Oh Canada!

You don't hear much about Canada these days. Sure, they have good healthcare, the Canucks, and Mike Myers, but for some reason us proud Americans tend to overlook the Canadian influence on rock music. Take for example, The Band, whose music is so unmistakably rooted in "Americana," we often forget that its members hail from Ontario (minus Levon). Or howabout Neil Young, from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Here is a guy who virtually carved the way for the American folk-rock/country-rock movement of the 60's and 70's, and in recent years, is credited with innovating the grunge sound. Ironically, Young has gone by the pseudonym "Joe Yankee."

But there is one band in particular, who in the words of the late Rodney Dangerfield, "don't get no respect." Who you might ask? Well, guess who. If you guessed The Guess Who, then you guessed correctly (okay, I'll stop before this turns into a Marx Bros. routine). But seriously, if you polled 20 people, I would wager that less than 5 could tell you that "American Woman" was the product of this rock behemoth. Even less could attribute them to the classics "Share the Land," "No Time," and "No Sugar Tonight." And keep in mind, this was a band who had 21 U.S. hit singles! Yes, you read that correctly, 21 U.S. hit singles! Is it possible that Max Martin was alive in the 60's (and Canadian)? There should be college courses dedicated to this band for crying out loud!

Perhaps Philip Seymour Hoffman summed it up best in Almost Famous when his character, the reknowned late music journalist Lester Bangs, dauntlessly proclaimed:

Give me the Guess Who. They've got the courage to be drunken buffoons, which makes them poetic...Live American Woman...have you ever--the most brilliant piece of gobbledygook EVER!

So, here's to our Canadian friends -- The Guess Who. We stand on guard for thee!

D.S., Weightstaff


Trivia: Guitarist Randy Bachman went on to form Bachman-Turner Overdrive after parting from the group.