The Great White North Retro Podcast

Prism has been rocking out since releasing their first of eight studio albums in 1977 and took home the Juno Award for ‘Group of the Year’ in 1981.

The band has found most of its success in Canada but also managed to hit the US top 40 charts in 1981 with the song “Don’t Let Him Know.”

Prism is also known for launching the careers of several former group members, including international record producer Bruce Fairbairn, songwriter Jim Vallance, Powder Blues Band frontman Tom Lavin and Headpins and Chilliwack musician Ab Bryant.

Canadian music icon Bryan Adams also contributed as a songwriter on a number of early Prism songs.

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Saga’s fourth album, 1981’s ‘Worlds Apart,’ saw the band break into the Top 40.

The first single, ‘On The Loose,’ peaked at No. 22 on the Canadian Charts in January 1982, and then in the US, where it peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard chart in February 1983.

A second single, "Wind Him Up", also fared pretty well down south with the help of heavy video rotation on MTV.

Saga has released a total of 22 albums, including the latest, 2021’s acoustic ‘Symmetry.’

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Known for their 60s-inspired pop-rock, The Grapes of Wrath enoyed their greatest commercial success in the late 1980s and early 90s thanks to 1989’s ‘Now and Again’ and 1991’s ‘These Days.’

The song ‘All The Things I Wasn’t’ peaked at #19 on the Canadian charts in 1989 while ‘I Am Here’ hit #8 and ‘You May Be Right’ made it to #7 on the charts in 1991.

Kane left the band in 1992 while brothers Tom and Chris Hooper continued on under the name “Ginger.”

The band has reunited numerous times throughout the years and are still playing together at times even today.

Kane also began playing with The Northern Pikes in 2017 while also finding time to keep writing songs and says there’s certainly enough material for another album.

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Singer Cathy Richardson opens up ahead of Jefferson Starship playing the River Cree Resort and Casino in Enoch in October 2025 as part of the band’s 50th anniversary Runaway Again tour.

The original band has roots going all the way back to the original Woodstock and has seen several personnel shifts and name changes over the years, including Jefferson Airplane and Starship.

The band will also be releasing a new album in 2027 with the first single “Jetpack” now out.

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Chicago, the legendary rock and roll band with horns has been pumping out the hits for over 50 years.

In 2018, Canadian vocalist Neil Donell got the call to replace Jeff Coffey on lead vocals and he jumped at the chance.

Donell, who’s originally from Montreal but moved to Toronto in the mid-1980s has worked extensively as a session musician and has been nominated for several Juno Awards.

He has also sung on roughly 11,000 to 12,000 recording sessions, commercials, and TV projects.

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Eight Seconds formed in Ottawa in 1982 and are best known for their 1986 single "Kiss You (When It's Dangerous)" which peaked at #14 in 1987 and was on the charts for 28 weeks in Canada

April Wine have been icons on the Canadian music scene since 1969 and have had 21 songs hit the charts.

Original April Wine lead singer Myles Goodwyn died in late 2023.

Parent took over lead vocals and guitar in 2022 with Myles’ blessing.

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Even a 23 year breakup couldn’t keep the fans away, proving good music stands the test of time.

Blvd released their debut album in 1988, spawning three singles, ‘Never Give Up,’ ‘Far From Over,’ and ‘Dream On.’

Their 1990 follow-up ‘Into The Street’ led to two more singles including ‘Lead Me On,’ the band’s highest charting single, peaking at #21 in Canada.

Their 4th studio album, ‘Talk Without Speaking’ came out in May before heading overseas to play the Malmö Melodic Festival July 24-26 in Sweden.

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The Northern Pikes have achieved one Platinum and four Gold albums in Canada and are marking their 42nd anniversary as a band in 2026.

Some of their hits include ‘Teenland,’ ‘Things I Do For Money,’ ‘Girl With A Problem,’ and ‘Kiss Me You Fool.’

1990’s ‘She Ain’t Pretty’ is the band’s top-selling single in the US and Canada.

This year’s ‘Rock The River’ runs August 14-16 at Rotary Park

The Northern Pikes open day 2 on Saturday, followed by Default, The Tea Party, and Collective Soul.

For more, head to: rocktheriversaskatoon.ca

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Rock The River runs August 14-16 at Rotary Park in Saskatoon.

Some of the other bands this year include Collective Soul, The Northern Pikes, Haywire, Colin James and Sloan

Find out more at

https://rocktheriversaskatoon.ca/

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Goodwyn’s album “Long Pants” includes the single “Will The Last Voice I Hear Be An Angel.”

He’s joined on the track by Jim Henman, another original member of April Wine, who, along with David Henman and Ritchie Henman founded the band in 1969.

The album is described as an eclectic collection of personal songs, some previously released and dating back as much as 40 years.

April Wine, one of the most successful rock bands in Canadian music history, rose to stardom in the 1970’s and ’80s and is still active today with guitarist Brian Greenway the longest active member, joining the band in 1977.

Since 1971, April Wine has released 16 studio albums, while Goodwyn himself has also put out three other solo efforts, including blues-based albums in 2018 and 2019.

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