Professional Folk Music• Recording, marketing, 1950s-1960s• US group the Kingston Trio’s “Tom Dooley” (1958)

• start of folk as a major commercial force

• Folkways Records’ Canadian branch• CBC

• Same time as the urban folk movement in the U.S. • Centred in a few Canadian areas like Yorkville

Village (Toronto)

Ian & Sylvia• One of the earliest popular Canadian folk acts• 1959-1975• NYC, 1962

• At the forefront of the urban-folk revival in the late-1950s

Ex: Ian & Sylvia – “Four Strong Winds” (1962)

Ian & Sylvia (cont.)• Support for other Canadian artists like Gordon

Lightfoot and Joni Mitchell– They covered their songs

Mariposa Folk Festival • Founded 1961• Orillia, ON, later Toronto

Named after Stephen Leacock’sfictional town from Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town (1912)

• Early attempts at “Canadianization” of the festival• http://www.mariposafolk.com

Buffy Sainte-Marie (1941- )

• Cree ancestry• Social commentary and pop• First album:

It’s My Way (1964)

Ex: Buffy Sainte-Marie – “Universal Soldier” (1964)

Buffy Sainte-Marie

(cont.)

Gordon Lightfoot (1938- )

• First hit in 1964, “Early Morning Rain”

• Songwriting success• Cross-Canada tour, ‘67• Referred to himself as a “contemporary folk artist”• 21+ albums, 16 Juno awards• CBC and BBC showsEx: Gordon Lightfoot

– “Canadian Railroad Trilogy” (1967)

Gordon Lightfoot (cont.)

Ex: “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” (1976)

• About the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgeraldon Lake Superior, 1975

Ex: Gordon Lightfoot – “Black Day in July” (1968)• About 1967 Detroit riotshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPXL3iEVnCM

Yorkville Village• North of Bloor St., along Bay St., Toronto• Centre of Canadian folk scene in 1960s• Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, etc.

Yorkville Village, c. June 1968

Leonard Cohen (1934-2016)

• As much a literaryfigure as a musical one• Mid-1950s: Poetry, novels• By 1966, musical performer

Ex: Leonard Cohen – “Suzanne” (1967)• First published as a poem, 1966

Joni Mitchell (1943- )

• Toronto, mid-60s• Move to USA, 1967 • Songwriting• Painter

Ex: Joni Mitchell – “Big Yellow Taxi” (1970)

Nationalism and Folk Music• In general, Canadian folk music culture wasn't as

radical in its associations as in the US – Protest songs, Vietnam War, Civil Rights movement, etc.

• In both cases folklore was adopted to a degree as "official" culture, but this happened more seamlessly in Canada than in the U.S.

• Folk music as representing Canadian culture, creating a sense of Canadianness

Nationalism and the National Film Board (NFB)

• Founded in 1939• Canada Vignettes, 1970s and 1980sVideo Ex: The McGarrigle Sisters

– “The Log Driver’s Waltz” (1979) • Written by Wade Hemsworth, c. 1955 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upsZZ2s3xv8

Stompin’ Tom Connors (1936-2013)

• 500+ songs• 50 albums• All in Canada • Hitchhiker hobo years• Timmons, ON

– Maple Leaf Hotel, 1964• 2300 songs!Video Ex: Stompin’ Tom

– “Sudbury Saturday Night” (orig. 1969)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl751CDdRZI

Stompin’ Tom (cont.)• Endless tours, small towns• He believed that Canadian songs should reflect that identity

Ex: Stompin’ Tom – “Bud The Spud” (1969)Ex: Stompin’ Tom – “Mufferaw Joe” (1971)• Story of the Ottawa Valley folk legend• Children’s Songs:Ex: Stompin’ Tom – “Name the Capitals” (1971)

Juno Awards• Established 1970: (named after Pierre Juneau, first

CRTC president)• Basically took over from the RPM Gold Leaf Awards

which were founded in 1964– Until 1975, winners were selected by RPM readers

• In 1975, CARAS was formed, takes over Junos• In 1975: CBC TV coverage of Junos • Shift from developing talent to an advertising tool

for multinational record companies

Junos (cont.)• 1975: Increase in the expatriate factor

– For example, Paul Anka was the host in 1975.

• Predictability (absurdity?) of nominations• Anglophone bias and the Félix Awards (1979)

• 1978: Stompin' Tom Connors letter and protest…

Stompin’ Tom and the Junos

• Criticisms of CA music industry:– Radio stations, Junos– “Americanization of the Canadian

music industry”

• Juno Awards: 1970-1975– 1978 Juno protest

• No Juno nominations afterwards

Bruce Cockburn (1945 - )

• B. Ottawa, Nepean HS• Berklee School of Music• Classical, jazz, rock• Becoming well-known as folk

musician by late 1960sEx: Bruce Cockburn –

"All The Diamonds" (1974)

Stan Rogers (1949-1983)

• B. Hamilton• Professional at 20• CBC, Folk festival circuit

Ex: Stan Rogers – “Barrett’s Privateers” (1976)• Unofficial anthem of Atlantic Canada• Notorious drinking song

“Canadianness” in Canadian Music?Douglas Ivison of Lakehead University:

• Questions “essentially Canadian” elements in Canadian music– Limitations

• Instead he looks at how musicians “mark themselves as Canadian”– Displays and constructions of Canadianness– Tragically Hip and Stompin’ Tom use specific Canadian

references

Nationalism and Identity• Self-image: “not American”

– Strange mix of Superiority and Inferiority Complexes

• Are there really generalized "Canadianisms" that can be found in a wide range of Canadian culture products?

• Will Straw describes two general positions in debates about national cultural identity– Essentialist– Compensatory position

Children’s Music

• Sharon, Lois and Bram• Fred Penner• Raffi

Sharon, Lois and Bram

• Toronto, 1978• 1st album:

One Elephant, Deux Élephants (1978)• CA and US tours• CBC show• Dozens of albums, videos, etc.Ex: Sharon, Lois and Bram – “Skinnamarink”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPdV8jXAjUQ

Fred Penner(1946 - )

• B. Winnipeg• 1st album 1979• CBC shows, books• Folk festivalsEx: Fred Penner – “The Cat Came Back” (live, 2012)https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=J2XgXStPms4

Raffi (1948 - )

• Attempts at adult audiences

• 20+ albums• Films, books• CBC shows, 1984-2000Ex: Raffi – “Baby Beluga” (live, 1988)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDx9zqDpSik

The Québec/Franco-Canadian Music SceneLa Bolduc (1894-1941) (Mary Travers)• Sang folk and songs about everyday life• Queen of CA folksingers

– Considered QC’s 1st folk star – huge!Video Ex: Heritage Minutes, La Bolduchttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NgA5rAp-d0

Video Ex: Madame Bolduc –"Ça va venir, decouragez-vous pas" (1930)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dI-DdTZJyo

• Turlutages

Les Chansonniers• The word translates roughly as "song maker" • In the 1960s, more political significance for some

– Distinctively French-Canadian• Boîtes à chansons

– Mid-1950s, essentially the same as coffeehouses in Anglo communities

– Tiny, informally run, usually coffee rather than alcohol, lots of students.

• Maybe the best-known was Chez Bozo, opened in 1959 on Crescent St. in Montreal – This is a clear Félix Leclerc reference, as was one group

of chansonniers who called themselves Les Bozos

Gilles Vigneault• Literary background• Chansons engagéshad evolved by about 1964

Video Ex: Gilles Vigneault – "Mon Pays" (1965)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6_rCNgbTlE

• Implicit politically, but a clear meaning for listeners