THE 42nd ANNUAL JUNO AWARDS ARE HISTORY

Congratulations to Carly Rae Jepsen and Leonard Cohen for winning big at the JUNO Awards in Regina last weekend.  Carly Rae won three JUNO’s and Leonard won won.  To wrap it all up, our final JUNO quiz for 2013 is about various winners over the years.  We won’t go back too far, we’ll keep it within the last 20 years, and once again, they’re multiple choice questions, so really, take a shot if you don’t know the answer.  Chances are you’ll be correct a third of the time (and maybe even more, hey I’m not a mathematician for gosh sake).   

QUESTIONS:

1. The 42^nd annual JUNO Awards were held in Regina, Saskatchewan.  Which member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame was born in the province of Saskatchewan?  Is it:  

a. Joni Mitchell  b. Carly Rae Jepsen  c. Buffy Sainte-Marie 

2.  The 2013 JUNO Award for Group of the Year went to Marianas Trench.  But which group won this honour in 2009?  Was it:   a. Arcade Fire  b. Nickelback  c. Blue Rodeo         

3.  Carly Rae Jepsen won 3 JUNO Awards this year – ‘Album of the Year’ and ‘Pop Album of the Year’ for “Kiss” as well as ‘Single of the Year’ for “Call Me Maybe”.  Since 2003, when the ‘Pop Album of the Year’ JUNO award was introduced, which of these three JUNO winning performers have also won ‘Album of the Year’, ‘Pop Album of the Album’ and ‘Single of the Year’ in the same year?  Is it: a. Avril Lavigne  b. Feist  c. Michael Buble

4.  Legendary singer/songwriter/poet Leonard Cohen, who won JUNO’s for ‘Songwriter of the Year’ and ‘Artist of the Year’ was born in Montreal.  Which other famous Canadian musicians were born there?  Is it:  a. Andy Kim  b. Gino Vanelli  c. Oscar Peterson  

5.  k.d lang was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame by her musical hero, Anne Murray.  In 1993, Anne was inducted into that very same Hall of Fame in 1993.  Which Canadian performer went in the following year (1994)?  Was it:  a. Rush b. Bruce Cockburn  c. Tom Cochrane    

ANSWERS

1.  That would be c. Buffy Sainte-Marie who was born on the Cree Indian reserve in the Qu’Appelle Valley in Saskatchewan.  Joni Mitchell was born in Alberta and raised in Saskatchewan and Carly Rae Jepsen hails from Mission, British Columbia.       

2.  The JUNO for ‘Group of the Year’ in 2009 went to b. Nickelback.  Blue Rodeo won it the previous year (2008) and Arcade Fire took home the ‘Group of the Year’ JUNO in 2011.

3.  First trick question of the week.  All three of those performers have won ‘Album of the Year’, ‘Pop Album of the Year’ and ‘Single of the Year’ in the same year.  In 2003, Avil Lavigne won ‘Pop Album’ and ‘Album of the Year’ for “Let’s Go”.  She won ‘Single of the Year’ in 2003 for “Complicated”.  Feist won all three in 2008 when she won “Album’ and ‘Pop Album of the Year’ for “The Reminder” and ‘Single of the Year’ for “1-2-3-4”.  Michael Buble, that little overachiever, has won all 3 JUNO Awards twice.  The first time was in 2006.  ‘Album’ and ‘Pop Album of the Year’ went to “It’s Time” and 2006’s ‘Single of the Year’ JUNO was for Michael Buble’s “Home”.  His second time happened in 2010.  Michael’s “Crazy Love” won ‘Album’ and ‘Pop Album of the Year’.  Mr. Bubles’ “Haven’t Met You Yet” won the 2010 JUNO for ‘Single of the Year’.

4.  Aha!  Yet another trick question.  All three were born in Montreal.      

5.  OK, I promise no more trick questions.  Anne Murray was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1993.  Folk duo Ian & Sylvia went in the previous year (1992) and a. the members of Rush (Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart) were inducted the following year (1994).  Rush was inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 18th this year.  Bruce Cockburn went into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2001 and Tom Cochrane received his honours in 2003.  

