# Do Americans Know These Ubiquitous Canadian Pop Musicians? **URL:** \ **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:** 3
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/41 "2005-12-24T15:15:24Z")
A LOT of these acts are not even close to being “ubiquitous” in Canada. Many of those acts are long forgotten. Paul Janz? Lee Aaron? Prism? Toronto? Nobody in CANADA knows if these people are alive or dead. Aldo Nova had one hit in 1982. ---
**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, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/42 "2005-12-24T15:52:23Z")
> [@Green Bean](#): > > 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!) > Corey Hart–Sunglasses at Night > > Guess Who–American Woman > > Loverboy–Everybody’s Workin for the Weekend I don’t have much to add for Corey, but in KC we also get his “Never Surrender” played a lot. And other than “American Woman,” a few other songs present on the Guess Who’s Greatest Hits also make the rounds out here on our classic rock stations (“No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature,” " These Eyes," “Share The Land,” “Undun,” etc…). Finally, Loverboy is represented out here with “Turn Me Loose” and “Lovin’ Every Minute Of It” in addition to “Working for the Weekend”. > [@Green Bean](#): > > Here are the ones that I can’t definitively say I’ve ever heard of at all: > > Dan Hill > > Glass Tiger Depending on your age, you might recognize Dan Hill from his two most popular songs in the early '80s: " Sometimes When We Touch"-- the song which includes the famous creepy lyrics: And sometimes when we touch The honesty’s too much And I have to close my eyes and hide I wanna hold you til I die Til we both break down and cry I wanna hold you till the fear in me subsides … and his duet with Vonda Shepherd (before her stint on Alley McBeal), “Can’t We Try”. Glass Tiger had two semi-quasi-big hits in the mid-'80s: “. Don’t Forget Me ( When I’m Gone)” (their biggest hit), and “Someday” (not as big, but still recognizeable enough that I slapped my head when I found out who sang it). ---
**Author:** ![AThingWithFeathers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@AThingWithFeathers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AThingWithFeathers)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/43 "2005-12-24T17:17:53Z")
> [@Lisa-go-Blind](#): > > **Musicians Even Most Non-Music People Know** > Alanis Morissette > Avril Lavigne > Barenaked Ladies > Celine Dion > Joni Mitchell > k. d. lang > Neil Young > Paul Anka > Shania Twain > > **Musicians Who Are Known By Slightly More-Than-Casual Listeners (Or People Of A "Certain Age"** > Bachman Turner Overdrive > The Band > Blood, Sweat & Tears > Bryan Adams > Crash Test Dummies (though they were a one-hit wonder here, they were one of the more memorable ones) > Gordon Lightfoot > Guess Who > Loverboy > Men Without Hats (see comment about Crash Test Dummies) > Nelly Furtado > Rush > Sarah McLachlan I have no idea who Paul Anka is, but I think it’s hilarious that by “People of a “Certain Age”,” most would assume that meant older, and yet you included Nelly Furtudo (whom I know of because she was pasted all over the cover of YM and one or two other mags around 2001), and Sarah McLachlan who I consider very 90’s. I also like Gordon Lightfoot mostly because of my mother’s cds, but I didn’t realize the average person would remember him, nor that he is Canadian. I also think Rush should be on the first list, but that’s just my opinion. Also the Tragically Hip aren’t _that_ obscure, are they? I know of them and have New Orleans is Sinking on my computer, and I’m nearly five years younger than Lisa-Go-Blind. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/44 "2005-12-24T18:01:32Z")
The following are those on the list that I, in some way or another, recognize: Alanis Morissette Alannah Myles April Wine Avril Lavigne Bachman Turner Overdrive The Band Barenaked Ladies Blood, Sweat & Tears Bryan Adams Burton Cummings Celine Dion Corey Hart Crash Test Dummies Dan Hill Five Man Electrical Band Gino Vannelli Glass Tiger Gordon Lightfoot Guess Who Jann Arden Jeff Healey Joni Mitchell k. d. lang Klaatu Loverboy Men Without Hats Neil Young Nelly Furtado Nick Gilder Paul Anka Rush Sarah McLachlan Shania Twain Snow Tom Cochrane Tragically Hip 36 in all, which isn’t that bad considering my age, tastes, and the fact that I live nowhere near Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/45 "2005-12-24T18:01:51Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > \…Spoons… Wow, somebody remembers! 😃 Naw, I’m just kidding. No relation to the band. But I have been asked before, so I thought I’d just forestall the questions. Anyway, I have one addition, though, **featherlou** : Sweeny Todd, which featured (if memory serves) both Nick Gilder and Bryan Adams before their solo careers. They had at least one hit: “Roxy Roller,” which you can occasionally still hear on classic rock stations. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/46 "2005-12-24T18:23:17Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > …I fully support CanCon - Canadian artists would be lost in a sea of American music if not for it. I don’t know about that. A lot of these artists are well-known, but not well-known for being Canadian. The artist on that list with the greates name recognition is probably Paul Anka. It’s still a good idea, though. Anything that gums up the works of the major label marketing machines, and encourages regionalism in music is good, IMO. The fact that Loverboy, April Wine, Rush and Triumph are on that list does not _completely_ undermine its reason to exist. I’d gone nearly 20 blissful years without thinking of “Gypsy Queen.” ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/47 "2005-12-24T18:44:02Z")
