Canadian Music Hall of Fame to induct Barenaked Ladies

Jan 18, 2018 | Arts, Life, News

Steven Page to join Barenaked Ladies for induction into the Hall of Fame (wikimedia commons)

By: Alan Sebastian

Former frontman Steven Page will be joining the Barenaked Ladies during their induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame for a “one-time special appearance” at the 2018 Juno Awards.

The band will join the ranks of Canadian music icons such as Sarah McLachlan, Alanis Morissette, Anne Murray, k.d. lang and Leonard Cohen, who are among the 50 inductees recognized for their contributions in the past.

“We are honored to be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of fame,” said Ed Robertson in a press release. “For almost 30 years we’ve worked hard to write the best songs we can, make the best records we can make, and do the best shows possible. We’ve travelled the worlds with our music, but Canada has always been home. This is very special for us.”

The band was founded by their current frontman Ed Robertson and former co-frontman Steven Page in 1988.

The chart-topping band from Scarborough has been making music for over three decades, selling 15 million albums worldwide. Robertson and Page together released the band’s first cassette, Buck Naked in 1989, and another called Barenaked Lunch (also called The Pink tape) in 1990.

The band has grown significantly over the course of their career, embracing a mixture of genres.

Barenaked Ladies released their first album through Sire Records, called Gordon in 1992. Gordon turned out to be a cultural phenomenon in Canada following the bands multiple indie cassette releases.

“Their big Canadian breakthrough came with their first commercial album, Gordon,” said Robin Elliott, professor of the Music department at the University of Toronto.

The smashing hit “One Week,” peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making Stunt the band’s most successful record, climbing all the way to the top of the Billboard album chart at No. 3.

Known for hits like “Pinch Me,” “It’s All Been Done,” “Brian Wilson,” “If I Had $1,000,000,” “Jane,” “Odds Are,” among others, the band also composed the theme song for the hit CBS series, The Big Bang Theory.

“It was another six years before they had a break in the United States with their song “One Week,” from their 1998 album, Stunt. It took them about 10 years to gather a big international following although they were quite popular locally and regionally,” added Elliott.

Barenaked Ladies have also donated time and effort to Free the Children, ABC Life Literacy Canada, and Camp Oochiegeas. Along with founding the Barenaked Planet, labelling them as one of the most eco-friendly rockers. Praised not only for their distinctive on-stage chemistry, characteristic improv style, Barenaked Ladies have been recognized for their ongoing humanitarian efforts.

Page left the band after a series of problems, including his arrest in 2008 which was followed by differences within the band. The band has recorded five albums since then, and have toured numerous times, most recently finishing a 40-date Canadian tour last year with Robertson taking lead vocals.

Barenaked Ladies are not getting back with Page even though it might feel that way at the Juno awards. The band isn’t sure if they will perform as a temporarily reunited group for the Junos. But at this point, the Barenaked Ladies plan to stand united only for their induction and not to play music.

“One of the lovely thing about Juno Awards is that Steven Page is going to be back together with the band for the first time since 2009. It will be great to just see all five of them together on stage,” said Elliott, when asked what was so special about the 2018 Juno awards.

The 47th annual Juno Awards and Juno Week 2018 will be hosted in Vancouver from March 19 through March 25. The Juno week will be concluding with the Juno Awards broadcast on CBC on Sunday, March 25.