The Juno Awards of 1979, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 21 March 1979 in Toronto at a ceremony hosted by Burton Cummings at the Harbour Castle Hilton Convention Centre.[1]
| Juno Awards of 1979 | |
|---|---|
| Date | 21 March 1979 |
| Venue | Harbour Castle Hilton Hotel, Toronto, Ontario |
| Hosted by | Burton Cummings |
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network | CBC |
Claudja Barry and Ginette Reno were live performers on the ceremony telecast, seen on CBC Television from 9:30pm Eastern Time. Gino Vannelli and Chilliwack provided videotaped performances.
Pierre Trudeau attended the ceremonies, the first time a Canadian Prime Minister did so. He introduced Hank Snow into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
Cummings and Dan Hill led nominations with four each. In an unusual move, Hill was nominated in the "Composer of the Year" category for "Sometimes When We Touch" for the second time as it had sold more than 75,000 copies after the first award at the 1978 Juno ceremony.[1]
This was the first year when Gordon Lightfoot failed to pick up an award, and Anne Murray was not present to claim her two awards. The CBC television broadcast was seen by an estimated 1,827,000 viewers which was down from the year before.[2]
Nominees and winners edit
Female Vocalist of the Year edit
Winner: Anne Murray
Other nominees:
Male Vocalist of the Year edit
Winner: Gino Vannelli
Other nominees:
Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year edit
Winner: Claudja Barry
Other nominees:
- Ronney Abramson
- Carolyne Bernier
- Roxanne Goldade
- Denise McCann
Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year edit
Winner: Nick Gilder
Other nominees:
Group of the Year edit
Winner: Rush
Other nominees:
Most Promising Group of the Year edit
Winner: Doucette
Other nominees:
Composer of the Year edit
Winner: Dan Hill (Co-composer with Barry Mann), "Sometimes When We Touch" by Dan Hill
Other nominees:
- Burton Cummings, "Break It to Them Gently" by Burton Cummings
- Nick Gilder & James McCulloch, "Hot Child in the City" by Nick Gilder
- Frank Mills, "Music Box Dancer" by Frank Mills
- Brian Smith & Ra McGuire, "Raise a Little Hell" by Trooper
Country Female Vocalist of the Year edit
Winner: Carroll Baker
Country Male Vocalist of the Year edit
Winner: Ronnie Prophet
Country Group or Duo of the Year edit
Winner: The Good Brothers
Folk Singer of the Year edit
Winner: Murray McLauchlan
Other nominees:
Instrumental Artist of the Year edit
Winner: Liona Boyd
Other nominees:
Producer of the Year edit
Winner: Gino Vannelli, Joe Vannelli & Ross Vannelli, Brother to Brother by Gino Vannelli
Other nominees:
- Matthew McCauley & Fred Mollin, Frozen in the Night by Dan Hill & McCluskey by David McCluskey
- Jack Richardson, Richard T. Bear by Richard T. Bear
- Terry Brown & Rush, Hemispheres by Rush
- Bob Segarini, Gotta Have Pop by Bob Segarini
Recording Engineer of the Year edit
Winner: Ken Friesen, Let's Keep It That Way by Anne Murray
Other nominees:
- Rick Capreol & Jeff Smith, Special Way by Aura
- David Greene, Unexplored Territory by Canadian Brass
- Andrew Hermant, Frozen in the Night by Dan Hill
- Mike Jones, The Cooper Brothers by The Cooper Brothers
Canadian Music Hall of Fame edit
Winner: Hank Snow
Nominated and winning albums edit
Best Selling Album edit
Winner: Dream of a Child, Burton Cummings
Other nominees:
- Carroll Baker, 20 Country Classics
- Gordon Lightfoot, Endless Wire
- Trooper, Thick as Thieves
- Rush, Hemispheres
Best Album Graphics edit
Winner: Alan Gee & Greg Lawson, Madcats by Madcats
Other nominees:
- James Hill, The Candelight & Wine Album compilation by CHFI 98.1
- James O'Mara, See Forever Eyes by Prism
- Bob Kroll, Unexplored Territory by Canadian Brass
- William Roberto Wilson, Maneige by Maneige
- Myron Zabol & Gary Muth, Meanwhile Back in Paris by Streetheart
Best Children's Album edit
Winner: There's a Hippo in My Tub, Anne Murray
Best Classical Album of the Year edit
Winner: Hindemith; Das Marienleben, Glenn Gould and Roxolana Roslak
- A Baroque Bouquet — Toronto Baroque Trio
- First Lady of the Guitar — Liona Boyd
- Janacek Taras Bulba — Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Davis
- The Orford String Quartet — Orford String Quartet
Best Selling International Album edit
Winner: Saturday Night Fever, Bee Gees
Best Jazz Album edit
Winner: Jazz Canada Montreux 1978, Tommy Banks Big Band with Guest "Big" Miller
- Big Band Jazz, Vol. II — Humber College Jazz Ensemble
- Things Are Looking Up — Moe Koffman
- Bones Blues — Pete Magadini
- More Than Ever — Ted Moses
Comedy Album of the Year edit
Winner: The Air Farce Comedy Album, The Air Farce Other nominees:
- Alden Diehl, Fight On
- Nestor Pistor, Best of Nestor Pistor
- Nestor Pistor, Nestor Pistor for Prime Minister
- Nancy White, Civil Service Songwriter
Nominated and winning releases edit
Best Selling Single edit
Winner: "Hot Child in the City", Nick Gilder
- Burton Cummings, "Break It to Them Gently"
- Dan Hill, "Sometimes When We Touch"
- Anne Murray, "You Needed Me"
- Martin Stevens, "Love Is in the Air"
Best Selling International Single edit
Winner: "You're the One That I Want", John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John
References edit
- McGrath, Paul (22 March 1979). "Junos laid at same old shrines". The Globe and Mail. p. 17.
- Cherry, Zena (24 March 1979). "Gino went shoeless at the Junos". The Globe and Mail. p. 15.
Bibliography edit
- LeBlanc, Larry. (2010). Music from far and wide: Celebrating 40 years of the Juno Awards. Key Porter Books Limited, Toronto. ISBN 978-1-55470-339-5