A&M RECORDS OF CANADA, LTD.
HISTORY
Until February 1970, when A&M Records of Canada was established, A&M recordings from the United States were licensed to Quality Records. A&M had at least 24 singles on the Canadian pop charts. An incredible 15 singles made the Top 10 and 21 were in the Top 20. The first A&M artist to chart was We Five with "You Were On My Mind" which was a Top 5 hit. In 1967 and 1968, A&M had three #1 singles: Procol Harum's "A White Shade of Pale," Boyce and Hart's "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite" and Herb Alpert's "This Guy's in Love with You."
When A&M decided it wanted to do more than distribute its U.S. recordings in Canada–-it wanted to find and develop Canadian recording artists and songwriters–-the search began for Canadians to run the business. A&M Records of Canada had only one president throughout its existence, Gerry Lacoursiere. Gerry was a Canadian who had worked in the U.S. record industry.
A&M Records of Canada opened in February 1970, with four employees, a manufacturing deal with Keel Record Manufacturing of Canada, Ltd., and a distribution arrangement with Capitol Records and London Records. (Lacoursiere bought back all of the unsold Quality pressings.)
The first A&M Records albums to be released by A&M Canada were the U.S. Greatest Hits series and a various artist sampler created for the Canadian market titled Cream of the Cream featuring Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, the Baja Marimba Band, Jimmie Rodgers and Wes Montgomery.
The first #1 hit single on the Canadian pop chart that A&M Canada worked was "A Song of Joy" by Miguel Rios, again a U.S. export, which topped the chart in July 1970. It was a Top 10 hit on Cash Box and continued to sell for the next five years. Throughout its history, A&M Canada would very successfully promote A&M products placing more than 300 singles on Canada's music charts.
The first Canadian A&M artist was Tundra, signed in 1971. They produced the Top 30 hit "Band Bandit."
Gerry Lacoursiere told RPM, "I was such a bad [record] salesman, they made me a promotion man–-and I think that basically turned out to be my mission in life. I got a kick out of taking a record, I believe in–-not because it was happening in Los Angeles or any other market, but that I personally believed in, and going out and getting somebody to play it, and then finding out later that the consumer or the mass public was buying it–-and that it was a hit record."
"I still get kicks going [to radio stations] and talking up a record and trying to convey my belief to that program director...I really care. That's why I go there. I believe in the record. I think it's a hit record and I show them what proof I might have other than my belief."
Doug Chappell, Promotion Director, added, "Credibility, I think, is the key with radio stations. You can't tell music directors that every record is a hit, because they know that every record put out is not a hit. If we believe we have a hit when we go to the station with it, and can't prove that it is, then it wasn't a hit to start with."
Lacoursiere continued, "[Promotion] is a team effort. We're in the record business. That's our only business and if we don't believe in what we're doing, how can we expect the programmer to believe in it....We're always striving to do it a little bit better. We don't sit on our laurels. Just because we're up fifty percent over our previous year, we don't stall. We take the attitude that we're still not doing the total job."
Said Regional Marketing Manager David Brodeur, "In my mind, A&M had the artists, they had the records, and they looked like they knew what they were doing.... We invested in A&M and we invested in our artists and to me it was an attitude that other people around me didn't have, or don't seem to have at the time...I'm totally invested. It's a way of life for me. I like the way they think, the way they sign acts. They try to find unique and talented artists. Not necessarily the ones who might sell the most records, but people you can build."
Doug Chappell told RPM, "We try to promote artists rather than records. Any longevity comes from making an artist a star rather than in making a record a hit. There are a lot of one-hit wonders in the business and they don't really seem to be paying for themselves. We don't drop artists after one single, one album, if we don't make it on an initial release. It's a long-term project–you don't get an image after one record or even after one hit, it comes after a series. I think the longevity of their career is determined by the kind of people they are. Every artist on the label deserves the most promotion we can give him or her."
Billboard reported in "A&M Opens Special A&R Wing: Points to Sharper Talent Focus," that A&M Records of Canada opened its own A&R division to find and develop Canadian artists. Peter Beauchamp explained in, "The whole thing was a costly venture and certainly the company didn't need it for financial success. We understood that if the Canadian music industry was going to grow, we would have to take steps to help...At the outset it is not specifics that we are looking for, in fact, we are open to anything. The attitude of the artist has a lot to do with whether we sign them or not and if the act already has good management, that's all the better."