THE JUNO AWARDS ARE THIS WEEKEND

The JUNO Awards are on CTV Sunday from Regina, so to get you prepared for the big event, our questions this week will be about this years’ nominees or special award winners.  If you paid attention to our last column and/or listened to the radio regularly, these should all be easy, peasy. Plus, they’re multiple choice questions, so you’ve got a 33 1/3 chance of getting it right if you’re guessing.  OK, here we go.   

QUESTIONS:

1. Who is the host of the JUNO Awards this year?  Is it:                                                                                    a. Justin Beiber  b. Carly Rae Jepsen  c. Michael Buble 

2.  Which Canadian musical icon is being inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame this year?  Is it:   a. Leonard Cohen  b. k.d. lang  c. Rush         

3.  Saskatoon rockers The Sheepdogs are nominated in several JUNO categories this year, including ‘Single of the Year’ for “The Way It Is”, ‘Rock Album of the Year’ for “The Sheepdogs” as well as ‘Group of the Year’.  In 2011, they became the first unsigned band to be featured on the cover of what famous U.S. magazine?  Was it:     a. People Magazine  b. Rolling Stone Magazine  c.  Musician Magazine 

4.  Which 2013 JUNO nominated singer placed third on CTV’s “Canadian Idol” in 2007?  Was it:  a. Justin Beiber  b. Serena Ryder  c. Carly Rae Jepsen  

5.  Bob Ezrin is a legendary Canadian record producer (KISS, Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel, Hanoi Rocks) who’s nominated this year for the ‘Jack Richardson Producer of the Year’ JUNO award.  Which Pink Floyd album did Bob Ezrin produce?  Was it:  a. The Wall  b. A Momentary Lapse of Reason  c. Division Bell    

ANSWERS

1.  The correct answer is c. Michael Buble.  Michael has won 11 JUNO Awards thus far in his career.  Carly Rae Jepsen is nominated in several categories and Justin Beiber is way too busy putting his foot in his mouth to host.     

2.  Leonard Cohen was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1991.  Rush in 1994, so that would mean that c. Alberta born k.d. lang is the correct answer.  Kathy Dawn Lang has also been honoured with the Order of Canada in 1997.  She was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2008.

3.  The Sheepdogs (who won 3 JUNO Awards last year for ‘New Group of the Year’, ‘Sing of the Year’ and ‘Rock Album of the Year’) appeared on the cover of b. Rolling Stone Magazine on August 18, 2011.  The group won an international ‘Choose The Cover’ competition, beating out 15 other performers.                

4.  c. 27 year old Carly Rae Jepsen from Mission, British Columbia is the correct answer.  Jepsen, who’s nominated for the most JUNO Awards this year (that would be 5, count ‘em, 5, ‘Single of the Year’, ‘Album of the Year’, ‘JUNO Fan Choice’, ‘Artist of the Year’ and ‘Pop Album of the Year’), came in third on the fifth season of “Canadian Idol”.  Carly Rae also participated in the subsequent “Canadian Idol” Top 3 concert tour.   

5.  OK, it’s a trick question because Bob Ezrin produced ALL THREE of those Pink Floyd albums, so whichever one you chose, you were correct.  Congratulations and enjoy the JUNO Awards.

JUNO THE AWARDS ARE COMING SOON DON’T CHA?

Happy April everyone.  April means the annual JUNO Awards will soon be here.  The celebration of all things in Canadian music happens on Sunday April 21^st.  Regina Saskatchewan is JUNO headquarters this year and for 2013, k.d. lang will be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.  The Hall was established in 1978 and honours Canadians musical artists who have achieved commercial success while having a positive impact on the Canadian music scene in Canada and around the world.  So, for the next few weeks, our questions will be about Canadian musicians and the JUNO Awards.  This week, we’ll see how good your memory is as we explore PREVIOUS inductees into the JUNO Hall of Fame.   

QUESTIONS:

1. Kicking off our quiz this week is a singer/songwriter who knew from an early age what he wanted to do.  He’s been performing since the 1950’s and shows no sign of slowing down.  He’s a native of Ottawa – his autobiography is out this month.  Throughout his career, he did it all ‘his way’.  The controversy with feminists over his 70’s hit, “You’re Having My Baby”brought him even more fame and fortune.  What’s the name of this singer/songwriter?     

