Before we start, I would like to pay tribute to the recently passed Gord Downie. The Tragically Hip are a phenomenon that is hard to explain, but all I can say is that when I hear them, I hear a different little piece of what makes Canada Canada. They have so many songs that are so popular here (and so ignored everywhere else) that not only do they have over a dozen songs I could name Certified CanCon Classics, I might has well give that title to their whole career. RIP, Gordie baby, I knew exactly what you meant, I swear to God.
Now to October 1988. Canada was in a funk. After one of the biggest trades in sports history, we were now watching Wayne Gretzky play hockey in a Los Angeles Kings uniform. Sprinter Ben Johnson's triumph at the Seoul Olympics was squelched when he tested positive for steroids and his gold medal was stripped. And while all that was going on, we had to pay attention to a federal election campaign. Good times. Well, we could always try to escape through music, and here are some of the more popular distractions of the time.
Bonus Track: 57 - "Slow Turning," John Hiatt
Born in Indianapolis in 1952, Hiatt got his first music business attention when his song "Sure as I'm Sittin' Here" became a hit for Three Dog Night in 1974. This got him a major label recording contract, and he bounced around a few label's for over a decade until his 1987 LP Bring the Family garnered him his first significant sales and airplay. This title track from his next album became his biggest hit. It's a banjo-driven folk rocker about adjusting from making noise with your guitar in your youth to being an adult and wanting your children to stop "banging like Charlie Watts" in the back seat of the car. Rootsy goodness. Hiatt has continued performing and writing ever since, with his biggest pop success coming in 1989 when Canada's own Jeff Healey took a cover of "Angel Eyes" to #5 in America.
49 - "Into the Night," Big Bang (CanCon!)
This Scarborough, Ontario trio hasn't left much of an online footprint with their only hit. Couldn't find lyrics, and all I could find of the song is a clip on YouTube of a profile of the band from a show on YTV (the Canadian version of Nickelodeon) that contained parts of the video and a snippet of a live performance. From that I vaguely remember the song as being kind of Simple Minds-ish, but nothing special. They were pretty much done after this, and there clearly isn't much nostalgia for their one moment.
48 - "Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution," Tracy Chapman
After her smash debut single "Fast Car" topped the charts here and went Top Ten in the U.S. and the U.K., Cleveland native Chapman could do not better than this position with her follow-up, a folk-rocker that essentially warns of/encourages an uprising by the world's lower economic classes. Probably not surprising that commercial radio didn't want to embrace it. Nor is it surprising that it was adopted last year by the presidential campaign of left-wing populist Bernie Sanders last year. A good addition to any protest playlist alongside the Woody Guthries, Phil Ochs, and Billy Braggs of the world.
47 - "Don't Go," Hothouse Flowers
From the Monkstown section of Dublin, this band got its start with a single on the U2-owned Mother Records label, then they were signed to a major label and hit #11 in Britain and this high here with this rollicking mix of folk, rock, and soul. Urgent and inspiring, it seemed to promise a big career, but they wouldn't go beyond a cult following outside the British Isles. But this one still reaches out and grabs me.
43 - "Come Back to Me," Barney Bentall and the Legendary Hearts (CanCon!)
This Vancouver band first garnered attention when the video for their indie single "Something to Live For" gained significant airplay on MuchMusic. They would then sign a major label deal and become a steady CanCon provider for several years. Their second hit was this bar-rocker on which Bentall tells an old flame that he's better than her flashy new guy. The theme and the sound are very much junior Springsteen, but they pull the sound off better than, say, John Cafferty's band. And in case I don't get to it, I'm going to take the time to induct "Something to Live For" into the ranks of my Certified CanCon Classics. That one you should definitely track down if you don't know it.
41 - "My Girl," Myles Goodwyn (CanCon!)
Between the breakup of April Wine in 1982 and their reunion in 1992, leader Goodwyn recorded a solo album that contained this ballad about wanting to get his lady back. Blah, drowning in synths, and not up to his band's legacy of okayness. He was right to get back with the boys and return to jamming out "Roller" and "Could've Been a Lady" for the cottage crowd.
40 - "Nothing Can Come Between Us," Sade
The Nigerian-Briton and her band hit bigger here than in those two bigger countries with another bit of slick jazz-pop about the galvanizing power of love. Not super distinctive, but nice.
38 - "Spot You in a Coalmine," Corey Hart (CanCon!)
The Montreal heartthrob had the fifteenth of his whopping 30 Top 40s at home with this soulful rocker about being able to know where his lover is at all times, no matter what. There's a Dylan reference in the lyrics and some good guest vocals from British singer Ruby Turner. He was maturing as an artist, and while that didn't help him from fading commercially in the States, it helped him weather the future at home.
37 - "Endless Night," Eye Eye (CanCon!)
This Toronto band's biggest hit was this nondescript rock song about getting through the night with someone special. Synths and sax are present and correct, as they should be on this sort of 80s blandness.
34 - "Bring Me Some Water," Melissa Etheridge
In the States, the raspy Kansas rocker didn't get much airplay beyond rock radio until the mid-90s, but here she was having pop hits right from her debut album, the first being this intense howl of jealousy and desperation. For me, it's her best hit by quite a margin.
33 - "My Song," Glass Tiger (CanCon!)
While they were months removed from their last U.S. Top 40, the hits continued at home, including this jaunty collaboration with Irish traditionalists The Chieftains. Not bad, but a little out of their depth.
32 - "Smile Me Down," Andrew Cash (CanCon!)
