This posting examines Canadian performers' 2004 international airplay based on playlists submitted to the Folkdj-l listserve.  Some long-term lists are also provided.

It should go without saying, (but in the past, it hasn't), that these tallies are utterly meaningless in the context of mainstream airplay. The stats simply list those Canadians whose music was played and reported to the Folkdj-l listserve.  Folk dj's pick and choose from the vast catalogue of international folk recordings and select songs and performers they enjoy.  I believe that those folk dj's who do report are our musical peers and that the songs and musicians they choose to air provide a rough guide to current and longterm popularity.

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The following chart indicates the number of months in 2004 performers reached my Canadian top 10 airplay lists, ranking those acts who attained, or tied for, the most individual international airplays in a given month.  Airplay totals are provided only for those acts gaining over 100 plays.

The standout performers in 2004 were The Wailin' Jennys who debuted in the top 10 at #1 in July with one of the highest-ever airplay totals (see below).  With just 6 months in the top ten lists they came second in total airplays behind James Keelaghan.

Performers whose names are all caps, are in the long term top ten list posted below.  Newcomers this year are preceeded by a *.

MONTHLY TOP 10 APPEARANCES IN 2004:     Airplay Total

JAMES KEELAGHAN                ** ***** ***** 422
STAN ROGERS                ** ***** ***** 287

JONI MITCHELL             * ***** ***** 306

BRUCE COCKBURN             ***** *****    313

David Francey                   *** ***** 182

*The Wailin' Jennys       * ***** 410

FRED EAGLESMITH                         ***** 166

Blackie & The Rodeo Kings                 *** 105

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The lowest monthly total to reach #1 this year was 38, the highest was 129.  The Wailin' Jennys join the select company of Cockburn, Keelaghan, and Miles in attaining 3 consecutive months at #1.  Eaglesmith holds the record with 5 consecutive months at #1 (Sept. '97 - Jan. '98).

PERFORMERS REACHING #1 IN THE MONTHLY CHARTS IN 2004:

James Keelaghan ****
The Wailin' Jennys ***
Bruce Cockburn   **
Michael Jerome Brown       *
Rick Fielding    *
Finest Kind                *

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Of note in this next chart are The Wailin' Jennys' entries in these long term stats.

HIGHEST MONTHLY AIRPLAY TOTAL (since 1996):

1.  Stan Rogers         249   June 03  (20th anniversary of his death)
2.  Stan Rogers         140   Dec. 99
3.  The Wailin' Jennys  129   Aug. 04
4.  Fred Eaglesmith     120   May. 01
5.  James Keelaghan     100   Apr. 02
6.  James Keelaghan      90   May  02
7.  The Wailin' Jennys   88   July 04
8.  Al Grierson          81   Nov. 00  (The month he died)
9.  Jory Nash            78   Mar. 00
10. Ray Bonneville       71   Aug. 04  (With a monthly 2nd place
behind the Jennys)
     Aengus Finnan        71   Jan. 03
     James Keelaghan      71   Apr. 99
     Natalie MacMaster    71   June 02
     Garnet Rogers        71   July 02

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INTERNATIONAL AND CANADIAN AIRPLAY

The following charts compare numbers from International airplay and Canadian airplay charts.

* indicates performers who do not show up on the opposite list.
Brackets following indicate airplay received on the opposite list.

Top International Airplay Top Canadian Airplay

1.  James Keelaghan 422 1.  Wailin' Jennys  129
2.  Wailin' Jennys 410 2.  David Francey   124
3.  Bruce Cockburn 313 3.  Fred Eaglesmith  109
4.  Joni Mitchell 306* (10-19) 4.  The Bills 97* (50-59)
5.  Stan Rogers 287* (30-39) 5.  Michael Jerome Browne 86* (80-89)
8.  David Francey 182 8.  Stompin Tom Connors 72* (none)
    
10. Fred Eaglesmith 166     Nathan 66

25. Blackie & The Rodeo Kings 105

This posting is the second part of an examination of the 2004 airplay received by Canadian performers as playlisted on the Folkdj-l listserve.

