Do you know what the Juno Awards is?
Started as the RPM Gold Leaf Awards in 1964, formed by the RPM Editor Walt Grealis and Stan Klees. Years later, in 1971, the name was changed to the JUNO Awards. The name was to honoured Pierre Juneau, who was the first chairperson of the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). This award was created to get more audience and recognize Canadian music artists.
Readers of RPM magazine decided who would take home a Juno. The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) was founded for the express purpose of overseeing this annual event. Only CARAS delegates may cast ballots in this election. It was open to everyone working in the music industry. CBC started broadcasting television coverage of the awards show the same year, 1975. This allowed for a far larger audience to experience the event. In 1982, almost two million people tuned in to the show. In 2009, there were almost four million attendees. CTV has been airing the competition nationally since 2002.
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It was in 1978 that CARAS established the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. To recognize Grealis’s many accomplishments in the profession, CARAS created the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award in 1984. It’s a chance to show appreciation to the musicians who have contributed to Canada’s thriving music industry.
Over the years, the award categories and descriptions were changed. In the year 1964 were only 16 categories. By the year 2014, the categories increased to 42 categories.
To be eligible for nomination, the artists must fall into one of the predetermined categories. The judges usually cast their ballots in October to decide the candidates for each category. In late January, there will be another round of voting to select the victor.
Vancouver hosted this event four times, the first time was in 1991 at Queen Elizabeth Theatre, in 1998 at the General Motors Place (now Rogers Arena), in 2009 at General Motors Place, and in 2018 at Rogers Arena.
To further unite Canadian artists with their audiences, CARAS initiated JunoFest and Juno Fan Fare in 2002. For two days, JunoFest brings in the public with paid entertainment at the city’s many venues. FanFare is an annual festival where music fans may mingle with their favourite performers at no cost to themselves. Jim Cuddy, lead singer of the Canadian rock band Blue Rodeo, started the annual Juno Cup charity hockey tournament in 2004. The proceeds go to MusiCounts, the organization in charge of the Band Aid program.