My all-time favorite Canadian band: [The Dayglo Abortions](http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Venue/5689/) ---
**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, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/48 "2005-12-24T19:04:38Z")
Okay, I’l give you Blood, Sweat & Tears. We debated over their addition to the list. We also debated over Sweeney Todd - I think everyone knows “Roxy Roller,” but I don’t think most Canadians could say who sings it. I also don’t agree with **RickJay**. Maybe radio is different where he lives, but we don’t go a couple of days without hearing a Toronto or Lee Aaron song on the radio here. And if you play Aldo Nova’s “Fantasy” at a dance, I would bet you five dollars that everyone there will be singing along with it. Hmm, maybe I should have done a thread to get consensus among the Canadians first. 🙂 Oh, the CanCon discussion - I would like to modify my previous statement. I still fully support it, but it would be superfantastic if Canadian radio would play more than the handful of songs they jam down our throats as CanCon. There are millions of songs they could play; I would absolutely love to hear lesser-known Canadian artists and songs on the radio, rather than “Taking Care of Business,” “Tom Sawyer,” and “Summer of '69” (and “Watcha Do To My Body”) ad nauseum. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/49 "2005-12-24T19:42:02Z")
> [@Hentor the Barbarian](#): > > 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. I think thats because Triumph at their peak with Allied Forces , was under heavy competition with a lot of music that was coming out, so they never really got recognized for having a more disctinctive style. I love them , but they never seemed to move on from being concidered ontario cottage rock. Rik Emmett should have moved on to a more solo career a lot earlier. Declan ---
**Author:** ![VenusProbe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e495f1/32.png) [@VenusProbe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VenusProbe)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/50 "2005-12-24T19:52:17Z")
I know less than a third of them, but I don’t listen to a lot of music. I don’t own a stereo or have a radio in the car so what I get is from hanging around friends and family. ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/51 "2005-12-24T19:59:09Z")
> [@Anastasaeon](#): > > Where’s **Sloan**? 😃 I was gonna ask the same thing! I only listen to one of the bands in the OP’s list, but I also listen to Sloan. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/52 "2005-12-24T20:12:11Z")
I know about 2/3rds but we will never forgive you for Celine. That was an evil thing allowing her out of Hell to torment us. Jim ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/53 "2005-12-24T20:23:23Z")
Ones I’ve never heard of…or at least I don’t recognize the band name. I may have heard some of their music but didn’t know the artist’s name. > [@featherlou](#): > > Anybody want to play? (It’s a loooong list, but we all have time off now :).) > > 54-40 > Amanda Marshall > Barney Bentall > Blue Rodeo > Bruce Cockburn > Burton Cummings > Chalk Circle > Chilliwack > Colin James > Dan Hill > David Wilcox > Doucette > Doug & The Slugs > Gowan > Haywire > Helix > Honeymoon Suite > Kim Mitchell > Lee Aaron > Lighthouse > Luba > Martha & The Muffins > Max Webster > Nick Gilder > The Nylons > The Original Caste > Parachute Club > Paul Janz > Payola$ > Prism > The Pursuit of Happiness > Rough Trade > Sass Jordan > Snow > Spoons > The Stampeders > Toronto > Triumph > Trooper ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/54 "2005-12-24T20:37:31Z")
I’ve heard of about 80% of the artists mentioned. The more current the acts, the less likely I am to know them (I’m 44, and find I’m almost as clueless about current pop as my Mom was about Led Zeppelin). Thing is, many (maybe most) of the acts cited had only 1 or 2 big hits in the U.S. I’m curious how “ubiquitous” they are in Canada. Alannah Myles had a smash hit here with “Black Velvet.” but has pretty much disappeared from view in the USA. Is she still a huge star in Canada? Dan Hill’s “Sometimes When We Touch,” was a blockbuster, but I can’t think of any other hits he had in the USA since. Is he really still a huge star in Canada? Aldo Nova had a uge hit with “Fantasy,” but I haven’t heard of him since? Has he actually had big hits in Canada lately? - As for the CanCon rules, I wonder how similar rules would go over in the US. I mean, a classic rock fan can easily listen to his favorite radio station for an hour and hear nothing but foreign acts (AC/DC, Beatles, Cream, Def Leppard, ELP, Genesis, Elton John, Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Rush, Scorpions, U2, Steve Winwood, Yes). Maybe WE need an American Content rule, to give homegrown rock acts a sporting chance! ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/55 "2005-12-24T23:21:02Z")
I’ve never heard of: > [@featherlou](#): > > 54-40 > A Foot In Coldwater > Alannah Myles > Aldo Nova > Amanda Marshall > Barney Bentall > Blue Rodeo > Burton Cummings > Chalk Circle > Chilliwack > Colin James > Corey Hart > Dan Hill > David Wilcox > Doucette > Doug & The Slugs > Five Man Electrical Band > Gino Vannelli > Glass Tiger > Gowan > Great Big Sea > Harlequin > Haywire > Honeymoon Suite > 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 > Red Rider > Rough Trade > Sass Jordan > Spoons > The Stampeders > Toronto > Triumph > Trooper On the other hand, I’m aware of probably _less_ popular (in Canada too)Canadian bands like: Beneath Augusta (love them, wish they sold the CD in the US) Metric (Eh) Broken Social Scene (hit or miss) Death from Above 1979 (hit or miss- “black history month” is fantastically catchy) Arcade Fire (boo! hiss!) Royal City (like everything I’ve heard so far) Spirit of the West (okay) The Tea Party (okay…but why like 10 years between singles in the US?) The Paper Cranes (like 'em) Stars (no thanks) It would amuse me if a Canadian doper copped to not knowing one or more of these 🙂 ---
