Canadian Rock Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Tragically Hip

The Tragically Hip formed in Kingston, ON in 1984. Members included Gord Downie (vocalist), Paul Langlois (guitarist), Rob (Bobby) Baker (guitarist), Gord Sinclair (bassist), and Johnny Fay (drummer). They had many hits on their thirteen studio albums and one live album. Over the years, the Tragically Hip received a number of awards and honours. These include induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame (2005), induction into Canada's Walk of Fame (2002), Governor General's Performing Arts Award (2008), and appointment to the Order of Canada (2017). The band also received 17 Juno Awards (Canada's equivalent to Grammy Awards).

The song "Wheat Kings" appeared on the Tragically Hip's 1992 album "Fully Completely". It is about the true story of David Milgaard, a young man who was falsely imprisoned for rape and murder in January, 1970 when he was only 17 years old. In 1991, a new trial was finally granted after a successful appeal, but the government instead decided to stay the proceedings. Milgaard was released from prison in April, 1992, and was finally exonerated when it was discovered that the DNA that was found at the scene of the crime did not match his. "Wheat Kings" is a beautiful acoustic ballad, with one of the lines reminding everyone to "wait and see what tomorrow brings."

In 2015, Gord Downie, the lead singer of the band, was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. He died in October, 2017. After his passing, the band members announced that they would continue their musical pursuits, but they would no longer use the name "Tragically Hip".

Answer: Barenaked Ladies

"If I Had $1,000,000" was written by Barenaked Ladies band members Steven Page and Ed Robertson. The song appeared on a couple of their independent releases as well as their debut album "Gordon". It became very popular in Canada, the UK and the US. The song is essentially a list of items that a typical Canadian would buy if they were to win a large prize in a lottery.

Items include a house, a K-car, a tree fort for the yard, and a fur coat. The song reached Number 13 in Canada, Number 13 on the UK Rock Chart in 1996, and Number 37 on the US Billboard Adult Top 40 chart in 2000.

In 2005, the CBC network placed the song at Number Two on their list of Top 50 Essential Canadian Tracks.

Answer: Rush

Rush is a Canadian band that formed in Toronto in 1968. After a few lineup changes, the band evolved to three musicians in 1974 who stayed together until the band stopped playing in 2018. The three members included Geddy Lee (bass, keyboards, vocals), Alex Lifeson (guitar), and Neil Peart (drums, percussion, lyricist). These three members of the band performed together well into the 21st century. In 2015, they announced that they would no longer tour. In 2018, it was announced that the band would no longer record music. This was confirmed when founding member Neil Peart passed away due to brain cancer in January, 2020.

Rush's song "Tom Sawyer" is one of their best known. It was written by the band members in collaboration with lyricist Pye Dubois. The song appeared on their album "Moving Pictures" (1981). It was then played at every Rush concert from that point forward. "Tom Sawyer" peaked at Number 24 in Canada, Number 44 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and Number 8 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart. This song placed 19th on VH1's list of 100 Greatest Songs of Hard Rock in 2019. "Tom Sawyer" was also inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame on March 28, 2010.

Answer: Alanis Morissette

Alanis Morissette was born in Ottawa, ON in 1974. She became a musician quite young in life. She released two studio albums before "Hand in My Pocket" appeared on the third. Her first album was "Alanis" (1991), and her second was "Now is the Time" (1992). When the second album was not commercially successful, she worked with songwriter Glen Ballard to create her third studio album, "Jagged Little Pill" (1995). The song "Hand in My Pocket" was released as the second single from that album in October, 1995.

"Hand in My Pocket" became Morissette's first Number One song in Canada. It was also popular in the US where it peaked at Number One on the US Modern Rock Tracks (Alternative) chart, at Number Four on the US Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs) chart, at Number 15 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart and at Number Eight on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It also peaked at Number 13 in Australia, Number Seven in New Zealand, Number 45 in Sweden, Number 39 in France, Number 26 in the UK, and Number 86 in the Netherlands.

Answer: The Guess Who

The Guess Who formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1965. After a few personnel moves, the band settled with Burton Cummings (vocals and keyboards), Randy Bachman (guitar), Jim Kale (bass), and Garry Peterson (drums). They were active for five years until further personnel changes in the early 1970s. The band continued without some founding members until it was disbanded by Burton Cummings in 1975. A few of the original members got back together and began touring as The Guess Who, but without Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings, in 1977.

When the original lineup was together, they were very successful. Between 1969 and 1975, The Guess Who released eleven studio albums. All reached the charts in both Canada and the US, while some reached the charts in Australia. The song "American Woman" was on the album of the same name, released in 1970. The song was written by Randy Bachman, Burton Cummings, Jim Kale, and Garry Peterson. According to an interview of Randy Bachman given to Greg Prato of "Songfacts", Bachman was practicing a new riff on his guitar after he replaced a string during a break. When the band re-joined him, they continued to ad lib while Cummings improvised some lyrics. In a 2013 interview, Cummings stated during an interview with Ray Sasha that there was a young man in the audience who was recording the show on a cassette recorder. They managed to get the tape, then later remembered and learned the song and recorded it. The song was one of their most successful singles, reaching Number One on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian RPM magazine singles chart. Billboard magazine also placed it at Number Three on the Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1970 list, and RPM listed it as number five on their 1970 Year-End Chart. The single "American Woman" reached Number 43 in Australia, and Number 19 on the UK Singles Chart.

