Kon Kan
Encyclopedia
Kon Kan was a Canadian synthpop band formed in 1988 in Toronto
, Ontario
. The band was awarded a 1990 Juno
for their song "I Beg Your Pardon (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden)
" and nominated for a 1991 Juno Award
for their single "Puss n' Boots/These Boots (Are Made for Walking)
".
(vocals, keyboard
, guitar
) and Kevin Wynne (vocals). Their debut album, Move to Move
(1989), produced the single "I Beg Your Pardon (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden)
", which sampled Lynn Anderson
's 1971 hit, "(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden", Silver Convention
's 1976 hit, "Get Up And Boogie (That's Right)", Spagna
's 1987 hit, "Call Me" as well as the opening bars from the theme music from "The Magnificent Seven
" (which was also well known as the theme to a commercial for Marlboro cigarettes in the 1960s).
From the same album, they returned to the charts with another original/cover combination, "Puss N' Boots
". The track included samples of Led Zeppelin
's "Immigrant Song
" and Nancy Sinatra
's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'
". Another single, "Harry Houdini
", failed to chart in the United States
, but managed a Top 40 placing in Canada.
Wynne, who sang on all but two tracks from Move to Move, left in 1989 and is currently a semi-pro video golfer. Harris released two more albums under the band's original name. Whilst 1990's Syntonic could not boast a big hit single like its predecessor, it did again fuse dance tracks with original songs such as Jimmy Soul
's "If You Wanna Be Happy" on "(Could've Said) I Told you So" and Canadian band Trooper
's "We're Here For A Good Time" on "Time".
By 1993, Kon Kan were dropped out from Atlantic. The next, Vida!... (on the Hypnotic label), saw Harris resuming songwriting duties with Bob Mitchell. Alongside original songs such as the album's lead single, "Sinful Wishes", was "Move To Move" and a cover of David Bowie
's "Moonage Daydream
".
Harris then went on to form Outta Control
together with Kimberley Wetmore and Rachid Webbi. The latter project released a self-titled album in 1996 which featured versions of Kon Kan's "Sinful Wishes" and Joan Osborne's "One Of Us". The album also featured a version of Giorgio Moroder
and Philip Oakey
's "Together In Electric Dreams
" sung by Harris (credited to guest vocals by Kon Kan).
Harris gained his greatest post-Kon Kan popularity as half of Thunderpuss
(sometimes credited as Thunderpuss 2000), collaborating with DJ
Chris Cox
, producing and remixing dozens of dance
hits for many major music artists in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Cox had previously worked with Harris on the Outta Contol album.
The band's name is a parody of the Canadian content
regulation (often referred to as "Can Con"), which mandates that thirty-five percent of songs played on commercial radio station
s in Canada must be Canadian in origin.
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. The band was awarded a 1990 Juno
Juno Awards of 1990
The Juno Awards of 1990, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 18 March 1990 in Toronto at a ceremony in the O'Keefe Centre...
for their song "I Beg Your Pardon (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden)
I Beg Your Pardon (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden)
"I Beg Your Pardon " is a song by Canadian Synthpop band Kon Kan, released as the first single from their 1989 debut album Move to Move...
" and nominated for a 1991 Juno Award
Juno Awards of 1991
The Juno Awards of 1991, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 3 March 1991 in Vancouver, British Columbia at a ceremony in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Paul Shaffer was the host for the ceremonies, which were broadcast on CBC Television.This was...
for their single "Puss n' Boots/These Boots (Are Made for Walking)
Puss n' Boots/These Boots (Are Made for Walking)
"Puss N' Boots/These Boots " is a song by Canadian Synthpop band Kon Kan, released as the third single from their 1989 album Move to Move. The song peaked at #61 in their native Canada, and at #58 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100...
".
History
The band members consisted of Barry HarrisBarry Harris (DJ)
Barry Harris is a Canadian composer, artist, producer, musician, remixer & DJ. He created the band Kon Kan , who had worldwide top 5 success with "I Beg Your Pardon'. Initially issued on Toronto Indy label Revolving Records, was quickly discovered and signed by Atlantic Records U.S...
