One of the key differences between the British Invasion and the Canadian Invasion is that the latter wasn't simply an American concern. In the case of the former, The Beatles arrived in New York in the early part of 1964, millions of Americans watched them on the Ed Sullivan Show and the floodgates opened, first mainly for the Fab Four themselves and then for other British acts. But the less famous Canadian invasion of the late sixties was almost as much about artists who conquered their homeland in addition to hitting it big down south. Up until now, only nine domestic singles managed to make it to the top of the charts — and, with all due respect to them, the majority seem like flukes.
August 9, 1969 marks the unofficial start of the long-awaited (at least as far as this blog is concerned) Canadian Invasion. And what a way to kick it off than with Andy Kim, one of the leading stars of the music scene north of the border. While his name may not carry the same weight today as future chart toppers such as The Guess Who, Gordon Lightfoot, Anne Murray and Neil Young, he was a pretty big deal in his day. We'll even be encountering him again in this blog. Yet Kim's status as a purveyor of rather schlocky soft rock — assuming he's even remembered for that — makes him seem like an heir to Paul Anka rather than as a legitimate pop-rock star in his own right.
Being a prolific songwriter (we'll be getting to what is perhaps the biggest cash cow of his career very soon) it is a little surprising that Andy Kim's maiden RPM number one is a cover version. Smartly, he didn't go for anything too obvious and/or well known. "Baby, I Love You" had been a mid-sized hit for The Ronettes back in 1963, following on from the smash "Be My Baby". Beyond their signature song, they would gradually become renowned for their work on Phil Spector's Christmas album but, otherwise, they might as well have been one hit wonders. Even though "Baby, I Love You" made the Top 30 of the Hot 100 and only just missed the UK the Top 10 in the UK, Kim managed to make it his own with this deceptively simple cover.
Listening to it a while ago in the build up to 1969's batch of number ones, I had assumed it to be a Kim original. No doubt prompted by a booming kettle drum in the background, I made note of the debt owed to Phil Spector's famed Wall of Sound. Imagine my surprise, then, to discover that it was a Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich composition from the early sixties all along, with Spector giving himself a bullshit co-writing credit, as was his wont. As if addressing the eccentric, peace of shit producer double dipping on the royalties, it was Barry himself who produced this rendition. My issue with Spector is that he'd unnecessarily drown the artists he worked with in his production excess. Barry retained the signature Wrecking Crew sound while better servicing Kim's talents. The resigned melancholy in his voice can picked up on. Plus, the downbeat sentiments of the lyrics are nicely contrasted with the upbeat melody and arrangement. As such, you might say "Baby, I Love You" anticipates the coming era of ABBA.
Neither a folk rock standout nor a classic rock staple, "Baby, I Love You" is nevertheless a terrific start to the Canadian Invasion. (Even though the Top 10 success of The Guess Who's "These Eyes" in the US that spring is more commonly cited) A subtle borrowing of American pop — now there's something it has in common with the British Invasion — but done far more tastefully, it is a huge advance from Little Caesar and the Consuls' Motown-lite "You've Really Got a Hold on Me". Andy Kim may not have written it but he nevertheless ought to be proud of it to this day.
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