Rock music of Canada

[26] Rock and roll arose in the United States in the late 1940s[27][28] after World War II, from a combination of the rhythms of African American blues, country[29] and gospel music.

[37][38] The Four Lads, from Toronto, were one of the first groups to capitalize on this sound and become a prominent act in the Canadian rhythm and blues scene, producing their first hit in 1952 called "Mocking Bird".

[42] The Crew-Cuts, The Diamonds[43] and The Four Lads would emerge from this new marketing of rhythm and blues to appeal to a white audience leaving an indelible mark on the Doo-wop days.

[49] As the late fifties gave way to the sixties, stars of the previous decade were still producing hits, but they were quickly losing ground as they struggled to find material that clicked with this new and energetic generation.

[2] One important example was a Winnipeg band called Chad Allan & the Expressions, which had a 1965 hit with a version of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates' "Shakin' All Over".

[70] The song "Ohio", written by Neil Young[71] and recorded with CSNY, was in response to political events of the time and has since become an America social icon of the period.

[74][76] The Juno Awards began as a reader poll conducted by Canadian music industry trade magazine RPM Weekly in December 1964.

[77] This led to increased production and with the international popularity of The Guess Who and Neil Young at the end of the 1960s, opened markets outside Canada to the country's musicians.

[3][75] Many performers from the late 1960s came to the forefront in the following years, among them The Bells and Andy Kim from Montreal, Chilliwack from Vancouver, Five Man Electrical Band from Ottawa, Lighthouse from Toronto, Wednesday from Oshawa, and The Stampeders from Calgary.

[24][83] Following the hard rock scene[84] a small wave of acts emerged from all across Canada, including Moxy, A Foot in Coldwater and Triumph from Toronto, Trooper from Vancouver, and April Wine from Halifax.

[4][85] Many of the acts who had defined the earlier half of the decade were no longer recording, and the new artists emerging in this era simply didn't seem to be able to capture the Canadian pop zeitgeist in the same way.

[2] Nevertheless, a number of established Canadian acts, including Rush, Bachman–Turner Overdrive, Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush, Bruce Cockburn, April Wine, Pat Travers, FM, and Neil Young, remained influential and recorded some of their most popular material of all during this period, and former "The Guess Who" lead singer Burton Cummings emerged as a popular solo artist in soft rock.

Artists like The Kings, Prism, Crowbar, Nick Gilder, Ian Thomas, Goddo, Harlequin, Mahogany Rush, Moxy, Streetheart, Max Webster and Ironhorse saw their greatest success during the late '70s period.

[52] Many acts have had equally vital, if less remunerative careers outside the mainstream in punk rock and its derivations, generally distinguished by a tendency to extremes of one sort or another.

[3] Whether in instrumental intensity, lyric content, or performance style Canadian pop music evolved with the times, reflecting worldwide trends.

[2] Rough Trade were particularly notable for their 1980 hit "High School Confidential", one of the first explicitly lesbian-themed pop songs to crack the Top 40 anywhere in the world.

lang, Red Rider, Corey Hart, Alannah Myles, Lee Aaron, Tom Cochrane, Honeymoon Suite, Haywire, Doug and the Slugs, Payola$ and Glass Tiger.

[96] Acts such as Platinum Blonde, Helix, Toronto, Parachute Club, The Box, Strange Advance, Spoons, Trans-X, Rational Youth, Men Without Hats, Norman Iceberg, Images in Vogue, Headpins, Sheriff, Frozen Ghost, Teenage Head, Idle Eyes, Eight Seconds, The Northern Pikes, Brighton Rock and Martha and the Muffins were along for the new Canadian music video ride.

Alternative rock also emerged as an influential genre, with independent artists such as The Tragically Hip, 54-40, Sarah McLachlan, Spirit of the West, The Waltons, Cowboy Junkies, The Pursuit of Happiness, and The Grapes of Wrath all gaining their first widespread attention during this time.