A Foot in Coldwater and Lorence Hud signed in 1972. In 1973, both had given A&M Canada a Top 30 hit.
Keith Hampshire signed to A&M Canada in 1973 and gave his new label three Top 10 singles that year including the #1 "The First Cut Is the Deepest." Valdy sold 15,500 copies of his second album in just five weeks. On October 15, 1973, the new A&R and publishing house opened.
In 1974, A&M Canada acquired Goldfish Records and Love Productions. The label had three Top 10 country hits including a #1 in Hoyt Axton's "When the Morning Comes."
Notable artist signings in 1974 included Charity Brown who stayed for three years, Gino Vannelli who was with the label for four years and Valdy.
Vannelli was the first Canadian artist to have Herb Alpert produce one of his records. He also holds the distinction of being the first white artist to appear on the television show "Soul Train" on February 15, 1975.
By 1975, A&M Canada had 11 artists on its roster and opened its Calgary sales office on June 1.
In 1975, A&M Canada signed The Raes who were with the label for two years. Their first single, "A Little Lovin'," was a Top 10 hit in Canada.
Recordings by Canadian artists were released in Canada first. Essentially, if the record was a hit in Canada, it would be issued in the United States. Once the A&M Records of Canada established its track record, records were released simultaneously in both Canada and the U.S.
September 1, 1977, A&M Records of Canada became the distributor of Mushroom Records in three provinces.
In late 1978, A&M Records signed Bryan Adams, first a staff songwriter and then as an artist. Bryan put two singles on the Canadian chart in 1980. His first Top 10 was "Cuts Like a Knife" in 1983. He would remain a top charting artist for A&M Records for the next twenty years. He earned three #1 singles and four #1 albums, ten Top 10 singles and three Top 10 albums. In 1996, Adams became A&M's first Canadian artist to perform on the Academy Awards. He sang "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" which became the second best selling movie theme in history. Only Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" had sold more copies.
Billboard reported A&M Canada was fined for price maintenance in 1980. It also reported that "A&M pledges more support for Canadian acts."
Signed Veronique Beliveau in 1983.
Attic Records signed a distribution agreement with A&M Canada beginning in 1985 that continued after the sale to PolyGram into the mid-1990s. Artists that had product distributed by A&M Canada included Lee Aaron, Banco de Gaia, Shirley Eikhard, Goddo, Hunters and Collectors, Paul Janz, L.A.X., Kurupt, The Nylons, Stetasonic, and Jennifer Warnes. Attic was probably the largest English Canadian independent label.
In October 1987, A&M Records of Canada became the distributor of Paradox Records, a division of Passport Records.
Other record companies that had distribution deals with A&M Canada were Elephant Records, Maze, Oak Street, Troubadour and Concord Jazz.
Paul Anka was an A&M artist in 1988 for his Freedom album.
By 1989, A&M Records of Canada had grown to be one of Canada's five major labels. The Canadian market finally accepted the cassette single as a standard format and the companies adopted it in May 1989.
A&M Canada began distributing Chameleon Music Group in 1989.
In 1990, A&M Canada was bought by PolyGram of Canada.
Signed Jann Arden in 1992. Her Living Under June album would go on to sell over eight million copies.
Signed Ashley MacIsaac in 1994.
SOURCES:
1. Billboard. A&M Hot Track Records. February 24, 1974.2. Billboard. A&M Scoring in Country. August 3, 1974.
3. Billboard. A&M Parley Accents Ties by Sales & Promotion. October 12, 1974.
4. RPM. A&M–Five Years Later. April 19, 1975.
5. Billboard. A&M Canada fined for Price Maintenance. September 13, 1980.
6. Billboard. A&M Pledges More Support for Canadian Acts. October 4, 1980.
7. Billboard. P'Gram Canada Files Buyout Plan (A&M Records of Canada Limited). K. LaPointe.
February 10, 1990.
8. Canadian Recording Industry Association
9. Juno Awards
10. Odyssey
11. CHUM Radio
