CASBY Awards


The CASBY Awards were a Canadian awards ceremony for independent and alternative music, presented annually by Toronto, Ontario radio station CFNY, currently branded as 102.1 The Edge. CASBY is an acronym for Canadian Artists Selected By You.
The awards were first presented in 1981 under the name U-Knows, a pun on Canada's mainstream Juno Awards. The concept was developed by David Marsden, the program director at CFNY at the time, when he heard the Juno nominations announced on CBC Radio, and included was Long John Baldry — who was newly resident in Canada but had already been in the music business for almost 20 years — as most promising vocalist.
They were renamed the CASBYs in 1985, after a listener contest. The 1985 ceremony, hosted by Carole Pope and Paul Shaffer, also marked the first time that the awards were broadcast nationally by CBC Television. In the first year, voter ballots were distributed exclusively by the Canadian music magazine Graffiti. In later years the awards expanded the distribution, printing ballots in a number of major market daily newspapers across Canada.
The 1987 ceremony featured a rare public performance by XTC, although their performance was videotaped in advance of the ceremony. That year's awards were also marred by several organizational snafus, including the wrong winner being initially announced for Album of the Year.
The award's bid for national prominence faltered in the late 1980s, particularly after CFNY's short-lived shift to a more mainstream music format also affected public perception of the awards' identity. During that era, some alienated listeners even picketed the awards ceremony. Beginning in 1993 the awards were pared down to just three categories, and after 1996, amid a sense that the awards had effectively lost their purpose, the awards were discontinued.
They were then revived in 2002, and were presented each year until 2017.

Winners

1980s

1981

  • Album of the Year: Teenage Head, Frantic City
  • Single of the Year: Martha and the Muffins, "Echo Beach"
  • Group of the Year: Teenage Head
  • Female Vocalist of the Year: Carole Pope
  • Male Vocalist of the Year: B.B. Gabor

    1982

  • Album of the Year: Bruce Cockburn, Inner City Front
  • Single of the Year: Blue Peter, "Chinese Graffiti"
  • Group of the Year: Martha and the Muffins
  • Female Vocalist of the Year: Carole Pope
  • Male Vocalist of the Year: B.B. Gabor

    1983

  • Album of the Year: Rough Trade, Shaking the Foundations
  • Single of the Year: The Payolas, "Eyes of a Stranger"
  • Group of the Year: Spoons
  • Female Vocalist of the Year: Carole Pope
  • Male Vocalist of the Year: Leroy Sibbles

    1984

  • Album of the Year: Parachute Club, Parachute Club
  • Single of the Year: Men Without Hats, "The Safety Dance"
  • Group of the Year: Parachute Club
  • Female Vocalist of the Year: Lorraine Segato
  • Male Vocalist of the Year: Paul Humphrey

    1985

  • Album of the Year: Parachute Club, At the Feet of the Moon
  • Single of the Year: Spoons, "Tell No Lies"
  • Group of the Year: Parachute Club
  • Female Vocalist of the Year: Jane Siberry
  • Male Vocalist of the Year: Bruce Cockburn
  • Most Promising Male Vocalist: Gowan
  • Most Promising Non-Recording Group: Chalk Circle
  • Most Promising Group of the Year: Pukka Orchestra
  • Best International Album: U2, ''The Unforgettable Fire''

    1986

  • Album of the Year: Jane Siberry, The Speckless Sky
  • Single of the Year: Images in Vogue, "In the House"
  • Group of the Year: Images in Vogue
  • Female Vocalist of the Year: Luba
  • Male Vocalist of the Year: Bruce Cockburn
  • Most Promising Female Vocalist: Dianne Bos
  • Most Promising Group: Chalk Circle
  • International Album of the Year: Peter Gabriel, ''So''

