CANO, a Canadian progressive rock band of the 1970s and 1980s, was the most successful popular musical group in

Franco-Ontarian Franco-Ontarians (french: Franco-Ontariens or if female, sometimes known as ''Ontarois'' and ''Ontaroises'') are Francophone Canadians that reside in the province of Ontario. Most are French Canadians from Ontario. In 2016, the Government of On ...

history.

Origins

CANO evolved out of the ''Coopérative des artistes du Nouvel-Ontario'' (''Artists' Cooperative of Northern Ontario''), an artists' collective established in

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...

, Ontario in 1970.Kuzyk, Jane. "That Band from Sudbury." ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', November 30, 1977. The cooperative was responsible for developing many of the current cultural institutions of the city's Franco-Ontarian community. The Galerie du Nouvel-Ontario, Prise de Parole publishing house, Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario, La Nuit sur l'étang and CANO-Musique, as the band was then called, all evolved out of projects launched by artists associated with the cooperative. While based in Sudbury, the cooperative bought an abandoned 320-acre farm in Earlton that became an artists' haven and buffalo ranch.

Musical group

The group consisted of singer-guitarists

André Paiement André Paiement (June 28, 1950 – January 23, 1978) was a Canadian playwright and musician. He was one of the most prominent Franco-Ontarian artists, playing a key role in developing many of the cultural institutions of the community. Biogr ...

and Rachel Paiement, violinist Wasyl Kohut, guitarists Marcel Aymar and David Burt, pianist Michel Kendel, bassist John Doerr and drummer Michel Dasti. The band was formed in the fall of 1975, and performed its first concert on December 1st at La Slague in Sudbury. The band also recorded its debut album, '' Tous dans l'même bateau,'' released in 1976. The production studio was a converted building on the Paiements' farm near

Sturgeon Falls West Nipissing is a municipality in Northeastern Ontario, Canada, on Lake Nipissing in the Nipissing District. It was formed on January 1, 1999, with the amalgamation of seventeen and a half former town, villages, townships and unorganized communi ...

. The band performed both traditional French folk songs and original material by Aymar, the Paiements and Robert Dickson. With its third album, ''

Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...

'', CANO began performing English-language songs as well; the fourth album, '' Rendezvous'', consisted predominantly of English songs as the band made a bid for success in the larger English-language market."CANO leaves roots behind in pursuit of masses". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', March 21, 1980. The band was most successful on francophone pop charts in Quebec and France, but had notable hits in English Canada as well. ''Eclipse'' and ''Rendezvous'', notably, both charted on CFNY, while the singles "Rebound" and "Carrie" reached No. 97 and No. 78 respectively on the '' RPM'' charts in 1979 and 1980. In 1978, the band was shaken by the suicide of André Paiement. The following year, the band was profiled in the National Film Board documentary, ''CANO, Notes on a Collective Experience.'' ''Spirit of the North'', a compilation issued in 1980, traced CANO's integration of pop, rock and jazz influences into what was originally a folk-based style. In the same year, some of the band's music appeared in the documentary film, '' A Wives' Tale (Une histoire de femmes)'', on the 1978 Inco strike in Sudbury. Following the departure of Rachel Paiement in 1980, the band released the album, ''Camouflage,'' under the band name Masque; it was the band's only fully English-language album.Niester, Allan. "Masque is still a band that merits attention". ''

'', May 15, 1982. Kohut died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1981, just weeks after the album's release, and was replaced by Ben Mink. By this time, the band was based in Toronto. CITY-TV used a track by the band as its theme song for ''Great Movies'' in the 1980s,"Bravo CANO! Local fans revel in revitalized band". ''

'', February 14, 1985. and the band also recorded music for several National Film Board productions. In 1984, Aymar, Burt, Mink, Mary Lu Zahalan and Rob Yale recorded the band's final album, ''Visible'', and played concerts in Ontario, Quebec, and Japan before disbanding.

Revival

In 2003, Universal Music Canada released a CANO greatest hits compilation as part of its ''20th Century Masters'' series. The band released ''Rendezvous'' on the iTunes platform in summer 2008 and ''Eclipse'' in spring 2009. CANO gave a reunion show at the 2010 ''La Nuit sur l'étang'' festival, with Monique Paiement, André and Rachel's younger sister, on lead vocals. Celebrating 35 years of CANO in 2011, Aymar, Burt, Doerr, Dasti and Kendel reunited again in June 2011 for a series of concerts in Ottawa, North Bay, Sturgeon Falls and Kapuskasing, with Michel Bénac of

Swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing rid ...

, Monique Paiement,

Andrea Lindsay Andrea Lindsay is a Canadian pop singer-songwriter, who won the Juno Award for Francophone Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2010 for her album ''Les Sentinelles dorment''.Stéphane Paquette Stéphane "Stef" Paquette (born December 18, 1973, in Chelmsford, Ontario) is a Franco-Ontarian singer-songwriter, actor and politician. Career A founding member of the band Les Chaizes Muzikales in 1993, Paquette launched a solo career in 20 ...

as supporting musicians. The Ottawa concert was recorded for broadcast on TFO.

Legacy

CANO was involved in the creation of two

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...

s in Sudbury, the bilingual folk festival Northern Lights Festival Boréal and the Franco-Ontarian cultural festival La Nuit sur l'étang. Both festivals continue to operate today. In 2021, two classic CANO songs from the band's first album, André Paiement's "Dimanche après-midi" and Marcel Aymar's "Baie Sainte-Marie," were inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Discography

* 1976 - '' Tous dans l'même bateau'' * 1977 - ''

Au nord de notre vie ''Au nord de notre vie'' (''In the North of Our Lives'') is an album by CANO, released in 1977.Jacques Paquin, ''Nouveaux territoires de la poésie francophone au Canada 1970-2000''.University of Ottawa Press, 2012. . p. 212. It was the band's sec ...

'' * 1978 - ''

'' * 1979 - '' Rendezvous'' * 1980 - ''Spirit of the North'' * 1981 - ''Camouflage'' (as Masque) * 1985 - '' Visible'' * 2003 - ''The Best of CANO (20th Century Masters)''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cano Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups disestablished in 1985 Musical groups from Greater Sudbury Canadian folk rock groups Canadian progressive rock groups Franco-Ontarian musical groups 1975 establishments in Ontario 1985 disestablishments in Ontario