''RPM'' ( and later ) was a Canadian music-industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by

Walt Grealis Walter Grealis Order of Canada, OC (18 February 1929 – 20 January 2004) was a Canadian publisher and music industry leader. With partner Stan Klees, he co-founded Canada's national music honours, the Juno Awards. As an ardent supporter of Cana ...

in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner

Stan Klees Stan Klees (29 April 1932 – 22 September 2023) was a Canadian music industry businessman. He created the music recording companies Tamarac and Red Leaf Records in the 1960s. Life and career A native of Toronto, Ontario, Klees was a presenter ...

. ''RPM'' ceased publication in November 2000. ''RPM'' stood for "Records, Promotion, Music". The magazine's title varied over the years, including ''RPM Weekly'' and ''RPM Magazine''.

Background

In 1964, Harriett Wasser came on board as the magazine's New York correspondent. She was no stranger to the music industry and she had been associated with many prominent figures in the industry that included

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor who performed Pop music, pop, Swing music, swing, Folk music, folk, rock and roll, and country music. Darin started ...

and

Bob Crewe Robert Stanley Crewe (November 12, 1930 – September 11, 2014) was an American songwriter, dancer, singer, manager, and record producer. Crewe co-wrote and produced a string of Top 10 singles with Bob Gaudio for the Four Seasons. As a songw ...

. The address at the time for correspondence was Harriet Wasser, 161 West 54th Street, Suite 1202, New York, N.Y. 10019. An example of her work can be seen in page 5 of the October 9, 1964 edition of ''R. P. M.'', in DATELINE NEW YORK by Harriet Wasser.

Discontination

In the fall of 2000, faced with changing advertising policies that made continuing virtually impossible, the decision was made to cease publication for RPM.

Canadian music charts

''RPM'' maintained several format charts, including Top Singles (all genres), Adult Contemporary,

Dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

, Urban, Rock/Alternative, and Country Tracks (or Top Country Tracks) for country music. On 21 March 1966, ''RPM'' expanded its Top Singles chart from 40 positions to 100. On 6 December 1980, the main chart became a top-50 chart and remained this way until 4 August 1984, whereupon it reverted to a top-100 singles chart. For the first several weeks of its existence, the magazine did not compile a national chart, but simply printed the current airplay lists of several major-market top-40 stations. A national chart was introduced in the 22 June 1964 issue, and the first national number-one single was "

Chapel of Love "Chapel of Love" is a song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector, and made famous by The Dixie Cups in 1964, spending three weeks at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.Whitburn, Joel (2009). ''Top Pop Singles 1955-2008'' ...

" by

the Dixie Cups The Dixie Cups (formerly known as The Meltones) are an American pop music girl group established in the 1960s. They are best known for a string of hits including their singles " Chapel of Love", " People Say", and "Iko Iko". Career The trio co ...

. Prior to the introduction of ''RPM's'' national chart, the

CHUM Chart The CHUM Chart is a long-running Canadian hit parade countdown radio show, originally aired on Toronto radio station CHUM AM then later revived on its sister station CHUM-FM. It consisted of 50 top tunes from May 1957 to July 1968, but in Augus ...

issued by

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

radio station CHUM was considered the ''de facto'' national chart. The final number-one single in the magazine's chart was "

Music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

" by

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

. ''RPMs Top Singles chart was initially based on airplay and record company reports. Beginning in June 1964, the chart began factoring in record store sales reports. In September 1988, ''RPM'' began basing their Top Singles chart solely on airplay.

The RPM Awards

The modern

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

s had their origins in an annual survey conducted by ''RPM'' since its founding year. Readers of the magazine were invited to mail in survey ballots to indicate their choices under various categories of people or companies. The ''RPM'' Awards poll was transformed into a formal awards ceremony, the Gold Leaf Awards, in 1970. These became the Juno Awards in following years.

1964 ''RPM'' Awards

The ''RPM'' Awards for 1964 were announced in the 28 December 1964 issue: * Top male vocalist:

Terry Black Terry Black (February 3, 1949 – June 28, 2009) was a Canadian pop singer and teen idol, born in Vancouver, British Columbia. Career Black's debut U.S. single, " Unless You Care", was released in 1964, when Black was 15. The song was wri ...

* Top female singer:

Shirley Matthews Shirley Matthews (October 8th,1942 – January 8th, 2013) was a Canadian pop singer. Matthews sang in a church choir and at high school dances prior to embarking on a career in music. She worked in a Bell Telephone office while singing nights at ...

* Most promising male vocalist:

Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...

* Most promising female vocalist: Linda Layne * Top vocal instrumental group:

The Esquires The Esquires were an American R&B group from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, principally active from 1957 to 1976. History The group first formed in 1957 around the Moorer family: Gilbert (born Gilbert Moorer, Jr., August 20, 1941, Birmi ...

* Top female vocal group: The Girlfriends * Top instrumental group:

Wes Dakus Wesley "Wes" Dakus (April 2, 1938 – August 18, 2013) was a Canadian musician and the leader of Wes Dakus and the Rebels, Canada's most popular instrumental group of the 1960s. Wes Dakus and the Rebels Dakus was born in Mannville, Alberta, an ...

