Share

The first official Juno Awards were handed out on Feb. 22, 1971. Songbird Anne Murray was named best female vocalist, Gordon Lightfoot the best male, and The Guess Who the top group at the inaugural ceremony, which was held at Toronto's tiny St. Lawrence Hall and was not broadcast on television. Sounds like it was a rather modest affair.

Fast forward to today: The Junos are celebrating its 40th anniversary at a packed Air Canada Centre in Toronto and will be broadcast coast-to-coast across Canada this Sunday featuring the musical musings of Drake, Hedley, Neil Young and teen scream dream Justin Bieber.

My, my, my. The Junos are all grown up now. Except for the Justin Bieber part.

Anyway, in recognition of the awards that honour the best in Canadian music ...

Whoa, wait. The best? That's debatable. How anyone justifies 12 Junos over the years for Nickleback - the McDonald's of Canadian music: every song, like every burger, is the same and you feel bloated and greasy afterwards - is beyond me.

Uh, rant over. On with the show. Here are the top 10 Canadian car songs (the only criteria being that vehicles or roads are involved):

• Album: Moving Pictures (1981)
• Artist: Rush
• Canadian content: Bassist Geddy Lee is from Toronto; guitarist Alex Lifeson was born in Fernie, B.C.; drummer Neil Peart grew up in Port Dalhousie, Ont.

• Album: Steppenwolf (1968)
• Artist: Steppenwolf
• Canadian content: Band frontman John Kay's family moved to Canada from Germany in 1958. Drummer Jerry Edmonton hails from Oshawa, Ont., while keyboardist Goldy McJohn is from Toronto.

• Album: Not Fragile (1974)
• Artist: Bachman-Turner Overdrive
• Canadian roots: Band members are Winnipeg's favourite sons

• Album: Four Wheel Drive (1975)
• Artist: Bachman-Turner Overdrive

• Album: Teenage Head (1979)
• Artist: Teenage Head
• Canadian roots: Hamilton heroes

• Album: Two for the Show (1976)
• Artist: Trooper
• Canadian content: Band has Vancouver roots

• Album: Sundown (1974)
• Artist: Gordon Lightfoot
• Canadian content: Lightfoot hails from Orillia, Ont.

• Album: Mad Mad World (1991)
• Artist: Tom Cochrane
• Canadian content: Cochrane was born in Lynn Lake, Man., grew up in Etobicoke, Ont.

• Album: Neon Bible (2007)
• Artist: Arcade Fire
• Canadian content: Indie band hails from Montreal

• Album: Some Hearts (2006)
• Artist: Carrie Underwood
• Canadian content: Yes, the former American Idol winner hails from Muskogee, Okla. However, she is married to Nashville Predators forward Mike Fisher, of Peterborough, Ont. And because the Junos feature an international category, so too will The List. Besides, this tawdry tale of revenge on a cheating scoundrel through the vandalization "of his pretty little souped-up four wheel drive" is cheating car karma at its best. Hey, I could've picked Jesus, Take the Wheel instead.

Correction: Rush's Moving Pictures album was released in 1981. An earlier online version contained incorrect information.

Follow Globe Drive on Twitter: twitter.com/globe_drive