PHOTO : GRANT W MARTIN PHOTOGRAPHY tions and everyone going crazy to “ Home for a Rest ” at the end of the night . “ It will survive the generations and be around for a quite a while ,” he concludes . “ There is something nice about that . Long after I ’ m gone and the band has stopped performing , that song will still be playing somewhere .”
“ Let Your Backbone Slide ” Artist : Maestro Fresh Wes Year Inducted : 2019 Year Written : 1988 Writers : Wesley Williams ( Maestro Fresh Wes ), Anthony Davis & Peter Davis
Fast Facts : •° The single went gold and was the first Canadian hip-hop Top-40 hit
•° The album , Symphony in Effect , was the first platinum-selling album by a Black Canadian
•° The song was No . 1 on RPM ’ s Dance / Urban Music chart for three weeks in February 1990 , and No . 1 on the Canadian Content chart . It was also No . 10 on the Top Singles chart at the end of March 1990 .
Sometimes a song is great because it represents a new style of music or inspires a community to pursue their dreams . That ’ s the case for “ Let Your Backbone Slide ” — the first rap song inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and a hit for Wesley Williams , better known as Maestro Fresh Wes , which he wrote in 1988 .
Williams was working security at Parkway Mall in Scarborough , ON . One night during a shift , he heard “ The Stroke ” by Billy Squier , and one particular phrase resonated . “ When I heard him say , ‘ you make my backbone slide ,’ I thought that was so funky and like something you might hear James Brown say ,” recalls Williams . “ I decided right there to write a song called ‘ Let Your Backbone Slide .’ I
Maestro Fresh Wes performing at the
CSHF induction gala
didn ’ t have the music in mind . I just felt that would be a dope title for a song . I took it and ran with it .”
The Scarborough wordplay innovator , referred to today as “ the godfather of Canadian hip-hop ,” blazed a trail for Toronto ’ s current international stars in the genre , like Drake and The Weeknd . Williams started writing songs in the early 1980s and made a name for himself in the city as Melody MC . In 1988 , to coincide with the writing of “ Let Your Backbone Slide ,” he decided to change his moniker to Maestro Fresh Wes . “ I guess a few people got with it ,” he says .
The final piece of the puzzle that took this song to a hit , not just in Canada , but also south of the border , was the work of producers and co-writers Anthony and Peter Davis ( First Offence Productions ), who Williams met while attending Senator O ’ Connor High School in Scarborough . The trio recorded a demo at Don Valley Sounds in Markham , ON , and performed the song on Electric Circus – a live dance and music program that aired on MuchMusic from the late 1980s until the early 2000s . Stevie B , a rising American singer-songwriter and record producer , who also owned a small indie label ( LMR ) was in the audience . The song was the hit single that appeared on his ground-breaking debut Symphony in
Effect . The rest is Canadian hip-hop history .
“ Imagine a kid coming from Scarborough , performing a song on live TV , and people are going nuts . Then , Stevie B . approaches us and says , ‘ Yo ! You guys are awesome ; I want to put you on my label !’ That is all we needed to take that song from a local thing to a national hit . Everything is a blur from that point on .”
Upon its release , the song climbed the charts . It was number one on RPM magazine ’ s Dance / Urban Music chart for three weeks in February 1990 , where it topped Janet Jackson , Paula Abdul , and 2 Live Crew , and number one on the Canadian Content chart . It was also number 10 on the Top Singles chart that March . In the U . S ., “ Let Your Backbone Slide ” rose to number 14 on Billboard ’ s Rap Singles chart . The song was also the first Canadian hip-hop single to go gold ( 50,000 units sold ). The song was nominated for five Juno Awards and in 1991 took home a pair : the first-ever in the category of Best Rap Recording of the Year and Best Video of the Year .
“ That was so great ,” Williams recalls . “ To get nominated for a Juno Award and everything else and all I ever wanted was to get the girls to like me ! I knew it was good , but what everybody else thought about the song is what means so much more . I have a slogan : Don ’ t make records ; make history . That song is a staple in the maple .”
Learn more about the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and explore hundreds of other great Canadian songs and songwriters at www . cshf . ca .
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The author of the best-selling The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern : A Complete History and Massey Hall : An Enduring Legacy ( coming in the fall ), David is also a freelance writer and corporate communicator . Ever since attending his first rock concert in 1989 ( The Who ) and buying his first LP ( Freeze Frame by The J . Geils Band ), music has become “ the elixir of his life .” A current contributor to Grammy . com and SOCAN ’ s Words & Music , besides Canadian Musician . Over the years , his music writing has appeared in No Depression , Paste , American Songwriter , Exclaim ! and Penguin Eggs . Follow @ mcphersoncomm
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