(vocals, keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
) and Kevin Wynne (vocals). Their debut album, Move to Move
Move to Move
Move to Move is the debut album by Kon Kan, released in 1989. Released on Atlantic records, it spawned the singles “Harry Houdini”, “I Beg Your Pardon ” and “Move to Move”.-Track listing:...
(1989), produced the single "I Beg Your Pardon (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden)
I Beg Your Pardon (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden)
"I Beg Your Pardon " is a song by Canadian Synthpop band Kon Kan, released as the first single from their 1989 debut album Move to Move...
", which sampled Lynn Anderson
Lynn Anderson
Lynn Rene Anderson is an American country music singer and equestrian known for a string of hits throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, most notably her Grammy Award-winning, worldwide mega-hit, " Rose Garden." Helped by her regular exposure on national television, Anderson was one of the most...
's 1971 hit, "(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden", Silver Convention
Silver Convention
Silver Convention was a German euro disco recording act of the 1970s. The group was originally named Silver Bird Convention, or Silver Bird.-Career:...
's 1976 hit, "Get Up And Boogie (That's Right)", Spagna
Spagna
Spagna is an Italian singer and songwriter.-Career:She started her career singing in English and in the early 1980s she provided vocals and wrote songs for an Italo Disco duo project called Fun Fun; as well as writing songs for many other dance music projects until 1986, when she embarked on a solo...
's 1987 hit, "Call Me" as well as the opening bars from the theme music from "The Magnificent Seven
The Magnificent Seven
The Magnificent Seven is an American Western film directed by John Sturges, and released in 1960. It is a fictional tale of a group of seven American gunmen who are hired to protect a small agricultural village in Mexico from a group of marauding Mexican bandits...
" (which was also well known as the theme to a commercial for Marlboro cigarettes in the 1960s).
From the same album, they returned to the charts with another original/cover combination, "Puss N' Boots
Puss n' Boots/These Boots (Are Made for Walking)
"Puss N' Boots/These Boots " is a song by Canadian Synthpop band Kon Kan, released as the third single from their 1989 album Move to Move. The song peaked at #61 in their native Canada, and at #58 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100...
". The track included samples of Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
's "Immigrant Song
Immigrant Song
"Immigrant Song" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released as a single from their third album, Led Zeppelin III, in 1970.-Overview:...
" and Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sandra Sinatra is an American singer and actress. She is the daughter of singer/actor Frank Sinatra, and remains best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"....
's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'
These Boots Are Made for Walkin'
Jessica Simpson recorded her own version of "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" for the soundtrack to the film The Dukes of Hazzard . Simpson's cover was co-produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and was released as the soundtrack's first single in 2005)...
". Another single, "Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini (Kon Kan song)
"Harry Houdini" is a song by Canadian Synthpop band Kon Kan, released as the second single from their 1989 debut album Move to Move. The song did not match the success of their previous single "I Beg Your Pardon", managing to just scrape into the top forty in their native Canada at #39. In the UK,...
", failed to chart in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, but managed a Top 40 placing in Canada.
Wynne, who sang on all but two tracks from Move to Move, left in 1989 and is currently a semi-pro video golfer. Harris released two more albums under the band's original name. Whilst 1990's Syntonic could not boast a big hit single like its predecessor, it did again fuse dance tracks with original songs such as Jimmy Soul
Jimmy Soul
Jimmy Soul was an American vocalist. He is best remembered for his 1963 million selling recording, "If You Wanna Be Happy."...
's "If You Wanna Be Happy" on "(Could've Said) I Told you So" and Canadian band Trooper
Trooper (band)
Trooper is a Juno Award winning Canadian rock band that developed from a group formed by vocalist Ramon McGuire and guitarist Brian Smith in 1975...
's "We're Here For A Good Time" on "Time".
By 1993, Kon Kan were dropped out from Atlantic. The next, Vida!... (on the Hypnotic label), saw Harris resuming songwriting duties with Bob Mitchell. Alongside original songs such as the album's lead single, "Sinful Wishes", was "Move To Move" and a cover of David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
's "Moonage Daydream
Moonage Daydream
"Moonage Daydream" is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 and first released as a single under the name Arnold Corns. A rerecorded version was released in 1972 on the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars....
