Canadian music genres identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music made by Canadians.Encyclopedia of Canadian rock, pop and folk music by Rick Jackson, (Kingston, ON): Quarry Press, (1994) () The music of Canada has reflected the multi-cultural influences that have shaped the country. First Nations people, the French, the British, the Americans and many others nationalities have all made unique contributions to the musical genres of Canada.Heart of Gold: 30 years of Canadian pop music by Martin Melhuish, Toronto ON: CBC Enterprises, (1983) ()Oh What a Feeling: a vital history of Canadian music by Martin Melhuish, (Kingston, ON: Quarry Press, 1996) () During the swing boom of the late 1930s and early 1940s, Canada produced such notable bandleaders as Ellis McLintock, Bert Niosi, Jimmy Davidson, and Mart Kenney. In the 1940s, Bert Niosi and Oscar Peterson became widely known. Canada has also produced a number of respected classical music ensembles, including the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Canadian rock describes a wide and diverse variety of music produced by Canadians, with the most notable Canadian rock band being Rush, who currently place fifth behind The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Kiss and Aerosmith for the most consecutive gold and platinum albums by a rock band.DRUM! Magazine Awards Big Drum Thump Accessed July 2, 2008 The Canadian hip hop scene was first established in the 1980s. Some of the most well known Canadian rappers and hip-hop artists include Drake and Maestro Fresh-Wes.
Canadian country music used a more distinctly pronounced vocal style than American music, and stuck with more traditional ballads and narratives while American country began to use more songs about bars and lovers' quarrels. In the 1970s, chansonniers grew steadily less popular with the encroachment of popular rock bands and other artists. Some performers did emerge, however, including Jacques Michel, Claude Dubois, and Robert Charlebois. Saskatchewan-native Joni Mitchell is one of the most influential folk and popular music singer songwriters of the 20th century.The Penguin Book of Canadian Folk Songs by Edith Fowke. Markham, ON: Penguin, 1986. () Chansonniers were French Canadian singer-songwriters from the 1950s and 1960s. They sang simple, poetic songs with a social conscience. The first chansonniers were La Bolduc, Raymond Lévesque and Félix Leclerc.
Gaining speed in the west of Canada, the electronic music scene grew rapidly within most major centres. Canadian artists have also had a significant impact on industrial music worldwide, and Canada is considered by many to be one of the birthplaces of modern industrial music, with bands such as Skinny Puppy. Going back to the late 1960s, Canada has produced metal bands that have and continue to influence metal bands to this day. Some of Canada's most successful metal bands opted to change their style from the early 1980s roots metal sound to the growing glam metal style that became mainstream in the late 1980s. Canada's death metal scene has produced artists most of whom are based out of Quebec. Bands from across Canada contribute to the punk rock and hardcore scenes. D.O.A. of Vancouver founded Canadian hardcore punk rock along with their American counterparts in the early 1980s.
Metal
Going back to the late 1960s, Canada has produced metal bands that have and continue to influence metal bands to this day. In 1964, Toronto-based band The Sparrows was formed. This band later changed their name to Steppenwolf and featured Canadians John Kay, Goldy McJohn and Jerry Edmonton. Steppenwolf's 1968 single "Born to be Wild" was the first use of the words "heavy metal" in a song's lyric. In 1970, Woodstock, Ontario-based Warpig released their metal music debut, which, although never reaching mainstream success like fellow heavy metal bands Black Sabbath and Blue Cheer, has become a cult favourite within the doom metal scene.
Some of Canada's most successful metal bands opted to change their style from the early 1980s roots metal sound to the growing glam metal style that became mainstream in the late 1980s. Bands such as Helix, Kick Axe, Brighton Rock, Killer Dwarfs, Annihilator, and Slik Toxik saw growing popularity in the mid-1980s thanks in part to MuchMusic and MTV playing their videos in regular rotation. Lee Aaron earned the nickname "Metal Queen" from her 1984 album of the same name.
Canada's death metal scene has produced many artists; most these are based out of Quebec. Bands such as Kataklysm, Cryptopsy, Quo Vadis, Gorguts, Augury, Voivod, Martyr, and Neuraxis have a strong underground following and are signed to major independent metal labels. In the 2000s, Canadian extreme metal has been put on the map by Vancouver band Strapping Young Lad (featuring Devin Townsend), 3 Inches of Blood, Ottawa grindcore quartet Fuck the Facts, Regina band Into Eternity, and progressive metal band Protest the Hero. James LaBrie, lead singer of Dream Theater, is Canadian born. Some notable black metal bands have come from Ontario, including Woods of Ypres, Wolven Ancestry, Zogroth and Eclipse Eternal. The cult black/death metal band Blasphemy, formed in 1984 in British Columbia, are still touring despite not having released a studio album since 1993. Canada has a very strong underground metal scene in cities such as Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, and Quebec City.
