The Great White North Retro Podcast

Exploding onto the music scene in the early ’80s, the Go-Go’s are arguably the most successful all-female bands ever.

Released in 2020, ‘All I Ever Wanted’ is a candid, raw, and sometimes intimate look into not only the everyday life of a rock band finding their way to global success but also a glimpse into Valentine’s personal life.

Growing up in Austin, Texas, the daughter of a single mom, she moved to California to not only find success but also herself.

A need for acceptance and belonging are continuing themes throughout the book in addition to substance abuse and other realities of the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle.

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Thorogood’s career spans over 50 years and includes 15 studio albums with the Destroyers and one solo album.

Some of his songs, such as “Bad To The Bone,” “I Drink Alone,” and “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer have become iconic blues-rock anthems.

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Born Beth Torbert in India in 1971 to a Canadian girl and British boy, neither family wanted anything to do with her.

Thus began a life of struggle, which has included alcohol abuse, a drug overdose, and breast cancer.

Her story is told in the 2016 book, ‘I, Bificus.’

Her 11th studio album ‘Champion’ came out in June 2024.

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Pope was one of the first 80s artists to push the boundaries with provocative lyrics and stage antics during a decade of music known for gender fluidity and androgyny.

Combining pop music with politics and sexual innuendoes, the band’s biggest hit, 1981’s ‘High School Confidential’ is heralded as one of the first explicitly lesbian-themed Top 40 hits in the world.

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Bentall has often drawn comparisons to John Mellencamp, Bruce Springsteen, and Tom Petty.

While mostly known for his pop/rock hits, he’s also known to dabble in bluegrass, roots, and folk music.

Barney Bentall and ‘The Cariboo Express’ were in town in November of 2021 for a very special show at the Bella Concert Hall for the 7th Annual Concert For Classrooms fundraiser.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit toddkaufman7.substack.com

You might not recognize him if you passed him on the street, but his voice has been featured on some of the biggest songs of the 1980s.

His name is Paul Carrack, and his resume reads like a who’s who of the music world, having worked over his 50-year career with the likes of Roger Waters, Squeeze, Mike + The Mechanics and Roxy Music.

Carrack’s 2021 album “One On One” was completely written, played and recorded by Carrack in his home studio in the UK.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit toddkaufman7.substack.com

Alternative rockers Soul Asylum rose up out of the punk scene in Minneapolis in the early 80s.

Lead singer Dave Pirner and the band broke out and won a Grammy for their 1992 album ‘Grave Dancer’s Union’ which features some of their biggest hits like ‘Runaway Train,’ ‘Black Gold,’ and ‘Somebody to Shove.’

Soul Asylum’s last gig in Calgary was on Friday, July 12th at The Big Four Roadhouse during the 2024 Calgary Stampede.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit toddkaufman7.substack.com

In ‘Reinvention Poems,’ the singer/songwriter/guitarist touches on a wide variety of topics in an autobiographical collection of poetry.

The collection came about after Emmett retired from touring and teaching in 2019.

68 at the time, he called it a ‘new and scary life chapter’ and uses poetry as ‘a way to cope and adapt to the ever-increasing complexity of modern culture.’

Emmett adds, while always having been a lyricist, poetry is a new avenue for him to flex his creative muscles while offering liberation from a lifetime of songwriting and lyric discipline.

‘Reinvention Poems’ is available online and in bookstores by ECW Press.

Triumph is a Canadian hard rock trio that formed in 1975 along with Mike Levine on bass/keyboards and Gil Moore and released 16 albums and received 18 gold and nine platinum awards in Canada and the United States until Emmett left to pursue a solo career in 1988.

The band was inducted into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame in 2007, into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2008, and into Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2019.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit toddkaufman7.substack.com

Multi-platinum, award-winning, Canadian rocker Lee Aaron’s 2021 album entitled “Radio On!” is a collection of 12 originals touted as your favorite radio DJ coming over the airwaves on a hot summer night!

Lee Aaron invites you to set your dial for a genuine rock ‘n’ roll listening experience…12 tracks of commercial-free, uninterrupted, melodic rock at its BEST!

Aaron says, as a result of the pandemic, the songs were done with a mix of in-studio sessions and a digital upgrade to their home studio.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit toddkaufman7.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit toddkaufman7.substack.com