Torontonian Cash started in the punk band L'etranger in the early 80s, then went in a folk-rock direction for his solo career. His second hit was this jangly number about people who intimidate and belittle others in the guise of friendliness. Which is something I'm sure he became familiar with during his recent four-year stint as a Member of Parliament.
31 - "Dream On," Blvd. (CanCon!)
The third of five hits for these Calgarians was this...well, see my entry on Eye Eye, minus the sax.
29 - "Don't be Afraid of the Dark," The Robert Cray Band
Georgia blues guitarist Cray had scored a surprise pop hit the year before with "Smoking Gun," and Canada gave him another one with this invitation to a lady to come over for what today might be called "Marvin Gaye and chill." Pretty good.
28 - "When I Fall in Love," Natalie Cole
For some reason, this R&B cover of a song that was a hit for Doris Day in 1952 and Natalie's father four years later made it's biggest chart impact here. I don't get it. It's blandly modernized and overly sung. But it does serve as foreshadowing of her 90s turn to traditionalism.
26 - "Dancing Under a Latin Moon," Candi (CanCon!)
This Toronto group started as a band specializing in Italian weddings, but after getting a major label deal, they had a brief string of hits, the best-remembered being this dance-pop tune about fantasizing about falling in love in Brazil. Why the location was so important is unclear, but singer Candi Penella sells it with her personality. She's someone I thought could have been a bigger star, but instead she married her drummer and became a high school teacher. Nothing wrong with that.
25 - "Levity," Ian Thomas (CanCon!)
Though Hamilton native Thomas had little international success after his 1973 hit "Painted Ladies," he would be a CanCon staple for the next couple decades. His last solo hit was this okay rock track about wanting more lightness in his life. Though the song's serious tone kind of blunts that message. If you want more of him, I'd suggest tracking down "Pilot" or "Right Before Your Eyes" instead of this.
19 - "Round and Round," Frozen Ghost (CanCon!)
This Toronto band's featured two members of the band Sheriff, who broke up in 1985 but would see their 1983 domestic Top Ten "When I'm With You," top the American charts in '89. These guys had a handful of hits, including this soft-rocker about the cyclical nature of relationships. It's just okay CanCon, nothing more or less.
16 - "Voodoo Thing," Colin James (CanCon!)
From Regina, Saskatchewan, James got his first break in 1984 when Stevie Ray Vaughan came to town and tapped James and his band as a last-minute replacement opening act. A major-label deal followed, and James scored his first of several hits with this bluesy tale of an encounter with a Southern lady who practices black magic. It's a well-worn trope, but James sounds authentic and enthusiastic enough to make it work. And to make it another Certified CanCon Classic.
15 - "Better be Home Soon," Crowded House
The New Zealanders only reached #42 in the States with the first single from their second album, never coming close to another Top 40 hit there. But here, this sweet countryish ballad hit the Top Ten, and they would do so four more times. This is why Canada is cool. These guys are a Hall of Fame calibre pop band.
Out at the speedway, some kind of Top Ten thing.
10 - "It Would Take a Strong Strong Man," Rick Astley
This pleading midtempo ballad became the Roller's third of four #1s here. And it's probably the best showcase his talent ever got.
9 - "Never Tear Us Apart," INXS
The fourth hit from Kick, and probably my favorite 80s ballad. It hits all the sweet spots, and Michael Hutchence sings the hell out of it. Nothing short of classic.
8 - "Forever Young," Rod Stewart
Rod's maudlin wishlist for a child was so close to Bob Dylan's identically titled 1974 song that Dylan got a writing credit and the chunk of the royalties that came with it. Good for him. His song was much better, but this one sold more. Best of both worlds.
7 - "Groovy Kind of Love," Phil Collins
Buster failed to launch him as a movie star, but the soundtrack gave him this Triple Crown-winning cover of Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders 1966 hit. Blah.
6 - "Love Bites," Def Leppard
The Leps were at their commercial peak on this power ballad about the pitfalls of romance. One of the great examples of the Mutt Lange template.
5 - "Don't be Cruel," Cheap Trick
The Tricksters followed up their cross-border #1 "The Flame" with an Elvis cover. They clearly had fun doing it, but I didn't need to hear it.
4 - "Don't You Know What the Night Can Do," Steve Winwood
The Woodman followed up the throwback soul of "Roll With It," with this slick pop that sounds like it belongs in a beer commercial. And wouldn't you know it, it was used in one. Between Genesis, Clapton, and this guy, American beer and aging British rockers were the hot combo at the time.
3 - "One Good Woman," Peter Cetera
Ugh, we made this pukey Ceteramush #1? And America didn't? Wow, we really screwed that one up.
2 - "True Love," Glenn Frey
And we made this crap a #2 too? When America had the good sense to keep it out of the Top Ten? Wow. My fellow Canadians, repeat after me "Glenn Frey is not a soul singer. He is an Eagle, and an Eagle only."
And 29 years ago, Canada loved best...
1 - "Don't Worry, Be Happy," Bobby McFerrin
Ah yes, that moment when this one-man a capella band went from a jazz curiosity to a pop sensation when he took two thirds of the Triple Crown (only Britain held it to #2) with this reggae-flavored ode to unfettered optimism. It didn't age well (less than a year later Public Enemy were angrily decrying it on "Fight the Power"), but it still has some charm, and it's hard not to be amazed by the technical ability. And maybe Bobby would be happy to know that I'm giving him an Uneasy Rider.
The journey continues soon.
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