By David Ball
Not really music related, but…
Give it up for Sir John A. Macdonald’s birthday! While it was first recognized as a national holiday on Jan. 5, 1967, the actual birthdate of Canada’s first prime minister was Jan. 11, 1815. I urge all to celebrate this broth of a lad from Glasgow’s big day by visiting a divvy pub and downing a shot of cheap whiskey and/or skunky draft in homage to this proud Kingstonian and $10-bill model. (John A.’s local Limestone City haunt was the Royal Tap Room, which is still in operation and serving up budget-friendly draught today.) And if you spin some Tragically Hip (12-time JUNO Award winners) and/or Stan Rogers while discussing the merits of single malt and end up in an Upper Canada Tories versus Clear Grits dust-up, then all the better.
Introducing a category I’ll gently call: Hit Singles That Are as Profound as Ke$ha’s “Blah Blah Blah”:
Leo Sayer’s impossibly catchy and impossibly maddening “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” boogied its way to No. 1 on Jan. 15, 1977. But perhaps more important than it being the U.K. singer’s first No. 1 hit, one of the biggest disco tunes of 1976 and a reaffirmation of the burgeoning punk movement: Neither Sayer nor hearing him sing this song have ever inspired me to dance.
It was indeed a rare and notable feat to find a rock band – and a Canadian one at that – gracing the cover of the Jan. 12, 1970, edition of TIME Magazine. But The Band certainly had earned the prestigious honour. At the time of their cover they were red hot and one of the most critically acclaimed and influential acts in the world (admiration was particularly high from once venerable Rolling Stone). With back-to-back masterpiece albums (Music From Big Pink in 1968 and their 1969 self-titled second effort) and memorable appearances at Woodstock, the Isle of Wight Festival (backing frequent collaborator Bob Dylan) and “The Ed Sullivan Show,” praise for the Toronto group’s rootsy spiritual Americana surpassed that of all other top ’60s pioneers of the genre, including The Byrds, Grateful Dead and even mentor Bob Dylan. Not bad for four Ontario pals and a good old boy from Arkansas, who went their separate ways after one final concert in 1976, captured by Martin Scorsese in the celebrated documentary, The Last Waltz.
In a 2004 poll, The Band ranked No. 50 in Rolling Stones’100 Greatest Artists of All Time. They were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. The Grammy Awards recognized Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Rick Danko and Richard Manuel with a lifetime achievement statue in 2008, but you know what? The Time cover is just as impressive as all their other achievements.
A nasty Jan. 14, 1968, ice storm wreaked havoc in the Toronto area, and inflicted some serious damage to a silver maple at Memory Lane and 62 Laing St. in the city’s east end. This wasn’t any old tree located in a quiet Leslieville neighbourhood. The maple in question was the very same one that inspired Alexander Muir to compose “The Maple Leaf Forever,” a patriotic song the public school principal, soldier, poet and hobby songwriter submitted to a Confederation of Canada poem contest held in Montreal in 1867. Surprisingly, his inspiring verses (Muir added his own music in 1868; a copyrighted edition followed in 1871) could only muster a second-place finish. Eventually the song was embraced as an unofficial national anthem in English Canada and became the regimental marching song for The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada and The Royal Westminster Regiment (Muir served in the former during the time of his famous composition).
The story behind the song’s origins is a little sketchy, but according to the online site, History of Canada: “Muir was inspired by a huge silver maple that stood in front of his home, Maple Cottage, at Memory Lane and Laing Street in Toronto, Ontario. While he and a friend, George Leslie, were taking a walk, a leaf from the tree fell on his friend’s coat and stayed there for a time despite his efforts to brush it off. Leslie suggested the idea of the permanence of the maple leaf to Muir, who wrote the lyrics and sent them off at the last minute. Muir tried to find a suitable piece of music, but had to write his own.”
Thankfully, Toronto’s City Parks Department repaired the majestic tree, located in front of Muir’s Maple Cottage home (although historians debate whether he actually lived there or not). With all the proposed budget cuts under Toronto’s current administration, let’s hope this tree won’t get damaged by another ice storm any time soon.
Next week: The Guess Who and “O Canada”
“The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” by The Band