".
Harris then went on to form Outta Control
Killer Bunnies (dance project)
The Killer Bunnies was a techno/house project based out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They also charted under another alias, Outta Control....
together with Kimberley Wetmore and Rachid Webbi. The latter project released a self-titled album in 1996 which featured versions of Kon Kan's "Sinful Wishes" and Joan Osborne's "One Of Us". The album also featured a version of Giorgio Moroder
Giorgio Moroder
Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
and Philip Oakey
Philip Oakey
Philip Oakey is an English composer, singer, songwriter and producer.He is best known as the lead singer, frontman and co-founder of the famous English synthpop band The Human League. He has also had an extensive solo music career and collaborated with numerous other artists and producers...
's "Together In Electric Dreams
Together in Electric Dreams
"Together in Electric Dreams" is a song by the British singer and composer Philip Oakey and producer Giorgio Moroder. It was written by Oakey and Moroder and recorded for the original soundtrack of the 1984 film Electric Dreams....
" sung by Harris (credited to guest vocals by Kon Kan).
Harris gained his greatest post-Kon Kan popularity as half of Thunderpuss
Thunderpuss
Thunderpuss was the remix/productionteam of music producers Barry Harris and Chris Cox. Harris had previously worked as part of several music groups including Kon Kan, Top Kat, Killer Bunnies and Outta Control and had also released several singles himself...
(sometimes credited as Thunderpuss 2000), collaborating with DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Chris Cox
Chris Cox (DJ)
Chris Cox is a dance music producer, remixer, and DJ from USA and has worked on over 400 records. He has had a total of 40 Billboard dance chart number ones as part of the hitmaking remix team Thunderpuss, and others with Pusaka and as a solo artist. He was nominated for a Grammy in 2004 for his...
, producing and remixing dozens of dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
hits for many major music artists in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Cox had previously worked with Harris on the Outta Contol album.
The band's name is a parody of the Canadian content
Canadian content
Canadian content refers to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission requirements that radio and television broadcasters must air a certain percentage of content that was at least partly written, produced, presented, or otherwise contributed to by persons from...
regulation (often referred to as "Can Con"), which mandates that thirty-five percent of songs played on commercial radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
s in Canada must be Canadian in origin.
Singles
- "I Beg Your Pardon (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden)I Beg Your Pardon (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden)"I Beg Your Pardon " is a song by Canadian Synthpop band Kon Kan, released as the first single from their 1989 debut album Move to Move...
" (1988) (CANCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
#19; U.S.United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
#15; UKUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
#5; DGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
#8; NLNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
#3) - "Harry HoudiniHarry Houdini (Kon Kan song)"Harry Houdini" is a song by Canadian Synthpop band Kon Kan, released as the second single from their 1989 debut album Move to Move. The song did not match the success of their previous single "I Beg Your Pardon", managing to just scrape into the top forty in their native Canada at #39. In the UK,...
" (1988) (CAN #39) - "Puss n' Boots/These Boots (Are Made for Walking)Puss n' Boots/These Boots (Are Made for Walking)"Puss N' Boots/These Boots " is a song by Canadian Synthpop band Kon Kan, released as the third single from their 1989 album Move to Move. The song peaked at #61 in their native Canada, and at #58 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100...
" (1989) (CAN #61; U.S. #58) - "Move to MoveMove to Move (song)"Move to Move" is a 1989 single by Canadian Synthpop band Kon Kan, released as the fourth single from their 1989 debut album Move to Move. The song peaked at #84 in their native Canada.-Charts:...
" (1989) (CAN #84) - "Liberty!" (1990) (CAN #91)
- "Could've Said I Told You So" (1990) (CAN #72)
- "Better Day" (1993)
- "Sinful Wishes" (1993) (CAN #75)
- "S.O.L." (1993)
- "I Beg Your Pardon (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden)" (Re-Release) (1994)
- "I Beg Your Pardon (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden)" (2007 Remixes - iTunes release) (2007)