A new book by Bob Mersereau, author of The Top 100 Canadian Albums of All Time, has been published, ranking the top 100 Canadian Singles of All Time:


1. American Woman/No Sugar Tonight, The Guess Who
2. Heart of Gold, Neil Young
3. The Weight, The Band
4. Summer of ’69, Bryan Adams
5. Hallelujah, Leonard Cohen
6. Born to Be Wild, Steppenwolf
7. If You Could Read My Mind, Gordon Lightfoot
8. Takin’ Care of Business, Bachman Turner Overdrive
9. Four Strong Winds, Ian and Sylvia
10. Snowbird, Anne Murray
11. Big Yellow Taxi, Joni Mitchell
12. Tom Sawyer, Rush
13. Try, Blue Rodeo
14. New Orleans Is Sinking, Tragically Hip
15. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Gordon Lightfoot
16. Suzanne, Leonard Cohen
17. Life Is a Highway, Tom Cochrane
18. These Eyes, Guess Who
19. Sundown, Gordon Lightfoot
20. Underwhelmed, Sloan
21. Up On Cripple Creek, The Band
22. Let Your Backbone Slide, Maestro Fresh Wes
23. Tired of Waking Up Tired, The Diodes
25. The Spirit of Radio, Rush
25. Oh What a Feeling, Crowbar
26. High School Confidential, Rough Trade
27. Echo Beach, Martha and the Muffins
28. Sweet City Woman, Stampeders
29. Wake Up, Arcade Fire
30. If I Had $1,000,000, Barenaked Ladies
31. Lindberg, Robert Charlebois
32. I’m an Adult Now, The Pursuit of Happiness
33. Nothin’, Ugly Ducklings
34. Coax Me, Sloan
35. Closer To the Heart, Rush
36. Picture My Face, Teenage Head
37. Shakin’ All Over, The Guess Who
38. Signs, Five Man Electrical Band
39. Lost Together, Blue Rodeo
40. Sonny’s Dream, Ron Hynes
41. The Safety Dance, Men Without Hats
42. Claire, Rheostatics
43. One Fine Morning, Lighthouse
44. (Make Me Do) Anything You Want, A Foot In Coldwater
45. Sunglasses at Night, Corey Hart
46. Working For the Weekend, Loverboy
47. Raise a Little Hell, Trooper
48. Rise Up, Parachute Club
49. Black Velvet, Alannah Myles
50. Seasons In the Sun, Terry Jacks
51. Montreal 40C, Malajube
52. Cinnamon Girl, Neil Young
53. You Oughta Know, Alanis Morissette
54. 1234, Feist
55. Rebellion (Lies), Arcade Fire
56. Constant Craving, k.d. lang
57. Rockin’ In the Free World, Neil Young
58. Lovin’ You Ain’t Easy, Michel Pagliaro
59. Lovers In a Dangerous Time, Bruce Cockburn
60. Bobcaygeon, Tragically Hip
61. A Case of You, Joni Mitchell
62. New York City, The Demics
63. (Everything I Do) I Do It for You, Bryan Adams
64. Ahead By a Century, Tragically Hip
65. Five Days In May, Blue Rodeo
66. I’m Moving On, Hank Snow
67. Pour un instant, Harmonium
68. Magic Carpet Ride, Steppenwolf
69. Money City Maniacs, Sloan
70. My Heart Will Go On, Celine Dion
71. Crabbuckit, kos
72. This Beat Goes on/Switchin’ To Glide, The Kings
73. Old Man, Neil Young
74. 1990, Jean Leloup
75. Eyes of a Stranger, Payola$
76. Hasn’t Hit Me Yet, Blue Rodeo
77. You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet, Bachman Turner Overdrive
78. Wondering Where the Lions Are, Bruce Cockburn
79. You Could Have Been a Lady, April Wine
80. Let’s Shake, Teenage Head
81. Help Me, Joni Mitchell
82. We’re Here For A Good Time, Trooper
83. Sunny Days, Lighthouse
84. Le petit roi, Jean-Pierre Ferland
85. Cuts Like a Knife, Bryan Adams
86. The Hockey Song, Stompin’ Tom Connors
87. Wheat Kings, Tragically Hip
88. Mon pays, Gilles Vigneault
89. Home for a Rest, Spirit of The West
90. Letter from an Occupant, New Pornographers
91. No Time, Guess Who
92. As the Years Go By, Mashmakhan
93. Hey Hey My My/My My Hey Hey, Neil Young
94. Diana, Paul Anka
95. The Maker, Daniel Lanois
96. Nova Heart, The Spoons
97. La complainte du phoque en Alaska, Beau Dommage
98. Secret Heart, Ron Sexsmith
99. Run to You, Bryan Adams
100. Weighty Ghost, Wintersleep