With Stompin' Tom Connors, Great Big Sea and Ashley MacIsaac to folk rock, that saw the start for both styles, a very large following all across Canada.

[4] This includes The Headstones, The Tea Party, Matthew Good Band, Moist, Sloan, The Gandharvas, Change of Heart, Skydiggers, Eric's Trip, Limblifter, Salmonblaster, supergarage, The Misunderstood, Shyne Factory, Doughboys, Crash Test Dummies, The Lowest of the Low, 13 Engines, Odds, I Mother Earth, Big Sugar, Glueleg, Age of Electric, Rymes with Orange, Mudgirl, Strapping Young Lad, Bif Naked, Rheostatics, The Watchmen, Moxy Früvous, Rusty, Our Lady Peace, The Philosopher Kings, Junkhouse, Wide Mouth Mason, Pure, Thrush Hermit, cub, The Killjoys, Sandbox, Treble Charger, Big Wreck, The Weakerthans, Propagandhi and The Planet Smashers.

[103] The Barenaked Ladies brought a spotlight on to the Canadian indie market when their album sales began to steamroll based simply on word of mouth and their live shows.

[69] They never had a major breakthrough in the United States, but their Canadian fan base alone was enough to sustain a long and healthy career featuring continuing stadium tours.

[111] As Alannah Myles, Lisa Dalbello and Lee Aaron had a decade earlier, four women in particular rose out of the 1990s, setting new pinnacles of success in terms financial, critical, and in their immediate and strong influences on their respective genres: Sarah McLachlan,[112] Céline Dion,[113] Alanis Morissette[114] and Shania Twain.

[120] Alanis Morissette, along with Shania Twain, are the only Canadian artists, male or female to have sold two million units in Canada, receiving the Double diamond award[121] Other female Canadian musicians have achieved international success in the highly competitive world of popular music, including Joni Mitchell, Ginette Reno, Diane Dufresne, Diana Krall, Avril Lavigne, Loreena McKennitt, Amanda Marshall, Holly Cole, Chantal Kreviazuk, Diane Tell, Jann Arden, Deborah Cox, Sarah Harmer, Susan Aglukark, Melissa Auf der Maur, Emily Haines, Kittie, Bif Naked, Nelly Furtado, Colleen Rennison and Feist.

[126] The wide and diverse sound in 21st century rock has resulted in such acts as The Glorious Sons, Mother Mother, Arkells, Devin Townsend, Strapping Young Lad, Billy Talent, Silverstein, Thornley, Sam Roberts, Joel Plaskett, Avril Lavigne, Cleopatrick, Finger Eleven, Simple Plan, Marianas Trench, Gob, Hot Hot Heat, Immaculate Machine, The New Pornographers, Sum 41, Evans Blue, Parabelle, Three Days Grace, The Trews, Matt Mays & El Torpedo, Alexisonfire, Theory of a Deadman, Protest the Hero, Default, Bedouin Soundclash, Neverending White Lights, Hedley, Tokyo Police Club, Death from Above 1979, Age of Daze, Metric, Broken Social Scene, Monster Truck, The Sheepdogs, Walk Off the Earth, City and Colour, No Sinner, Priestess and PUP.

[131] Also very notable is Avril Lavigne, who is one of the top-selling artists releasing albums in the United States, with over 10.25 million copies certified by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Some bands, such as Les Cowboys Fringants have known success in Europe (primarily in France) while Karkwa, Vulgaires Machins and Malajube are also recognized elsewhere in Canada.

Charlotte Cardin, a finalist on TVA's singing competition La Voix in 2013, went on to critical and commercial success in pop and rock in French and English Canada.

Black Emperor, Riverbeds, Stars, The Stills, The Unicorns, Wolf Parade, Rufus Wainwright, Sam Roberts, Paul Cargnello, We Are Wolves, Corey Hart, Corky Laing, The New Cities, Chromeo, Simple Plan and the infamous spoken-word musical career of William Shatner.