**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, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/56 "2005-12-24T23:25:56Z")
What about Corky and the Juice Pigs? I wish I could get any recordings of their stuff. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2005, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/57 "2005-12-25T00:03:35Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I’ve heard of about 80% of the artists mentioned. The more current the acts, the less likely I am to know them (I’m 44, and find I’m almost as clueless about current pop as my Mom was about Led Zeppelin). > > Thing is, many (maybe most) of the acts cited had only 1 or 2 big hits in the U.S. I’m curious how “ubiquitous” they are in Canada. > > Alannah Myles had a smash hit here with “Black Velvet.” but has pretty much disappeared from view in the USA. Is she still a huge star in Canada? > > Dan Hill’s “Sometimes When We Touch,” was a blockbuster, but I can’t think of any other hits he had in the USA since. Is he really still a huge star in Canada? > > Aldo Nova had a uge hit with “Fantasy,” but I haven’t heard of him since? Has he actually had big hits in Canada lately? Again, no, no and no. Aldo Nova had little success after “Fantasy” and got more into producing. Alannah Myles did some lingerie modelling or something. Dan Hill’s still back in the 70s, isn’t he? Most of the bands listed in the OP are no longer producing records, or if they are nobody’s buying them. The last I heard of Larry Gowan he was playing strip malls and weddings. He’s a nice guy, though. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2005, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/58 "2005-12-25T00:24:59Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Again, no, no and no. Aldo Nova had little success after “Fantasy” and got more into producing. Alannah Myles did some lingerie modelling or something. Dan Hill’s still back in the 70s, isn’t he? Oh, scratch these two from my list of “don’t knows.” I know both of the songs astorian mentioned. I even like the Black Velvet one. ---
**Author:** ![MisterThyristor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecccb3/32.png) [@MisterThyristor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MisterThyristor)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2005, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/59 "2005-12-25T04:54:19Z")
Odd, I counted exactly 37 artists that I had heard of, the same as two other posters! Maybe not the same ones, however. Another few that I think would be classified as one-hit wonders in the US: Gino Vanelli –_I Just Wanna Stop_ (Well, maybe two-hit if you include _Living Inside Myself_) Jann Arden – _Insensitive_ Burton Cummings – _Stand Tall_ Leonard Cohen is mostly known by music enthusiasts, but I think he had at least a minor hit with “Suzanne”, although maybe more people know the Judy Collins version. And I’m pretty sure more people have heard the Aaron Neville version of “Bird on a Wire” than his own version. And I would have included Gordon Lightfoot in the “people even non-musicians know” category, I can think of a number of his that are still being played on the oldies stations – _Sundown, If You Could Read My Mind, Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald_ among others. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2005, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051/60 "2005-12-25T05:22:25Z")
> [@](#): > > Another few that I think would be classified as one-hit wonders in the US: > > Burton Cummings – Stand Tall ‘Stand Tall’ was the only single of his to crack the American top 10, but he had five more singles that charted in the top 100: “I’m Scared”, “My Own Way to Rock”, “Break it to them Gently”, “You Saved My Soul”, and “Takes a Fool to Love a Fool”. In Canada, all of these songs were monster hits, and Cummings was one of the biggest artists of the late 70’s. Of course, he had more success as the lead singer for the Guess Who. Looking at everyone’s list of who they have never heard of, it seems to me that the one artist most deserving of more attention in the U.S. is **Colin James**. He was (and is) absolutely huge in Canada. His new album, “Limelight” is great. It’s very much Van Morrison influenced, including a good cover of ‘Into the Mystic’. He’s a fantastic guitarist who was mentioned in the same breath as Stevie Ray Vaughan back in the early 80’s - helped in part by Vaughan asking him to open for him and speaking of him as the next guitar hero. His music is heavily influenced by the electric blues. If you’re interested in that kind of music, check him out. Songs to look for: \*Voodoo Thing Five Long Years I Just Came Back Chicks N’ Cars and the Third World War Why’d You Lie Cadillac Baby National Steel Saviour You can go to [AllMusic](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE47917DB4CAE7F20C093314CC8BA60FD07FE50F28F096E4954C0A2054D9A0E23E748E9D8CFAEF870AB7BAFFF2BE85B0DD9CBE65CF9DD764C40&sql=10:g3820r8ac48v) and hear clips of all of them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-know-these-ubiquitous-canadian-pop-musicians/337051.md?page=4)