

Ten Canadian pop music songs that should have been big American hits


I’ve been listening to some streaming audio stations from Canada – oldies stations like CKOC in Hamilton Ontario, and pop music stations like NRJ 94.3 in Montreal. And it’s almost like listening to a parallel universe of music – you hear the popular American and British hits, but then the announcers will rattle off a song by a Canadian band and you hear the song, and you start thinking, “Wow, that’s a great song – why didn’t it become a big pop hit in America? I would have bought a copy and listened to it on my iPod and everything else.”

And you say, “Chuck, we’ve already got a bunch of great songs from Canada.  Have you not heard of Rush or Bryan Adams or the Guess Who or Alanis Morissette or Barenaked Ladies?”

Well, yes I have.  Thank you for reminding me.  But  I am about to introduce you to ten tracks from our neighbors from the Great White North – ten songs that are played a lot on Canadian top 40 radio, but we never got to hear them in the States… until now.

Pretty Lady

Lighthouse did have a hit in America with the song “One Fine Morning,” but in Canada they were superstars, placing several songs on national radio. This one, “Pretty Lady,” has one of the coolest horn riffs by any group not named Chicago or Earth Wind & Fire.

Half Past Midnight

Two minutes of pure pop harmony and greatness. This group would later evolve into the Five Man Electrical Band, a group with a major hit called “Signs.” I think this record even won Record of the Year in Canada in 1967. I can hear why.


A Number One song in Toronto for weeks, the Ugly Ducklings have appeared on several compilations, including the Nuggets series. Why this group never got a chance in the United States is completely beyond me.

Make Me Do Anything You Want

This group evolved from a faux British Invasion band called the Lords of London (if London means London, Ontario), and produced probably the most popular slow-dance song for any Canadian high school prom. Which you can hear by clicking on the YouTube clip at the right.  You might know this song as a later hit by the rock band Helix.


From the English-speaking section of Montreal comes this 1960′s era garage classic. There are several different mixes of this song – this is from an early music video of the group.
Aimes-Tu La Vie Comme Moi

I don’t care if I can’t understand a single lyric of this song. I don’t care if it sounds like the record borrows copious amounts of Steve Miller’s “Fly Like an Eagle.” This song just sounds absolutely fantastic. And it should have been a hit in America.

The Attitude

America had the Mamas and the Papas; Canada had the Sugar Shoppe. They had several hits, this is one of their biggest. Trivia Note – one of the Sugar Shoppe members is Victor Garber, who later carved out a successful acting career, including appearing as Will Schuester’s father in the Glee TV series.  Think we’d ever get a “Sugar Shoppe” edition of Glee?

Beautiful Second-Hand Man

Ginette Reno was an extremely popular Quebecois singer, and this was one of her first English-language hits. How influential was Ginette Reno? The story is that a young singer got her first recording contract by looking up the address on the back of a Ginette Reno album. That’s why we have Celine Dion today.

Sub-Rosa Subway

In America, this group got seriously pigeonholed as being possibly the Beatles in disguise. They also had a second strike against them, when one of their biggest hits in Canada, “Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft,” was covered by the Carpenters. “Sub-Rosa Subway” was a minor chart hit in the States, but it should have been at least a Top 10 smash.

Echo Beach

Number one hit in Canada. Top ten hit in England. And not even a stitch of airplay in America, outside of progressive college radio? Wow…

I’m sure there are plenty of others, but I thought these clips would be a good starting point. Okay, feel free to start commenting, eh!

Categories: Ten for Thursday
Chuck Miller

3 Responses

  1. I’ve heard (and loved) the final two, but the first eight will give me something to investigate!!

  2. Another Canadian who should have been bigger here is Kim Mitchell. He had one hit in the 80′s called “Go for Soda,” with a video on MTV. He was a much bigger star in Canada and is now a radio DJ. In the late 70′s and early 80′s, he was a member of Max Webster. Kim Mitchell is an amazing guitarist!

  3. Chris H says:

    This will give me some listneing ideas while The Tragically Hip are in between albums.