Bob Nolan was a cowboy singer famous for writing Tumbling Tumbleweeds, while Winnipeg-born Oscar Brand was an important figure in folk music.
Their hits "American Woman", "No Time", "Clap for the Wolfman", "These Eyes", and "No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature" made them one of the most successful rock bands to ever come from Canada.
Burton Cummings, who had been the lead singer of the Guess Who, also had a successful solo career with softer hits including "Stand Tall", "Scared", and "Break it to Them Gently".
Between 1970 and 1974, four different Winnipeg artists had #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including the aforementioned The Guess Who, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Neil Young, and Terry Jacks with 1974's "Seasons in the Sun."
Tom Cochrane, a rocker originally from the town of Lynn Lake in Northern Manitoba, rose to fame with his band Red Rider, producing such hits as "Lunatic Fringe", "Boy Inside the Man" and "Big League".
The late 1970s and early-to-mid 1980s brought a new arena rock vibe to the local music scene, featuring made-in-Manitoba rockers Harlequin, and the Chris Burke-Gaffney-lead bands The Pumps, Orphan and later the Deadbeat Honeymooners.
Harlequin was arguably the most popular band to come out of Manitoba in the early 1980s, producing several radio-friendly hits including "Sweet Things in Life", "Innocence", and "Superstitious Feeling".
In the late 1980s, an indie folk/pop band from Winnipeg called Crash Test Dummies was formed featuring singers Brad Roberts and Ellen Reid.
Originally formed in Seattle, Econoline Crush is a band based in Vancouver, led by singer Trevor Hurst, who was born and raised in Virden, Manitoba.
Born in India, and currently living in Vancouver, Bif Naked spent her teen and young adult years in Winnipeg where she developed into the unique artist that she is today.
Kreviazuk has co-written songs for and with many other artists including Avril Lavigne, Gwen Stefani, Kelly Clarkson, and her husband Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace fame.
Brent Fitz a multi-instrumentalist born in Winnipeg, currently resides in Las Vegas and has recorded and toured with a vast array of Canadian and International artists including Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash, Alice Cooper, Mötley Crüe vocalist Vince Neil, Theory Of A Deadman, Streetheart, Harlequin and The Guess Who.
Also in 2000, dance-pop duo McMaster & James made the leap from playing gigs at the Bank Cabaret in downtown Winnipeg to pop music fame with their one and only self-titled album.
Propagandhi is a punk rock band from Winnipeg (originally from Portage la Prairie, Manitoba) that incorporates politics and ethics in its music and performances.
Though not heavily played on the radio, the band parlayed a renewed interest in punk music in the late 1990s into a successful touring career, and won the 2006 ECHO songwriting award for their song "A Speculative Fiction".
Critical recognition soon followed, as did a local fan base, although they are best known to many for their tongue-in-cheek salute to their home town “One Great City!”, which features the line “I hate Winnipeg”.
Other Manitoba artists and bands in the rock and pop genres include The Waking Eyes, Royal Canoe, Imaginary Cities, and Chic Gamine.