Answer: Neil Young

Neil Young was born in Toronto, ON, but moved to Winnipeg, MB in the early 1960s. He played at small venues both as a solo artist and as a member of a number of bands. In these roles, he toured around southern Manitoba and northern Ontario. He travelled to Los Angeles in 1966 to pursue his music career.

According to a 2016 article in the "Winnipeg Free Press", Young met Steven Stills by chance on Sunset Boulevard when he arrived in Los Angeles. He knew the musician from their travels in Canada where their paths had crossed. They formed the group Buffalo Springfield with two others in 1966, but that band split up in 1968. From that point on, he became a solo artist (often backed by his band Crazy Horse), or as a short-lived member of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young.

The song "Cinnamon Girl" was a 1970 single from the 1969 album "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere". This album was also Young's first album with his band Crazy Horse. The lyrics are about a drummer who is dreaming about waiting for a girl to spend his life with. It reached Number 25 in Canada, Number 55 on the US Billboard chart, and Number 34 on the Australian charts.

Answer: Big Sugar

Big Sugar is a band that came together in Toronto in 1988. Founding band members include Geordie Johnson (vocals, guitar), Terry Wilkins (bass), and Al Cross (drums). Their debut album was released in 1991 before Wilkins left the band in 1993. After that, a number of musicians moved in and out of the band.

In 1998, they released an album entitled "Heated". The album reached Number 18 on the Canadian charts. The song "Turn the Lights On" was the third single released from "Heated". Despite not charting in the US, the song did very well in Canada.

It peaked at Number Eight on the RPM Rock chart.

Answer: Five Man Electrical Band

Five Man Electrical Band started out as The Staccatos in Ottawa, ON in 1963. However, their music was not doing well in the US where the major markets were. So, they decided to change their name from the rather dated original to something that fit more with the times in 1968. They settled on Five Man Electrical Band and released a self-titled album in 1969.

After some minor success in Canada with their re-named band, the Five Man Electrical Band released the single "Hello Melinda, Goodbye/Signs" in 1970. In the song "Signs", the singer tells a story of seeing a number of signs while he is on a road trip. The first is a job posting advising that "long haired freaky people need not apply". The second sign warns trespassers to stay out or they will be "shot on sight". The third sign is posted at a club where he is turned away because the sign states that he must wear a certain type of clothing and have a membership card. The singer makes the last sign of the song in a church where he leaves a sign for God in the collection plate to let Him know that, although he has no money to pay, all is good in his world.

Members of the public seemed to really like the B-side song "Signs". Perhaps more importantly, disc-jockeys played "Signs" on their shows throughout Canada, the US, and other countries. The song reached Number Four in Canada, Number Three on the US Billboard Hot 100, and went to Number One in Australia for nearly two months.

Answer: Lighthouse

The band Lighthouse was formed in Toronto in 1968. Founding members Skip Prokop (vocals, drums) and Paul Hoffert (keyboards) actually met on a plane on a flight from New York to Toronto. They talked about forming a band on the flight, then proceeded to make that happened when they returned to Canada. The original band consisted of thirteen members on a range of instruments that went from traditional rock (drums, guitar, keyboards), to orchestral instruments (violin, cello), to horns (trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone). Their album "Sunny Days" was their eighth. It was released in 1972.

The title track "Sunny Days" was the second Lighthouse song to reach the Top Five on the Canadian charts. It also peaked at Number 34 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in December, 1972. The popularity of Lighthouse led to their Juno Awards for Best Canadian Group of the Year in 1972, 1973, and 1974. The Juno Award is Canada's equivalent to the Grammy Award in the US.

Answer: Bachman-Turner Overdrive

Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO) came together in Winnipeg, MB in 1973. The original group was made up of Randy Bachman (lead guitar, lead vocals), Fred Turner (bass guitar, lead vocals), Tim Bachman (guitar, vocals), and Robbie Bachman (drums). The band had a number of personnel changes over the years, but they were still able to create rock songs that appealed to people around the world. In fact, BTO songs like "Let It Ride", "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet", "Takin' Care of Business", "Hey You", and "Roll on Down the Highway" can typically be heard on rock radio and satellite stations well into the 21st century.

The song "Takin' Care of Business" was written by Randy Bachman. It was placed on the album "Bachman-Turner Overdrive II" late in 1973. On the weekly charts, the single reached Number Twelve on the US Billboard Hot 100 in August, 1974, Number Six on the Cash Box Top 100, Number Fourteen on the Australian charts, and Number Three on the Canadian RPM charts. All together, "Takin' Care of Business" was on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for 20 weeks. This was longer than any other BTO song. The year-end charts for 1974 had "Takin' Care of Business" at Number 46 in Canada, and at Number 63 on the US Billboard annual chart.