Book ~ "The History of Canadian Rock 'n' Roll" (2015) Bob Mersereau

From Goodreads ~ Rock and roll was born in the United States during the 1950s. Its popularity rapidly grew, spreading across the Atlantic to England. The Brits transformed rock, bringing it back to the States in a new form with the British Invasion. Since that time, the two countries have dominated headlines and histories, in terms of rock music. 

What's often forgotten in these histories is the evolution of Canadian rock and roll during the same period. Over the years, a huge contingent of Canadian artists has made invaluable contributions to rock and roll. The list of innovative Canadian artists is quite impressive: Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Paul Anka, Arcade Fire, The Band, Bryan Adams, Rush, Leonard Cohen, Celine Dion, Diana Krall, Gordon Lightfoot, Sarah McLachlan, Alanis Morissette, Tegan and Sara, Feist, Nickelback, and many others, not to mention the all-star producers, such as Daniel Lanois (U2, Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel), Bob Rock (Metallica, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi), Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, Kiss), and David Foster (Michael Jackson, Celine Dion). 

The history of Canadian rock and roll is a lively, entertaining and largely untold tale. Bob Mersereau presents a streamlined, informative trip through the country's rich history and depth of talent, from the 1950s to today, covering such topics as: Toronto's club scene, the folk rock and psychedelic rock of the 1960s, Canadian artists who hit major stardom in the United States, the challenges and reform of the Canadian broadcasting system, the huge hits of the 1970s, Canadian artists' presence all over the pop charts in the 1990s, and Canada's indie-rock renaissance of the 2000s.

I'm a fan of music and Canada.  I've read and enjoyed two other books by this author.

The book starts with a quiz ... not surprisingly the answers all have a Canadian connection.

The first group mentioned in the book are Toronto's The Four Lads (they scored back-to-back hits in 1955 with Moments to Remember and No Not Much).  From there, the history of rock 'n roll in Canada is revealed.

The contents include:

1. Moments to remember - Canada's first rock 'n roll hits
2. Four strong winds - Canada blows into folk and rock worlds in the early 60s
3. Shakin' all over - the whole country joins in the rock 'n roll scene of the mid-60s
4. Ugly ducklings - Yorkville Village booms and Canada's future rock stars congregate
5. Urge for going - Canadian talent makes an exodus to the U.S.
6. Helpless - Canadian musicians feel unloved at home in the late 60s
7. Signs - Canada's hit-making machines revs up in the early 70s
8. Not fragile - Canada's rockers in the 70s
9. Rockin' in the free world - new wave, CanRock and the video era
10. Canadiana - Canadian group lead the roots revival
11. You oughta know - Canadian's set world records in the 90s
12. Hallelujah - a feisty new crop of talent for the 2000s

There were some bands I like, some I haven't heard about in a long time and some I've never heard of, The book talked about their beginnings in Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg and the east coast, and how many had to head to the U.S. to get their big breaks.

If you are a fan of Canadian bands and singers such as Barenaked Ladies, Drake, Arcade Fire, Justin Bieber, Rush, Anvil, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Loverboy, Celine Dion, Shania Twain, Crowbar, Lighthouse, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Guess Who, The Band, Anne Murray, Chilliwack and many more, you should read this book!

Book ~ "The Top 100 Canadian Albums" (2008) Bob Mersereau

From Amazon ~ Here is the ultimate guide to Canadian music, featuring the best albums that Canadian musicians ever produced. An unprecedented book, The Top 100 Canadian Albums includes the finest albums in Canadian music history chosen by a blue-ribbon panel. The results from 1 to 100 have sparked passionate debate among Canada's music aficionados. This book is jam-packed with incredible behind-the-scenes stories about the making of the albums and the history of Canadian music, as told by the musicians themselves. Find out how Gordon Lightfoot helped get Blue Rodeo back to Canada. Learn about the song that connects The Guess Who to The Tragically Hip. Meet Simply Saucer, the band who waited 30 years for its album to become a hit. Connect the dots between Don Messer and Music from Big Pink. Despite debate about what is and isn't on the list (or perhaps because of it), The Top 100 Canadian Albums is the essential book on Canadian music - not to be missed!

I found Mersereau's Top 100 Canadian Singles interesting so was curious to see what were considered the Top 100 Canadian albums.

As expected, there were a lot of albums by Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, Rush, Blue Rodeo and the Tragically Hip. Surprisingly there were some bands I've never heard of. As I said of the singles list, I'm surprised there are no Great Big Sea albums on this albums list.

Of the 100, here are what I have on my ipod or have owned:

Book ~ "The Top 100 Canadian Singles" (2010) Bob Mersereau

From Amazon ~ A book that gets to the heart of the matter! Whether you're a professional musician or an air guitarist, a collector or a true amateur, this book will shake things up! The Top 100 Canadian Singles will undoubtedly stir the souls, ears, and tongues of music lovers everywhere. And answer the question, for better or for worse. Bob Mersereau has assembled a blue ribbon panel of musicians, broadcasters, reviewers, managers, promoters, record-label executives, retailers, roadies and more to cast their votes in a major nationwide poll. John Roberts, Canada's original VJ; Joel Plaskett; Sarah Slean; the late Paul Quarrington; CBC's Stuart McLean; Sam Roberts; Sophie Durocher; and Eric Trudel all contributed lists -- along with hundreds more. Whose single will make it to the top 10? The top 40? The top 100? Neil or Leonard? Feist or Alanis? k.d. lang or Stompin' Tom? The Guess Who or Arcade Fire? Gilles Vigneault or k-os? Once again, the countdown is on! We'll all be waiting for the answer in early October. This oversized, full colour book features in-depth interviews with musicians, fascinating facts, musician-penned sidebars, documentary photographs, cover art, and much, much more.

I love music ... the 16,000 songs I have on my ipod can attest to that. So this book interested me.

The hundreds of jurors who voted on the songs included musicians, DJs, fans, writers and so on. The songs range from 1950 (Hank Snow's I'm Movin' On) to 2007 (Wintersleep's Weighty Ghost) Some songs I love, some I don't love (I'm not a fan of Bryan Adams, Neil Young or Joni Mitchell) and some from Quebec I hadn't heard of.

With each song, there is a picture and a high level description of the song.

The big surprise to me was the Great Big Sea didn't make it to the list.

So of the 100 songs that made the list, here are my favourites: