One of my niche LP collections is Canadian Centennial/Expo 67 LPs…
Canadian Centennial and Expo 67 albums aren’t really documented too many places, so I thought I should go ahead and start that. I’m adding more and more all the time so check back and see what else I’ve managed to find. The hope it to make a website dedicated to it specifically, but for now I thought I’d start here, get the ball rolling.
It’s not only albums from 1967, but ones that are specifically part of Expo 67, or the Canadian Centennial celebration. Canadians were encouraged to contribute in their own way so I know there’s a lot more independent Centennial-inspired albums to find. Some of the high school and church recordings made to celebrate the centennial are my favourites. I even have one from my old High School. If you have or know of any not listed here, drop me a line or add a comment. I’d love to hear from you.
Update: There are, coincidentally, 67 albums in this collection. Surely to change soon as more are found, but I thought it was worth pointing that out.
In 1967, I was part of a youth Centennial choir (over 1000 kids) in Ottawa that sang on the Centennial Tribute LP you have listed. We performed at Vincent Massey Park on May 24, 1967. How could I find more information on it? I’d love to hear it/ see the lyrics/learn more about who wrote the side A song “Proudly We Praise” Thanks!
Excellent! I’m afraid I don’t know any more about ‘Proudly We Praise’. There’s virtually no information on the LP release (https://www.discogs.com/release/7405567-1000-Voices-Of-The-Combined-Choirs-Of-The-Nepean-Public-Schools-Centennial-Tribute-1867-1967-A-Cente), but the same song (or at least the same title) is used on The Edmonton Centennial Singers album ‘On Tour’ (https://www.discogs.com/release/8971773-The-Edmonton-Centennial-Singers-On-Tour). Unfortunately I don’t have a copy of that one (yet) so I can’t look up any details on that one, and the Discogs listing is also a bit light.
There’s a ‘Leaside Public Schools Centennial Choir’ album called ‘All Canada Revue’ from 1967 which has a song called Proudly We Praise a Toast To Canada/This Land Is Your Land, so maybe that’s the same song? Another album called the Lethbridge Girls Sing Again also lists a ‘Proudly We Praise (A Salute To Canada), so it’s feeling like this was a Centennial song that was going around at the time? I’m just guessing there, but it makes sense. Searching that on Google points to a book of the same title by Don Wright, and the Canadian Encyclopedia says he composed ‘Proudly We Praise’ in 1966, which it calls ‘a tribute to Canada, which has been performed by school choirs across the country’. You can read more here: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/don-wright-emc