Rock and roll is an American phenomena. True, the United Kingdom has made a significant impact on rock and roll. Australia has had a few good bands over the years. But let's not forget the Canadian contribution.
97.1 FM WDRV Chicago, known as The Drive, (and 96.9 WWDV Zion, IL) runs a daily segment during the week called Ten @ 10. Usually, the segment is 10 songs from a year but the format often falls into a theme.
I've been trying for some time for the radio station to do a O Canada segment. There are plenty of great Canadian options, even when limited to the classic rock genre.
Geddy Lee turned 64 on Saturday (happy birthday) and the radio station used that milestone as an excuse to finally play 10 songs from Canadian rockers. The mix was typical for a classic rock playlist. They didn't pick any women in the set (Joni Mitchell) but they didn't play Take Off by Bob and Doug McKenzie, even though Geddy Lee sings on that track.
The list of songs I pitched don't quite match up with what the station played last week. But here is a non-biased list of 10 Canadian classic rock songs.
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Ten @ 10 host Bob Stroud, the midday personality, helped illustrate where these artists fell on the Canadian map.
Toronto — Rush; The Band; Steppenwolf (when the band was known as Sparrow)
Ontario — Gordon Lightfoot; Bryan Adams; Triumph
Winnipeg — Neil Young; Guess Who; Bachmann Turner Overdrive
Calgary — Loverboy
The bumpers had some fun with playing part of The Hockey Song by Stompin' Tom Connors and explaining what a 2-4 is at the Beer Store in Ontario.
The Band. Steppenwolf, and Blood Sweat and Tears often confuse classic rock fans since they aren't as well-known for being Canadian. I would have picked stronger tracks from Bryan Adams, Rush, and Triumph.
My personal favourites that could have been picked include Switchin' to Glide/The Beat Goes On by The Kings; Lunatic Fringe by Red Rider; Fantasy by Aldo Nova; and Life is a Highway by Tom Cochrane.
If we weren't limited by the restrictions of classic rock, we would include Leonard Cohen, Bruce Cockburn, Sarah MacLachlan, Barenaked Ladies, k.d. Lang, Michael Bublé, and Loreena McKennitt.
Feel free to submit your recommendations in the comments section for great classic rock songs from Canadian artists.
photo credit: WDRV/Chicago WWDV/Zion Hubbard Radio
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