2.  This Canadian power trio went into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994.  This year, they’ll be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the U.S.  Their lead singer sang on Bob & Doug McKenzie’s (aka SCTV’s Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas) 1982 novelty hit “Take Off”.  If you look “Closer To The Heart”, you’ll find the answer.  You’ll triumph if you know the name of this legendary Canadian band.  So what is it?         

3.  This Canadian singer lost her parents in a car crash when she was 21 and had to take care of her siblings while trying to work to bring in an income.  Her most famous Canadian gig was as a singer at the Deerhurst Inn in northern Ontario.  After moving to Nashville and an unscuccessful first album, she met and then co-wrote some of her hits with her former first husband Robert John ‘Mutt’ Lange.  Her real name is Eileen Edwards, but her worldwide success only happened after she changed it.  Three of her Top Ten hits are: “You’re Still The One”, “From This Moment On” and “That Don’t Impress Me Much”.  So c’mon impress me much, who is this amazing singer who was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2011?     

4.  In 1996, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences inducted 5 Canadian musical legends – Zal Yanovsky (The Lovin’ Spoonful), Domenic Troiano (The Guess Who, Bush), Denny Doherty (The Mamas & The Papas), John Kay (Steppenwolf) and this performer.  He had a troubled youth and was in and out of reform school and prison.  He cleaned up his act with music and scored several Canadian hits, such as “Boom Boom” and “Brainwashed” in the mid 1960’s before moving to New York, where he became the lead singer for a jazz rock fusion band that became world famous as Blood, Sweat & Tears.  Can you name this singer/songwriter?   

5.  She hails from Springhill, Nova Scotia and was one of Elvis Presley’s favourite singers.  This performer will be inducting k.d. lang into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame later this month.  Her start was on a CBC TV program out of Halifax called “Singalong Jubilee”.  After moving to Toronto, she had her first Top Ten North American chart hit with “Snowbird”.  Many other hits followed, including “You Needed Me’, a # 1 song in 1976.  She was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1993.  Who is she? 

ANSWERS

1.  That Ottawa native is Paul Anka, who was the fourth artist inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1980.  Anka’s first charted hit on Billboard in 1957 was also his first # 1 – “Diana”.  Since then, Paul has scored two more # 1’s, 1959’s “Lonely Boy” and “You’re Having My Baby” in 1974, although he has charted 53 songs.  Paul wrote Buddy Holly’s 1959  hit, “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore”, 1971’s “She’s A  Lady” for Tom Jones and Paul w rote the English lyrics to a French melody that became the classic, “My Way”.  For those who remember the theme music from “The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson”, Paul wrote that as well.     

2.  I threw the name Triumph in the last line of the question to throw you off, but you weren’t fooled at all were you?  Rush were huge in Canada before they made it big in the U.S.   Their hits included “Closer To The Heart” (1977), “The Spirit of Radio” (1980), “Tom Sawyer” (1981) and “New World Man” (1982).  We congratulate Geddy Lee, Neil Peart and Alex Lifeson on their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this month.   

3.  Eileen Rogers changed her name to Shania Twain and never looked back.  The albums that Shania and her then husband, ‘Mutt’ Lange made together made country music history.  “The Woman In Me”, their second collaboration, sold nearly 20 million copies, making Shania the best selling country female artist of all time.  Twain and Lange were divorced in 200.  Three years later, Shania married 

Swiss businessman Frederic Thiebaud.                 

4.  David Clayton-Thomas first hit the Canadian record charts in 1964 with his version of the John Lee Hooker song, “Boom Boom”.  “Walk That Walk” followed, then “Take Me Back”, “Out of The Sunshine” and David’s only Canadian Top Ten hit, “Brainwashed”.  After moving to New York to work with Blood, Sweat & Tears, worldwide success followed with hits such as “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy”, “Spinning Wheel”, “And When I Die” and “Hi-De-Ho”.  David moved back to Toronto several years ago and still performs occasionally.    