In the early 1980s, Vancouver gained itself the reputation of being called the "Metal Central of Canada". To the present day, Vancouver still holds the reputation and has become a favourite city for many touring bands across the world.
Classical
In Canada, classical music includes a range of musical styles rooted in the traditions of Western or European classical music that European settlers brought to the country from the 17th century and onwards. As well, it includes musical styles brought by other ethnic communities from the 19th century and onwards, such as Indian classical music (Hindustani and Carnatic music) and Chinese classical music.Foran, Charles. "No More Solitudes". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 2: Latin & North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific, pp 350–361. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ()
Canada has produced a number of respected ensembles, including the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, as well as a number of well-known Baroque orchestras and chamber ensembles, such as the I Musici de Montréal Chamber Orchestra and the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir. Major Canadian opera companies such as the Canadian Opera Company have nurtured the talents of Canadian opera singers such as Maureen Forrester, Ben Heppner, and Jon Vickers. Well-known Canadian musicians include pianist Glenn Gould; violinist James Ehnes; flautist Timothy Hutchins; and composers R. Murray Schafer and Harry Somers. Well-known music schools include the Royal Conservatory of Music (Canada) in Toronto and the Schulich School of Music at McGill University in Montréal.
Rock
Canadian rock describes a wide and diverse variety of music produced by Canadians, starting with American-style Rock and roll in the mid-20th century.Top Pop Records 1940–1955 Author Joel Whitburn Publisher Record Research Billboard year 1973 p. 211. Since then Canada has had a considerable impact on the development of the modern popular music called rock. Canada has produced many of the genre's most significant groups and performers, while contributing significantly to the development of the most popular subgenres, which include alternative rock, pop rock, progressive rock, country rock, folk rock, hard rock, punk rock, metal and indie rock.Requires running a searches for Artist or year
Canada has been a source of rock and roll music for decades. The first Canadian rock single was "The Mocking Bird"; it was recorded by The Four Lads in 1952 and reached No. 23 on the Billboard chart that year. It was re-released four years later reaching No. 67 on the 1956 chart. The first Canadian with a No. 1 American Billboard hit was 16-year-old Paul Anka. In 1957 he went to New York City where he recorded his own composition, "Diana". The song brought him instant stardom selling more than nine million copies in sixteen countries,Paul Anka reportedly has sold more than nine million copies. , History of Rock and Roll. (URL accessed May 14, 2006) reaching No. 1 on the U.S. and Canadian charts. Since then, Canada has produced many internationally popular rock and roll artists.
One of the best-selling Canadian rock bands internationally is Rush; as of 2008, they placed fifth behind The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Kiss and Aerosmith for the most consecutive gold and platinum albums by a rock band. Other notable musicians include Thousand Foot Krutch, The Guess Who, BTO, Nickelback, Three Days Grace, The Tragically Hip, Our Lady Peace, Sum 41, Alanis Morissette, Billy Talent, Simple Plan, Finger 11 and Metric.Heart of Gold: 30 years of Canadian pop music by Martin Melhuish, (Toronto: CBC Enterprises, 1983) () Toronto-based band The Birthday Massacre has established a very faithful fanbase spreading across the globe.
Blues
The blues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on the use of the blue notes, often with a repetitive twelve-bar structure, which evolved in the United States in the communities of former African slaves. Canadian blues refers to the blues and blues-related music (e.g. blues-rock, folk blues, etc.) performed by blues bands and performers in Canada. In Canada, there are hundreds of local and regionally based Canadian blues bands and performers. As well, there is a smaller number of bands or performers that have achieved national or international prominence. These bands and performers are part of a broader Canadian "blues scene" that also includes city or regional blues societies, blues radio shows, and blues festivals.
A small number of Canadian blues bands and artists have achieved national or international prominence by touring across Canada, the US, or Europe, and releasing recordings that have received critical or audience acclaim in Canada and abroad. The performers below are listed according to the decade during which they first achieved national or international prominence: 1960s: Ronnie Hawkins 1970s: The Downchild Blues Band, Norman "Dutch" Mason, Back Alley John 1980s: David Wilcox, The Powder Blues, Jeff Healey 1990s: Colin James 2000s: Jack de Keyzer, Sue Foley, Tony D, Steve "Muddog" Sainas
Hip hop