Nobody in country music in the 70s sounded quite like Gary Stewart. But after a brief stay at the top of the charts, his career and life went off the rails.
From Pac-Man and Cold War panic to mad scientists and fake cowboys, these hit songs from the 1980s were far stranger than most listeners remember today.
The 70s turned folk, roots music, and singer-songwriters into a major part of mainstream culture. Some of these artists are still revered today, but younger listeners may know only one famous song, if they know the name at all.
For decades, Canadian bands had to fight to be noticed beside bigger American and British acts. Then groups like Rush, The Guess Who, and The Band proved the talent was already there. What followed was a wave of bands that pushed Canadian rock in every direction imaginable.
Minimalism doesn't always mean quiet, slow, or delicate. Sometimes it's a single bassline, a stubbornly repeated riff, a nearly empty drum pattern, or a handful of sounds given enough room to become enormous.
