Posts with the Blood Sweat and Tears tag

Barris Beat

Just short of witnessing history

Written by Ted Barris on . 1 Comment
Classic image from Woodstock Festival in 1969. Smithsonian Magazine.

I happened to be hitchhiking that life-changing afternoon. My parents had purchased a hobby farm outside Bethany, Ont. But with my family away in the late 1960s, suddenly the farm became my responsibility. So, this early August day, not owning a car to get me from Toronto to the farm, I chose to hitchhike my way there. My last ride pulled over at the intersection of Hwys 115 and 35, and I ran toward the car for the lift.

That’s when I tripped off the curb of the road, twisted my ankle really severely. And everything changed. (more…)

Barris Beat

Charting the sound of Canadian content

Written by Ted Barris on . 1 Comment
CHUM Chart from July 1963.

It was a Friday afternoon ritual. In the mid-1960s, when everybody’s definition of “hip” was knowing which rock ’n’ roll songs were the best in the land, we all raced downtown after school. We disembarked from the relatively new Yonge Street subway line at St. Clair and ran a block south to the window adjacent the front door at 1050 CHUM Radio. There, we each grabbed our own personal copy of CHUM’s Weekly Hit Parade.

“Who’s tops on the CHUM Chart this week?” was the first question blurted out. “The Beatles? Leslie Gore? Bobby Vinton? Jan and Dean?” (more…)

Barris Beat

Summer is music to my ears

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Drummer and Lighthouse band leader Skip Prokop epitomized music in the summer in Canada with 1972 hit song/album “Sunny Days.”

I have lots of thoughts associated with this time of year. Most are memories of the beginnings of summers past. The smell I most relate to this time of year is that of a high school locker; this time, it had to be cleaned out right to the bottom. The sight I most associate with early summer is an open road. It seemed with the first of July we drove to a cottage, a farm, maybe a campground. And the sound? Yes, mosquitoes, but mostly…

“Sittin’ in the sun and listenin’ to rock and roll,” sang Skip Prokop. “Sunny, sunny, sunny days…”

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Barris Beat

Where the Junos come from

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The current Juno Award owes its name to a champion of Canadian arts and culture from the late 1960s, Pierre Juneau. Photo Music Canada.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a conversation with some of my journalism students about the annual parade of awards shows – the Grammys, the People’s Choice Awards, the Oscars and the rest. The subject of this year’s Canadian music awards, coming up in April, eventually cropped up. They had all heard of the Junos, sure. But then I asked if anyone knew the origin of the Junos.

“Oh, it’s the name of the Canadian beach on D-Day,” one said.

“Yes, you’re right on the D-Day reference,” I said. “But not the musical one.”

“I know,” said one of my more erudite students. “Juno is the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods.”

“Right again,” I said. “But she’s got nothing to do with the Juno Music Awards in Canada.”

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