& The Rebels * Top folk group: The Courriers * Top country male singer: Gary Buck * Top country female singer: Pat Hervey * Industry man of the year: Johnny Murphy of Cashbox Canada * Top record company: Capitol Records of Canada * Top Canadian Content record company: Capitol Records of Canada * Top national record promoter: Paul White, Capitol Records of Canada * Top regional record promoter: Ed Lawson,

Quality Records Quality Records was a Canadian entertainment company which released music albums in Canada on behalf of American record labels. They also released recordings by Canadian artists. The company operated between 1950 and 1985 with offices in Toron ...

* Top album of the year (GMP): ''That Girl'' by Phyllis Marshall A column on page 6 of that issue noted that the actual vote winner for Top Canadian Content record company was disqualified due to a conflict of interest involving an employee of that company who was also working for ''RPM''. Therefore, runner-up Capitol Records was declared the category's winner.

1965 ''RPM'' Awards

The Annual ''RPM'' Awards for 1965 were announced in the 17 January 1966 issue, with more country music categories than the previous year: * Top male vocalist:

Bobby Curtola Robert Allen Curtola, CM (April 17, 1943 – June 4, 2016) was a Canadian rock and roll singer and teen idol. History Curtola was born in Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada. He began performing at age 15 with a band called Bobby and the Bobcats, si ...

* Top female singer:

Catherine McKinnon Catherine McKinnon (born May 14, 1944) is a Canadian actress and folk/ pop singer. Early life and education Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, McKinnon began as a child performer, making her debut radio broadcast at age eight and her televisio ...

* Most promising male vocalist:

Barry Allen Bartholomew Henry "Barry" Allen is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the second character known as the Flash, following Flash (Jay Garrick), Jay Garrick. The character first appeared in ''Showcase (comic ...

* Most promising female vocalist: Debbie Lori Kaye * Top vocal/instrumental group:

The Guess Who The Guess Who was a Canadian rock band formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1965. The band found their greatest success in the late 1960s and early 1970s, under the leadership of singer/keyboardist Burton Cummings and guitarist Randy Bachman, wit ...

* Top female vocal group: Girlfriends * Top instrumental group:

and the Rebels * Top folk group: Malka and Joso * Top folk singer:

Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (November 17, 1938 – May 1, 2023) was a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved worldwide success and helped define the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s. Widely considered one of Canada's greatest songwriters, ...

* Best produced single: " My Girl Sloopy",

Little Caesar and the Consuls Little Caesar and the Consuls is a Canadians, Canadian rock music, rock band, originally active in and around Toronto from 1961 to 1971. The earliest tangible evidence of a group by that name is on February 11, 1961, when they played for the Dow ...

* Best produced album: ''Voice of an Angel'' by Catherine McKinnon * Top country male singer: Gary Buck * Top country female singer: Dianne Leigh * Most promising country male singer:

Angus Walker Angus Reynolds Walker (August 27, 1939- November 6th, 2024) was a Canadian Bluegrass music, bluegrass and Country music, country entertainer from Port Hastings, Nova Scotia, Port Hastings, Cape Breton Island, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. He has been ...

* Most promising country female singer: Sharon Strong * Top country instrumental vocal group: Rhythm Pals * Top country instrumentalist: Roy Penney * Top country radio personality: Al Fisher,

CFGM CFIQ (640 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial Radio broadcasting, radio station licensed to Richmond Hill, Ontario, Richmond Hill, Ontario, and serving Greater Toronto, Southern Ontario and Western New York with a talk radio, talk format known a ...

Toronto * Top Canadian disc jockey: Chuck Benson, CKYL

Peace River The Peace River () is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in the Peace-Athabasca Delta to form the ...

* Top record company: Capitol Records of Canada * Top Canadian Content record company: Capitol Records of Canada * Top national record promoter: Paul White, Capitol Records of Canada * Top regional record promoter: Charlie Camilleri,

1966'' RPM'' Awards

The winners were: * Top male vocalist:

* Top female singer:

* Most promising male vocalist: Jimmy Dybold * Most promising female vocalist: Lynda Lane * Top vocal/instrumental group: Staccatos * Top female vocal group: Allan Sisters * Top folk group: 3's a Crowd * Top folk singer:

* Best produced single: "Let's Run Away", Staccatos * Top country male singer: Gary Buck * Top country female singer: Dianne Leigh * Most promising country male singer: Johnny Burke * Most promising country female singer: Debbie Lori Kaye * Top country instrumental vocal group: Mercey Brothers * Top country instrumentalist: Roy Penney * Top country radio personality: Ted Daigle * Top country radio station:

* Top record company: Capitol Records of Canada * Top Canadian Content record company: Red Leaf Records * Top national record promoter: Paul White, Capitol Records of Canada * Top regional record promoter: Al Nair * Top Canadian music industry man of the year:

References

External links

Browse RPM issues 1964-2000

RPM archive charts

RPM (historical information)

The Canadian Encyclopedia: ''RPM''
* {{Authority control, state=expanded Magazines established in 1964 Magazines disestablished in 2000 Music magazines published in Canada Canadian record charts Defunct magazines published in Toronto 1964 establishments in Ontario 2000 disestablishments in Ontario Weekly magazines published in Canada Canadian music history 20th century in Ontario

Background

Discontination

Canadian music charts

The RPM Awards

1964 ''RPM'' Awards

1965 ''RPM'' Awards

1966'' RPM'' Awards

See also

References

External links