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Despite the The early 'Teen Idols' ...
By 1956, Paul Anka had solidified himself as Canada's first teen idol. The Ottawa native had already conquered Toronto, and had already spent nearly two years in New York, working with others as well as establishing his own name. He was enjoying the success of his first single, "Diana," a song he wrote after having a crush on his younger brother and sister's babysitter, which was released in 1957 and topped Billboard's Top 100. The very next year he made his acting debut in the musical, LET'S ROCK. Some of his other early singles to become pop classics included "I'm Just A Lonely Boy" and "Put Your Head On My Shoulder".
Anka also earned a name for himself penning major hits for others, including "It Doesn't Matter Anymore", Buddy Holly's last single before dieing tragically in a plane crash in 1959, "My Way", which became Frank Sinatra's signature song in '66, and the original theme for 'The Tonite Show With Johnny Carson'.
Partially drifting out of the limelight, Anka wouldn't reach number one again until 1974, with the Odia Coates duet, "You're Having My Baby." Despite its success, the song wasn't without controversy with feminist and social groups, who claimed it promoted unmarried sex and an unmoral society. Although semi-retiring by the end of the 70's, he remained active behind the scenes, with producing and writing for others, as well as other outside projects.
An active man in the community, he also bought into the NHL's Ottawa Senators, and remains a minor shareholder in the team today. Paul Anka was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame in 1980, and was Canada's first entry into the US music charts, making him synonymous with the era.
Another Ontario native to be marked a teen heart throb was Bobby Curtola, from what's now Thunder Bay. Like Anka, Curtola's 'boy next door look' was a hit with the girls on the Toronto scene in the late 50's and had already appeared on a number of local TV 'hit parade' programs.
His first single was released in 1960, "Hand In Hand With You". He would go on to crack Billboard's Top 100 a number of more times in the '60's with gold hits such as "Hitch Hiker", "Alladin", "3 Rows Over" and his biggest chart-topper "Fortune Teller".
Curtola would go on to enjoy 25 gold singles. Now making Edmonton his home, Curtola today is widely sought after for product endorsements and is one of the top draws around the lounge and club circuit. He also hosted the Edmonton region portion of Alberta's Centennial celebrations in 2005, broadcast across the province.
Born in Massachussets, Robert Goulet moved to Edmonton - where he lived next door to my Mom, attended Mount Caramel Catholic School and reportedly was a little hell-raiser. He overcame his mischivieness through acting in several school plays, then graduating to local productions throughout the city. After appearing in a CBC feature of Edmonton's drama community, he moved to Toronto to become a prime player in the CBC's lineup in the late 50's. But after only 3 seasons, he ventured south in 1960 to meet his international fame in stage and screen, including the role of Lancelot in the hit musical CAMELOT, which debuted in 1960 in Toronto.
Some of his more recent works have included playing Frank Drebin's nemesis Quentin Hapsburg in NAKED GUN 2 1/2 - - and was kidnapped by Nelson Muntz and forced to play to a standing-room-only crowd in Bart's treehouse. ... HAA! HAA!
Robert Goulet was inducted into Canada's Hall of Fame in 2006.
The 4 Lads, originally known as The 4 Dukes, first hit the charts in '52 with "Mocking Bird". Their first gold record was "Istanbul" a year later. Other hits of the day included "Who Needs You", "It's So Easy To Forget", and "Moments To Remember", which peaked at #5 on Billboard in 1955.???????? rose from doing college campuses and supper clubs to concert halls, appeared in early TV commercials and appeared on countless teen dance shows, to sellng out concert halls across the globe. They would go on to sell close to 50 million singles and albums to date.
Originally known as The Canadaires, The Crew Cuts changed their name on the suggestion of a Cleveland radio DJ's suggestion. The band consisted of brothers John and Ray Perkins, Rudi Maugeri, and Pat Barrett. They mostly made a career of covering other artists' songs, beginning with their first of two singles in '54, "Crazy 'Bout You Baby", written by Rudi Maugeri and Pat Barrett. "Sh'Boom", done by The Chords a year earlier, reached #1 on Billboard later that year, topping the charts for seven weeks. And even though it still has a 'big band' feel to it, it's been argued as the first true 'rock and roll' song.
The next year saw them cover The Penguins' "Earth Angel", peaking that summer at #3.
The Diamonds, like the 4 Lads and The Crew Cuts, enjoyed a great deal of success for the better part of a decade. From the mid 50's thru to the '60's, beginning with their first entry in Billboard, 1956's "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?". The next year saw them crack the Top 5 twice, "Little Darlin'", their biggest hit which peaked at #2, while "The Stroll" hit #5 and prompted a dance craze of the same name. Dave Somerville claims to be a direct descendant of Charlemagne. In the year 1100, another relative, Gualter Somerville, is credited as killing the last dragon in Scotland.
The Diamonds, along with The Crewcuts and 4 Lads were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1984 in recognition for their outstanding influence on shaping Canadian pop music, and are considered classics of 'doo wop' .
In 1958, Ronnie Hawkins brought his brand of folk/rockabilly from Arkansas and formed Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks. The group went through a number of incarnations while carving out a niche for rockabilly/blues, pioneering the sound in Canada. Hawkins and company would go on to record the hits "40 Days" and "Mary Lou" before his back-up players left and eventually made their own mark as The Band.
Hawkins meanwhile would drift in to country over the decades, bringing with it the influences of his Dixie roots with the Canadian landscape, giving breaks to some of the country's top musicians over the years, even before The Band, including Domenic Troiano and Gowan.
Originally from Vancouver, Ian Tyson moved to Toronto in 1958, where he met and subsequently married fellow folk star Sylvia Fricker. Along with Sylvia and The Great Speckled Bird, he was instrumental in defining the cross over of country and folk thru the formative years. In 1961 he penned the folk classic "4 Strong Winds", which has closed the Edmonton Folk Music Festival every year since its inception in 1980. Ian & Sylvia Tyson were jointly inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991.
Perhaps our best-known folk star, Toronto's Gordon Lightfoot began his career playing drums in local jazz bands before moving to LA where he studied music at Westlake College. He returned home in 1959 and was a member of the chorus on CBC's 'Country Hoedown'. He also worked with The Gini Silvi Singers, before recording three records from '61 - '63 as one half of The 2 Tones. It was during this time that he also had his first single as a solo artist, 1962's "Remember Me".
Lightfoot's name was already established on a worldwide scale, landing him a job hosting a 'c&w' variety show in England the next year. Throughout his illustrious career his songs have been covered by artists as diverse as Elvis, Dylan, Nana Mouskouri and Barbra Streisand. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986, other Lightfoot classics over the years include '74's "Sundown", "Alberta Bound", "Don Quixote", the classic "Canadian Railroad Tragedy" and the timeless "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald" in 1976.