The following information is gleaned from monthly and annual surveys posted by Richard Gillmann posted to the Folkdj-l listserve.  You can find archives of his monthly and annual postings at http://folkradio.org  Richard created a couple of programs to analyze all playlists posted to the Folkdj-l list.  These programs require that playlists be submitted in a particular format to be counted. Because of this he estimates his programs pick up 60-80% of the total airplays posted.  Richard tallies the most popular albums and songs as well as total play for individual performers.  Richard's 2004 annual reports were based on 152312 airplays from 286 different DJs.

The chart below lists those Canadian performers who reached Richard Gillmann's annual international Top Artists chart.  The number in square brackets is the artist's position on Richard's international list.  The number on the right is the total number of plays tallied. Because of different tracking methodology, and the fact that Richard includes Canadian playlists in his count, there are airplay discrepancies between this list and Harry Bryan's listings.

2004 TOP CANADIAN ARTISTS     (Position)      (Airplay)

(Posted on folkdj-l)

1.  The Wailin' Jennys [13] (411)
2.  James Keelaghan [21] (349)
3.  David Francey [60] (241)
4.  Bruce Cockburn [62] (238)

6.  Stan Rogers [69] (220)
7.  Joni Mitchell [75] (207)
8.  Fred Eaglesmith [85] (199)

14. Harry Manx [182] (129)

16. Blackie & The Rodeo Kings [201] (118)

THE TOP CANADIAN ALBUMS

The information below comes from Richard Gillmann's Annual Top Albums list which, to date, is only available on his personal site.  The following albums by Canadian performers received the most airplay on Folkdj-l in 2004.  As might be expected, these albums feature many of the songs in the top song list below.

The number following the title indicates the album's overall ranking in Gillmann's international list.  The number following ** indicates that album's ranking in last year's list.

1.  The Wailin' Jennys "40 Days"  (2)
2.  Various Artists "Beautiful: A Tribute To
Gordon Lightfoot"  (30)  **1
3.  James Keelaghan "Then Again"  (54)
4.  Ray Bonneville "Roll It Down"  (72)
5.  Rick Fielding "Acoustic Workshop"  (78)
6.  Blackie & The Rodeo Kings "Bark"  (127)

17. David Francey "Waking Hour"  (223)
     
19. Po Girl "Vagabond Lullabies"  (242)
20. Nathan "Jimson Weed"  (247)

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THE TOP SONGS

The following songs recorded by Canadian's received the most Folkdj-l airplay in 2004.  22 or more airplays were needed to qualify for Richard's Top Songs list.  I added to the list using airplay numbers for individual songs from Richard's Top Artists and Albums lists.

The number in square brackets indicates the song's position in Gillmann's list, the next indicates the number of plays.

** indicates the song's position on the 2003 Song list.

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(Posted on Folkdj-l Top Songs List)

1.  The Wailin' Jennys "One Voice"    [5] (75)
2.  The Wailin' Jennys "Old Man"    [28] (43)
3.  The Wailin' Jennys "Beautiful Dawn"    [40] (39)
4.  The Wailin' Jennys "Come All You Sailors"    [53] (37)
5.  The Wailin' Jennys "Saucy Sailor"    [74] (33)
6.  James Keelaghan "Hillcrest Mine"    [117] (28)
     The Wailin' Jennys "Heaven When We're Home"   [117] (28)
     The Wailin' Jennys "Parting Glass"      [117] (28)

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(Posted on Gillmann's website)

7.  The Duhks "Camptown Races"    [136] (27)
     James Keelaghan "Cold Missouri Waters"    [136] (27)
     The Wailin' Jennys "Arlington"    [136] (27)

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(From Top Artists and Albums Lists)

12. James Keelaghan       "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" (19)  **8
     Shelley Posen "Old Songs' Home" (19)
     The Wailin' Jennys       "Something To Hold Onto" (19)