Read more:

http://arts.nationalpost.com/2010/10/04/the-top-100-canadian-singles/#ixzz125E5pYaM
http://www.herohill.com/2010/10/news-the-top-100-canadian-singles.htm
http://blogbusinessworld.blogspot.com/2010/09/bob-mersereau-top-100-canadian-singles.html
http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/lifetimes/article/1241634

I got the list from the first source I listed, but I first heard about it when I saw a copy of the book in HMV. I flipped through the book, and although the above list is accurate, there were a few entries in the book that contained double A-sides/B-sides (such as the #1 "American Woman"/"No Sugar Tonight" and #93 "Hey Hey My My"/"My My Hey Hey"). I'm not sure what other ones were included.

Is it just me or are the Guess Who held in way higher regard in Canada than anywhere else?

as a huge fan of Neil Young and The Band, seeing the Guess Who on top made me throw up in my mouth a little bit.

"No Sugar Tonight" never seems to get much acclaim or recognition. IMO it's much better than "American Woman," and is definitely an upper-tier classic rock song. Some people might dislike it due to overexposure, but I've only heard it a handful of times.

That being said, Neil Young and Leonard Cohen are definitely the best Canadian artists, and deserve to dominate this list even more. It also seems like a few artists were left out, but I can't figure out exactly who...

My conjecture is that the Guess Who are far too poppy and accessible to get recognition from AMers that they get elsewhere.

The Guess Who provide elements of great vocal delivery, superb use of hooks, songs that can inspire emotions for a large group of casual listeners. The folks who rate the Guess Who this highly are the same kind of folks that prefer Yesterday to Paranoid Android, Like a Rolling Stone and Space Oddity

Oh, and I could be wrong, but I think when I was flipping through the book, "Up on Cripple Creek" was listed with "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down."

Can anyone confirm this?

It's always struck me as very strange how little music I like from Canadian artists. The ones I do like tend to be from Quebec.

Bryan Adams: yuck
Barenaked Ladies: triple yuck

Shania Twain, but one Celine Dion? At least there's no Nickelback. :)

what?!! no Triumph?

Thank God!

Also, too many "stale" pop hit songs.


Sympathize with this:

1. American Woman/No Sugar Tonight, The Guess Who
2. Heart of Gold, Neil Young
3. The Weight, The Band
4. Summer of ’69, Bryan Adams
5. Hallelujah, Leonard Cohen
6. Born to Be Wild, Steppenwolf
11. Big Yellow Taxi, Joni Mitchell
12. Tom Sawyer, Rush
16. Suzanne, Leonard Cohen
19. Sundown, Gordon Lightfoot
21. Up On Cripple Creek, The Band
25. The Spirit of Radio, Rush
27. Echo Beach, Martha and the Muffins
43. One Fine Morning, Lighthouse
52. Cinnamon Girl, Neil Young
55. Rebellion (Lies), Arcade Fire
57. Rockin’ In the Free World, Neil Young
61. A Case of You, Joni Mitchell
62. New York City, The Demics
64. Ahead By a Century, Tragically Hip
68. Magic Carpet Ride, Steppenwolf
73. Old Man, Neil Young
77. You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet, Bachman Turner Overdrive
81. Help Me, Joni Mitchell
90. Letter from an Occupant, New Pornographers
93. Hey Hey My My/My My Hey Hey, Neil Young



Add:

Joni Mitchell - River
Joni Mitchell - Free Man In Paris
Neil Young - After The Gold Rush
Leonard Cohen - Sisters Of Mercy etc...

... and the stomper by the New Pornographers: "All The Things That Make Heaven And Earth"


I have a suspicion that some songs are overlooked because they aren't "canadian" enough or doesn't have a ceratin "nostalgic" feeling ...

My My Hey Hey /Hey Hey My My is not one song, and both should be hgiher up!
And I may have missed it, but where is Both Sides Now?

aka: the germa-nuckie lesson: why to ignore each inch of the Kevin ilk when it hurts the most

ps: Canadians always remind me of right field sided Europeans and left field sided US-Americans thrown together into a blender.. loudmouthed, smug and indefinitely empathetic in the fine print

As I mentioned above, there were a few entries on the list, including "American Woman"/"No Sugar Tonight," where B-sides or double A-sides were listed (like a list that would have Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane as one entry).