Canadian-made melodies that cling to the memory
Three Canucks who are defined by music shine light on some little-known gems
To celebrate Canada’s150th birthday this year, the Star is recognizing the best little-known Canadian songs as picked by a wide range of musicians and others whose lives are defined by music. Maybe the choices our panel made never saw the Top 10, but they’ve never left their memories. And now they explain why.
In an earlier panel, Gordon Lightfoot picked Ian Tyson’s ballad “Red Velvet” on the perils of prairie romance. Bruce Cockburn singled out Wade Hemsworth’s “The Blackfly Song” and NDP parliamentarian and sometimes indie rocker Charlie Angus selected Stompin’ Tom Connors’ “Fire in the Mine.”
We continue with John Roberts, Fox News Channel’s chief White House correspondent and former MuchMusic host; Christine Jensen, Canada’s top big band leader/arranger; and Eliana Cuevas, award-winning Venezuelan-born Toronto singer/songwriter with a new CD, Golpes y Flores.
John Roberts His Pick: “Pink Time” by Tom Cochrane
This is a relatively new song, yet it speaks to me personally on many levels. I was vacationing with my family at Wendake Beach on the south shore of Georgian Bay when Tom reached out to me with an MP3 file to ask what I thought of his new composition.
The first thing that caught me was the chorus: “When the pink time comes, I’ll be right there. Down by the bay, where the jack pines sway.” I had just witnessed one of those spectacular Georgian Bay sunsets where the sun bids adieu to a perfect day with a Group of Seven farewell of rose and gold over a lake that shimmers like molten glass.
The song also spoke to me in another way. Three years earlier, I lost my mum to Alzheimer’s disease, which robbed her of everything that she was, and stole from my sister and me — and the family that loved her — a strong and dynamic woman who struggled mightily to give her children a proper upbringing. One line in the song absolutely haunts me: “I got home one day and you were all but gone.”
It strikes me deep in my heart because I didn’t get home to visit my mother as much as I should have.
Christine Jensen Her pick: “Place St. Henri” from Canadiana Suite by the Oscar Peterson Trio
My mother was a pianist with great taste, and brought up my sisters and I in the most idyllic setting overlook- ing the Gulf Islands on Vancouver Island. We were so far from anything urban, yet she brought the city into our house with great jazz recordings of piano trios especially. Oscar Peterson’s trio lit a fire in me to become a jazz musician because he always swung so hard. He recorded the suite with his trio in the early ’60s. “Place St. Henri” is in dedication to the neighbourhood where he was born and raised in Montreal. I settled into this neighbourhood in 2000. I totally appreciate his nod to his piano teacher and community with this composition.
He evokes the working class and the train — his father was a porter — through his use of the blues and stride piano in this song. Overall, he captures a piece of the vibrant Montreal jazz scene from the ’50s and ’60s that was hustling and bustling because of the train that connected this country until that time. Every Canadian deserves a dose of Oscar to make their day happy.
Note: The winner of this year’s Oscar Peterson Award, Jensen is a twotime Juno Award winner. Her sister Ingrid, a trumpet player, leads her own quartet in New York City. Eliana Cuevas Her pick: “Jerusalem” by David Rudder
David Rudder was born in Trinidad — he is also a Canadian living in Ajax — and I consider him to be one of the top songwriters and performers in this country. I discovered him in 2003 when I saw him perform at Lula Lounge, an amazing Toronto venue that showcases music and art from different cultures. David performed this song there. At that time, I was about to record my first fulllength album and I found his songwriting — and his performance — very inspiring. That day I also met Jeremy Ledbetter, who was performing with David and who has now produced my last two albums, Espejo and Golpes y Flores.?
I consider “Jerusalem” to be one of the greatest but least-known Canadian songs. It also represents some of the great Canadian work that we inherit by welcoming into this country so many incredible artists from different cultures. This powerful song moved me then, and it does it every time I hear it. Peter Goddard’s most recent book is The Great Gould.
Oscar Peterson’s trio lit a fire in me to become a jazz musician. Every Canadian deserves a dose of Oscar to make their day happy