5.  Anne Murray is the lady in question and she’s done it all.  Had hit records, hit TV specials and sold out tours.  She liked to perform on stage barefoot.  Some of her hits on Billboards’ Hot 100 chart include: “Danny’s Song” (# 7 in 1973), “You Won’t See Me” (# 8 in 1974), “Broken Hearted Me” (# 12 in 1979) and “Daydream Believer” (#12 in 1980).  Anne has retired from performing, but her autobiography, “All of Me” was released by Random House in 2010.  

WHEN THERE’S A NEW POPE, EVERYONE’S ITALIAN

The world has a new Pope, a new spiritual leader for over 1.2 billion Catholics.  Pope Francis truly seems to be a man of the people.  Jorge Mario Bergoglio is the 266^th Pope, the first Jesuit Pope as well as being the first non European Pope since the 8^th century.  Even though he’s from Argentina, his heritage is Italian – his father and mother immigrated to Argentina from Italy – so we’ll celebrate the new Pope with questions about Italian singers and/or Italian songs.  Now, the singers all come from Italian heritage, but may be British, American or Canadian and the songs were definitely worldwide hits according to Billboard Magazine.  We could ask about Francis Albert Sinatra, Frankie Valli (The Four Seasons), Gwen Stefani, three world famous Italian-American singers or even Luciano Pavarotti...but we won’t.  Even if you’re not Italian, c’mon who doesn’t love Italian food? – pizza, ravioli, gnocchi, penne all’arrabbiata, lasagna, cannelloni, spaghetti, tortellini, it’s all so delish.  So, buon appetito (have a good meal) and buona fortuna (good luck).       

QUESTIONS:

1. To start off, this question may be far too easy.  This Ohio born Italian singer had a great career on the record charts even before he partnered up with a ‘wild and crazy’ kid from New Jersey.  Between 1949 and 1956, this duo made 14 movies, plus appeared together in 2 others and made a cameo appearance in the Hope & Crosby film “Road To Bali”.  Their split was definitely not friendly and they didn’t speak for many years.  The ‘wild and crazy’ comic went on to major fame and fortune writing, directing and starring in movies.  They absolutely adore him in France.  Our Italian-American singer charted 30 songs on Billboards’ Hot 100 and his successful TV variety series in the 1960’s brought him even more fame.  His first number one hit was in 1956.  His last, in 1964 happened during the height of Beatlemania and the British invasion in music.  His TV celebrity roasts in the 1970’s became ‘must-see’ TV.  Can you name our singer?  (HINT: Everybody loves him).   

                                                                                                                 

2.  This Italian-American singer/actress grew up in Detroit and after she becoming successful, famously dated Hollywood ‘bad boy’ Warren Beatty and married another movie ‘bad boy’, Sean Penn.  She’s had a dozen # 1 hits.  She’s also a fashion designer with her own line of clothing.  She got in a bit of trouble with the Catholic Church with a video for one of her songs.  She only uses her first name in show biz, but that name is world famous (or infamous).  So, I ask you – ‘who’s that girl’?      

3.  This Italian song was a hit for Umberto Tozzi in 1979.  Tozzi co-wrote the song with Giancarlo Bigazzi (I know that won’t help you much).  It was translated into English, sung by an American singer/actress and went to # 2 on Billboards’ Hot 100 singles chart in 1982.  The one word title is the same as a minor hit from 1965 for the Irish band Them, whose lead singer was Van Morrison.  This song was nominated for a Grammy Award, but didn’t win.  Do you know the name of this song?  You get an extra pat on the back if you know the name of the American female singer who had the hit with it.       

4.  She calls her fans ‘little monsters’ and they all adore her.  Stefani is a native New Yorker who’s been in the music business since 2005.  Her debut album, “The Fame” was released in 2008 to worldwide acclaim.  Her show biz ‘gimmick’, besides her talent as a super successful singer/songwriter, is for her outrageous outfits, she once even wore a ‘meat dress’.  She was obviously influenced by Elton John, Madonna and David Bowie.  Stefani has sold well over 20 million albums as won several armfuls of Grammy and MTV Awards.  TIME Magazine listed her as one of the most influential people in the world.  Under what name does Stefani perform?    

