Ask “Mr. Music”
Jerry Osborne



FOR THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 6, 2017

DEAR JERRY: Loved your feature on No. 1 regional hits that failed on the national level.

How about the same research for Canadian and UK hits that never made our Billboard charts?
—Reggie Pedersen, Springfield, Mo.

DEAR REGGIE: Both suggestions are tantalizing topics, and with all the crossover music we have shared with our Canadian neighbors, I'll start there. The UK correlation will be a future project.

I began with each of Canada's national record charts, according to RPM Magazine, from their first issue in 1964 to the end of the 1980s. Amazingly, those 25 years netted only five No. 1 hits in Canada that never made Billboard's Hot 100.

THE RPM CHARTS:

Dates shown as: Year/Month/Day
1965/09/07 Eddie Rambeau - "My Name Is Mud"
1965/12/13 Little Caesar and the Consuls - "You Really Got a Hold on Me"
1967/04/22 Young Canada Singers - "Canada"
1985/04/20 Northern Lights - "Tears Are Not Enough"
1985/09/07 Platinum Blonde - "Crying Over You"

For pre-1964 Canadian chart data, my only source is regional surveys.

Far more qualifying No. 1 hits came from the eight principal provinces: British Columbia; Alberta; Saskatchewan; Manitoba; Ontario; Quebec; New Brunswick; and Nova Scotia.

They provide 91 additional No. 1 regional, vinyl era, hits that never reached that lofty level on RPM.

Provinces are listed from west to east. Stations in the same province are in order of number of entries.

CFUN (Vancouver, British Columbia):
1960/08/06 Les Vogt - "The Blamers"
1960/08/20 Buddy Knox - "Storm Clouds"
1961/03/11 Cliff Richard - "'D' in Love"
1961/11/04 George, Johnny & the Pilots - "Flying Blue Angels"
1962/01/12 Jerry Lee Lewis - "Bonnie B"
1962/03/16 Del Shannon - "Ginny in the Mirror"
1962/03/16 Del Shannon - "I Won't Be There"
1962/04/07 Roy Orbison - "Lana"
1963/09/07 Cliff Richard - "The Next Time"
1964/10/03 Nino & the Ebb Tides - "Automatic Reaction"

CKWX (Vancouver, British Columbia):
1960/09/26 Jamie Horton - "Robot Man"
1961/03/11 Dick Van Dyke - "Three Wheels on My Wagon"
1961/03/18 Del Erickson - "Two"
1961/08/05 The Flairs - "Shake Shake Sherry"

CFAY (North Surrey, British Columbia):
1968/02/23 The Love Affair - "Everlasting Love"

CFAC (Calgary, Alberta):
1961/06/10 Craig Douglas - "A Hundred Pounds of Clay"
1962/03/31 Roy Orbison - "The Actress"
1962/05/26 Darrell McCall - "Dear One"
1963/01/12 Barbra Streisand - "My Coloring Book"
1963/06/01 Bill Justis - "Tamoure"

CKXL (Edmonton, Alberta):
1968/11/23 The Happy Feeling - "Happy Feeling"
1970/01/03 Gainsborough Gallery - "Life Is a Song"

CFRN (Edmonton, Alberta):
1981/10/01 Jim Photoglo - "More to Love"

CHED (Edmonton, Alberta):
1961/09/02 Bob Luman - "Private Eye"

CJME (Regina, Saskatchewan):
1980/05/02 Doug and the Slugs - "Too Bad"
1980/06/27 Burton Cummings - "Fine State of Affairs"
1980/11/28 The Monks - "Drugs in My Pocket"
1981/01/09 Streetheart - "Tin Soldier"
1981/05/01 Rough Trade - "High School Confidential"
1983/02/04 Streetheart - "Comin' True"
1983/08/26 Toronto - "Girls Night Out"
1983/10/28 Jack Green - "Walking in My Sleep"

CKCK (Regina, Saskatchewan):
1966/06/10 Barry Allen - "Love Drops"

CFRW (Winnipeg, Manitoba):
1980/11/22 Harlequin - "Innocence"
1982/04/17 XTC - "Senses Working Overtime"
1982/05/08 Split Enz - "Pioneer"
1982/05/08 Split Enz - "Six Months in a Leaky Boat"
1982/12/18 Kilowatt - "Lovers on the Run"

CKRC (Winnipeg, Manitoba):
1969/01/31 Sugar & Spice - "Cruel War"

CKY (Winnipeg, Manitoba):
1964/04/18 The Beatles - "Misery"