14. Le Vent Du Nord "Au Bord De La Fontaine" (18)  **3
     The Wailin' Jennys       "Take It Down" (18)

16. The Wailin' Jennys       "Untitled" (17)
17. The Wailin' Jennys       "This Is Where" (16)
18. Ray Bonneville       "Walk With Me" (15)
     Fred Eaglesmith "I Like Trains" (15)
     David Francey "Broken Glass" (15)  *9
     James Keelaghan       "Turn Of The Wheel" (15)

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The following charts will put in perspective this year's airplay earned by The Wailin' Jennys.

Number One Canadian Albums:

     Total Plays

1998 114 Eileen McGann "Heritage"
1999 209 Lynn Miles "Night In A Strange Town"
2000 174 Jory Nash "Tangle With The Ghost"
2001 146 Fred Eaglesmith "Ralph's Last Show"
2002 233 James Keelaghan "Home"
2003 213 Various Artists "Beautiful: A Tribute to
Gordon Lightfoot"
2004 374 The Wailin' Jennys "40 Days"

Number One Canadian Songs:

     Total Plays

1996 32 Lynn Miles "You Don't Love Me Anymore"
1997 35 Bruce Cockburn "Pacing The Cage"
1998 54 Lynn Miles "I Loved A Cowboy"
1998    20 Jory Nash "Terrible Man"
1999 43 Lynn Miles "Rust"
2000 27 Night Sun "Parrish Waltz"
2001 23 Tim Harrison "Gonna Ride That Train"
23 Stan Rogers "Mary Ellen Carter"
23 April Verch "Ross' Reel #4"
2002 68 James Keelaghan "Red Winged Blackbird"
2003 42 Stan Rogers "Northwest Passage"
2004 75 The Wailin' Jennys "One Voice"
 

TOP ALBUMS AND SONGS OF JANUARY 2005
Compiled by Richard Gillmann from FOLKDJ-L radio playlists
Based on 13502 airplays from 137 different DJs

  1: "Lonely Runs Both Ways," Alison Krauss And Union Station [Rounder, 11/04] (68)
        
  3: "40 Days," Wailin' Jennys [Jericho Beach, 4/04] (50)
        "Beautiful Dawn" (10)
        "One Voice" (9)
        "Arlington" (6)
  4: "Land Of Milk And Honey," Eliza Gilkyson [Red House, 3/04] (49)

TOP SONGS OF JANUARY 2005
Compiled by Richard Gillmann from FOLKDJ-L radio playlists
Based on 13502 airplays from 137 different DJs

1. "Mercy" (14)
        by Kate McDonnell
        from "Where The Mangoes Are"
1. "Peace Call" (14)
        by Eliza Gilkyson
        from "Land Of Milk And Honey"
3. "Hiway 9" (13)
        by Eliza Gilkyson
        from "Land Of Milk And Honey"
4. "Arlington" (12)
        by Wailin' Jennys
        from "40 Days"
        also "These Times We're Living In"
4. "That Front Porch Song" (12)
        by Vance Gilbert
        from "Unfamiliar Moon"

9. "Beautiful Dawn" (10)
        by Wailin' Jennys
        from "40 Days"

12. "One Voice" (9)
        by Wailin' Jennys
        from "40 Days"
12. "Waking Hour" (9)
        by David Francey
        from "Waking Hour"

TOP ARTISTS OF JANUARY 2005
Compiled by Richard Gillmann from FOLKDJ-L radio playlists
Based on 13502 airplays from 137 different DJs

1. Alison Krauss (88)
2. The Waifs (70)
3. Eliza Gilkyson (63)
4. Richard Shindell (59)
5. Vance Gilbert (58)
6. Kate McDonnell (56)
6. Wailin' Jennys (56)
8. Greg Brown (55)
9. Nanci Griffith (52)
10. Pete Seeger (51)
11. Bob Dylan (48)
11. John McCutcheon (48)
13. David Francey (47)