Prior to the 1960s, the Canadian star system was regional with no recognition beyond audience size and airplay. Local acts could become quite popular within their own geographic area, but given the size of Canada and the expense of touring across the country, many acts that were popular in Toronto never played in Vancouver. Before 1964 there was no national music chart either. Most local radio stations had their own chart of what was popular but as far as a national chart or rating, that was non-existent.
In December 1964 the recording industry trade magazine RPM Weekly initiated a reader’s poll. Readers were asked to vote for the artists they felt were the most popular. There was no big television show, no big production, instead just an informative and interesting final result with the winners and their categories printed on the front page of the magazine. This small poll started Canadians thinking that they had an industry of their own and after publishing the Reader’s Poll from 1964 to 1969, RPM went one step further. On February 23, 1970, St. Lawrence Hall in Toronto became the first setting for the RPM Gold Leaf Awards. Industry response was lukewarm and no one foresaw the potential for holding such an event. In 1971 the Gold Leaf Awards were renamed the Juno Awards after then-Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) chairman Pierre Juneau.
It was February 1971 when the first Juno Awards were held; again St. Lawrence Hall was the setting. They continued annually in this venue until they were televised nationally for the first time on CBC television in 1975. An advisory group was formed to assist RPM Weekly with the organization and production of the early Juno telecasts. The Canadian Music Awards Association (CMAA) was comprised of a group of record companies and industry individuals. Initially intended as advisors to the Juno Awards, the CMAA was renamed the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) and, after the first two Juno telecasts, took control of the awards show.
Early Juno telecasts were haphazard and somewhat facile events that garnered little if any interest from the general public. Perceived as a poor copy of the U.S. Grammy Awards, they were often ignored by the public, criticized for substandard production values, and it was alleged that the winners’ lists were suspect. Rumours flew that a well-placed bribe could get an artist a Juno. The allegations of fixing the Juno Award results were more industry grumblings than a serious attempt at proving malfeasance. RPM Weekly and its editors Walt Grealis and Stan Klees were continually under suspicion, largely due to their antagonistic stance against the broadcasters and because they were instrumental in having the Canadian Content Regulations legislated in January of 1971. Still smarting from Cancon, the broadcasters would seize any opportunity to decry RPM Weekly, its business practices, and its editors. Moreover, Grealis and Klees never received any remuneration for the co-opting of the Junos by CARAS. They were promised payment but it never emerged. Control of the awards was essentially wrested from their hands.
Over the years, public awareness and acceptance grew and slowly a Canadian star system developed. The print media began to feature stories about the nominations and cross-marketing promotions with potato chip and soft drink companies added much needed financial support, all the while helping to raise public consciousness. Artists began to take the Junos seriously, realizing that winning Best Group or Best Artist was beneficial to their careers.
Seeing the value of keeping the Junos in the public eye between telecasts, CARAS released several CDs that commemorate the awards. The first one released in 1996 is a four-CD box set titled Oh What A Feeling: A Collection of Canadian Music that commemorated the twenty-fifth anniversary of the awards (also collections for the thirtieth and thirty-fifth anniversaries) and annual CD compilations since then that highlight the year’s most popular artists.
Not all performers viewed the Junos as something beneficial to their careers. Stompin’ Tom Connors, by far one of the most nationalistic performers in Canada, returned his Juno awards in 1978 because he felt the recording industry had become, in his words, “too Americanized.” Anne Murray, Canada's first international female superstar, boycotted the Junos for almost ten years refusing to participate until the production was improved. When she finally returned fans overlooked her boycott and she was met with a standing ovation.
Presently the Juno Awards are taken much more seriously than previous years. Production values have refined to the point that viewers no longer consider the show inferior when compared to American productions. Last night's telecast proved that conclusively. The Junos have become a viable and coveted means of determining an artist's popularity and Canadians can be proud of current groups such as Arcade Fire that have won Grammy Awards and British Music Awards, pop sensation Justin Beiber, and veterans such as Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and The Band.
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