CFRA (Ottawa, Ontario):
1958/01/11 Elvis Presley - "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care"
1961/04/15 Pete King Chorale - "Hey! Look Me Over"
1967/04/07 Staccatos - "Half Past Midnight"
1980/03/21 The B/52's - "Planet Claire"
1981/10/30 Jon & Vangelis - "The Friends of Mr. Cairo"
1982/02/26 Straight Lines - "Letting Go"
1982/10/22 Trio - "Da Da Da (I Don't Love You, You Don't Love Me)"
1983/04/29 Luba - "Everytime I See Your Picture"
1985/05/10 Gowan - "A Criminal Mind"
1986/02/21 One to One - "There Was a Time"
1986/05/02 Cats Can Fly - "Flippin' to the 'A' Side"

CHUM (Toronto, Ontario):
1960/06/06 Lonnie Donegan - "My Old Man's a Dustman (Ballad of a Refuse Disposal Officer)"
1963/05/13 Cliff Richard - "Summer Holiday"
1963/05/13 Cliff Richard - "Dancing Shoes"
1963/06/24 Richie Knight & The Mid-Knights - "Charlena"
1966/02/28 Douglas Rankine With the Secrets - "Clear the Track Here Comes Shack"
1967/08/28 Lords Of London - "Cornflakes and Ice Cream"
1967/10/02 The Ugly Ducklings - "Gaslight"
1980/03/15 XTC - "Making Plans for Nigel"
1981/07/18 AC/DC - "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap"
1981/11/14 Jon & Vangelis - "The Friends of Mr. Cairo"

CKFH (Toronto, Ontario):
1957/05/03 Nat "King" Cole - "China Gate"
1957/07/12 Billy Vaughn - "Johnny Tremain"
1957/08/16 Dorothy Collins - "Soft Sands"
1957/08/23 The Voices of Walter Schumann - "Soft Sands"
1957/10/18 Eddie Fisher - "Sayonara"

CFGO (Ottawa, Ontario):
1976/07/05 Tina Charles - "I Love to Love (But My Baby Loves to Dance)"
1976/12/27 Tina Charles - "Dance Little Lady Dance"
1977/08/29 Patsy Gallant - "Sugar Daddy"
1980/03/03 The B-52's - "Planet Claire"

CKEY (Toronto, Ontario):
1957/08/16 The Four Lads - "The Eyes of God"
1963/07/05 Bobby Curtola - "Indian Giver"

CKOY (Ottawa, Ontario):
1958/01/18 Johnny Six - "Mademoiselle"
1960/02/13 Joe London - "It Might Have Been"

CKLW (Windsor, Ontario):
1948/12/25 The Charioteers - "It's Too Soon to Know"
1957/08/19 The Chantones - "Anne Marie"

CKCH (Hull, Quebec):
1957/11/23 Paul Anka - "Tell Me That You Love Me"
1958/04/12 Billy Eckstine - "Gigi"
1958/05/03 Barbara McNair - "Bobby"
1958/12/13 Al Alberts - "Things I Didn't Say"

CJAD (Montreal, Quebec):
1959/05/16 The Del Tones - "Moonlight Party"
1963/04/13 Franck Pourcel and His French Strings - "I Will Follow You (Chariot)"
1963/04/20 Georgia Gibbs - "I Will Follow You"

CKGM (Montreal, Quebec):
1982/06/24 Imagination - "Just an Illusion"
1982/12/09 Carl Carlton - "Baby I Need Your Loving"
1983/09/28 Freeez - "I.O.U."

CJMS (Montreal, Quebec)
1966/06/20 Willows - "My Kinda Guy"

CHSJ (Saint John, New Brunswick)
1966/08/27 Jay Bees - "I'm a Loner"
1966/09/03 The Ugly Ducklings - "Nothin'"
1966/10/15 Gordon Lightfoot - "Spin, Spin"

CJCH (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
1982/10/22 Trio - "Da Da Da (I Don't Love You, You Don't Love Me)"

IZ ZAT SO? Here are four tunes that almost qualified for the above list.

Though each reached No. 1 on a Canadian regional chart, their U.S. appearance on Billboard lasted just one or two weeks, at or near the bottom of the charts:

CKEY (Toronto):
1957/08/09 Frank Sinatra - "You're Cheating Yourself" (one week)
1963/05/10 Cliff Richard - "Bachelor Boy" (one week)

CHUM (Toronto):
1964/05/25 Gerry & The Pacemakers - "I'm the One" (two weeks)

CFUN (Vancouver, British Columbia):
1960/06/18 Danny Valentino - "Biology" (two weeks)


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