07:37Z")

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Some of them–Nick Gilder, Corey Hart, Men Without Hats, Dan Hill among others–were pretty well-known 20-30 years ago for one song apiece. Are they still “ubiquitous” in Canada?

kd lang is a huge favorite of mine. I honestly think she has the greatest voice since Ella Fitzgerald.

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