Did you know that Serena Ryder played the quietest concert ever from the ocean floor during low tide at Fundy National Park? Or that “I’ll Never Smile Again,” the hit that launched Frank Sinatra’s career, was written by Toronto pianist Ruth Lowe? What about Canadian R&B-singer Liberty Silver playing with the Wild Bunch and opening for Bob Marley at Madison Square Gardens when she was only twelve years old? Did you know that title of the Tragically Hip 1991 album "Road Apples" is not talking about apples?
In "101 Fascinating Canadian Music Facts", author and historian David McPherson shares these and 98 other tales gathered from his more than twenty-five years working in the music industry. Music lovers and trivia buffs alike will enjoy perusing this collection of stories - gathered from coast to coast - to discover fun facts and hilarious tales from Canada’s music industry.
This is an interesting and fun book of 101 stories for music fans, especially Canadian music fans. They range from the distant past about Wilf Carter and Hank Snow to recent times about Justin Bieber and Tate McRae, from rock like April Wine and folk like Stan Rogers, and bars like Lulu's Roadhouse in Kitchener and Toronto's Horseshoe. It was amazing to find out how far the Canadian reach is.
I liked the writing style ... the stories were short and snappy. I thought they were interesting and I found myself pausing at times as I was reading to Google to learn more about what I was reading about. I had no idea what a road apple is and "bop bada baa, bop bada baa" was a code with Crowbar ... ha! Some of the stories are well-known and some not so well-known like that of Maritimers MacLean & MacLean.
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