5.  This Italian-American singer was a favourite of Frank Sinatra’s.  He’s lived “The Good Life” (HINT # 1) and performed before Kings and Queens and regular folks like you and me as well.  This artist, who’s gone from ‘rags to riches” (HINT # 2) is also a gifted painter.  He’s still performing at the age of 86.  His “Duets” albums have sold millions of copies and although he’s a native New Yorker (born in Astoria, Queens), he does have a soft spot for San Francisco (HINT # 3).  Who is this incredible singer?          

ANSWERS

1.  It’s Dean Martin, but you knew that in the first sentence of the question, didn’t you?  The chart topping Mr. Martin was born Dino Paul Crocetti in Steubenville, Ohio in 1917.  Teaming up with zany comedian Jerry Lewis in the 1940’s, the duo made more than a dozen films together, their first being “My Friend Irma” in 1949 and their last was 1956’s “Hollywood Or Bust”.  Jerry Lewis went on to make such movies as “The Bellboy”, “The Nutty Professor” and “The King of Comedy”.  Dean Martin first # 1 was “Memories Are Made of This” in 1956.  In 1964, amongst all those ‘British Invasion’ hits from such groups as The Beatles, the Dave Clark Five and The Animals, Dean had his last # 1 with “Everybody Loves Somebody”.  Dean Martin passed away on Christmas Day 1995 at the age of 78.     

2.  That girl is Madonna Louis Ciccone who became world famous (or infamous if you prefer) using only her first name.  She was born in Bay City, Michigan in 1958 to an Italian-American dad and her mother, also named Madonna, who died when Madonna was only 5, was of French Canadian descent.  Despite her often anti-establishment attitude, Madonna was a straight ‘A’ student in school.  Madonna’s # 1 hits include “Like A Virgin”, “Crazy For You”, “Papa Don’t Preach”, “Who’s That Girl”, “Like A Prayer”, “Vogue” and “Music”.  The video for 1989’s “Like A Prayer” brought Madonna the wrath of Catholic Church leaders with its images of burning crosses and statues crying blood among other things.  In fact, the Vatican condemned the video.  Madonna’s movies have included “Desperately Seeking Susan”, “Shanghai Surprise”, “Who’s That Girl”, “Dick Tracy” and “Evita”, In 2010, Madonna and her daughter Lourdes created the ‘Material Girl’ clothing line for teens released under the Macy’s label.  All the controversy surrounding her just makes her richer.  Celebritynetwork.com estimates her net worth at 650 Million $$.  That’ll buy a lot of material, girl.     

3.  Remember Laura Brannigan’s version of “Gloria”?  The song remained on Billboards’ Hot 100 singles chart for 36 weeks in 1982 and was in the Top Ten for 9 weeks.  The Italian version, sung by co-writer Umberto Tozzi, was a hit in Europe in 1979.  Singer Laura Branigan died on August 26, 2004 of a cerebral aneurysm at the age of 47.  Branigan received a Grammy nomination as ‘Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female’ for “Gloria”.             

4.  It’s Lady Gaga aka Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta.  She started out in the music business in 2005 and formed the Stefani Germanotta Band with some friends from NYU.  They became a fixture around Manhattan’s lower east side.  When that band broke up, Stefani moved on to work with various other people until she was signed to SONY/ATV music publishing to write songs for Britney Spears, New Kids On The Block and Fergie.  Akon took a shine to her talents and by 2008, Lady Gaga had moved to LA to begin work on her debut album “The Fame”, which was released in August that year.  After a slow start, the album took off and the world went gaga for Lady Gaga.

5.  Anthony Dominick Benedetto, aka Tony Bennett, may never have hit # 1 on Billboards’ Hot 100 chart, but his songs are just as memorable as many that have – “I Left My Heart (In San Francisco)”, “I Wanna Be Around” and “The Good Life” were all Top Twenty songs in the early 1960’s.  Tony served as an infantryman during WWII and fought in France and Germany.  Tony Bennett still performs between 100 and 200 concerts a year.  He was honoured with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame and in 2001, received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.  In 2005, he was the recipient of a Kennedy Centre Honor.  His paintings, which Tony has been creating since he was a boy, sell for upwards of $100,000 apiece.