    1987

  • Album of the Year: Parachute Club, Small Victories
  • Single of the Year: Luba, "How Many "
  • Group of the Year: Parachute Club
  • Female Vocalist of the Year: Luba
  • Male Vocalist of the Year: Corey Hart
  • Most Promising Artist: Colin James
  • Most Promising Group: The Pursuit of Happiness
  • Best Non-Recording Act: Basic English
  • International Album of the Year: Paul Simon, ''Graceland''

    1988

  • Album of the Year: Robbie Robertson, Robbie Robertson
  • Single of the Year: Blue Rodeo, "Try"
  • Group of the Year: Blue Rodeo
  • Female Vocalist of the Year: k.d. lang
  • Male Vocalist of the Year: Robbie Robertson
  • Most Promising Group: The Razorbacks
  • Most Promising Artist: Andrew Cash
  • International Album of the Year: INXS, Kick
  • Best R&B/Reggae Recording: Sattalites
  • Best Jazz Recording: Manteca, Fire Me Up
  • Producer of the Year: Daniel Lanois, Robbie Robertson
  • Video of the Year: Blue Rodeo, "Try"
  • Best Independent Video: The Shuffle Demons - "Out of My House", "Roach"
  • Best Independent Artist: The Shuffle Demons
  • Best Album Art: The Grapes of Wrath, ''Treehouse''

    1989

  • Album of the Year: Jeff Healey, See the Light
  • Single of the Year: Jeff Healey, "Angel Eyes"
  • Group of the Year: Blue Rodeo
  • Female Vocalist of the Year: k.d. lang
  • Male Vocalist of the Year: Jeff Healey
  • Most Promising Group: Sons of Freedom
  • International Album of the Year: Fine Young Cannibals, ''The Raw & the Cooked''

    1990s

1990

2002

  • Favourite New Artist: Sam Roberts
  • Favourite New Single: Treble Charger, "Hundred Million"
  • Favourite New Album: Our Lady Peace, Gravity
  • Favourite New Video: Simple Plan, I'm Just a Kid
  • Favourite New Indie Release: Not By Choice — Maybe One Day
  • Lifetime Achievement Award: Rheostatics

    2003

  • Favourite New Artist: Three Days Grace
  • Favourite New Single: Billy Talent, "Try Honesty"
  • Favourite New Album: Sam Roberts, We Were Born in a Flame
  • Favourite New Indie Release: The Salads, Fold A to B
  • Lifetime Achievement Award: The Pursuit of Happiness

    2004

  • Favourite New Artist: The Trews
  • Favourite New Single: Billy Talent, "River Below"
  • Favourite New Album: Billy Talent, Billy Talent
  • NXNE Favourite Indie Band: Alexisonfire

    2005

  • Favourite New Artist: Arcade Fire
  • Favourite New Single: Bedouin Soundclash, "When the Night Feels My Song"
  • Favourite New Album: Arcade Fire, Funeral
  • NXNE Favourite New Indie Release: BOY, ''Every Page You Turn''

    2006

  • Favourite New Artist: City and Colour
  • Favourite New Single: Billy Talent, "Devil in a Midnight Mass"
  • Favourite New Album: Billy Talent, Billy Talent II
  • NXNE Favourite New Indie Release: Alexisonfire, ''Crisis''

    2007

  • Favourite New Artist: Attack in Black
  • Favourite New Single: Alexisonfire, "Boiled Frogs"
  • Favourite New Album: Finger Eleven, Them vs. You vs. Me
  • NXNE Favourite New Indie Release: Attack in Black, ''Marriage''

    2008

  • Favourite New Artist: Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker
  • Favourite New Single: Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker, "Hollow Point Sniper Hyperbole"
  • Favourite New Album: Tokyo Police Club, Elephant Shell
  • NXNE Favourite New Indie Release: City and Colour, ''Bring Me Your Love''

    2009

  • Favourite New Artist: Arkells
  • Favourite New Single: City and Colour, "Sleeping Sickness"
  • Favourite New Album: Metric, Fantasies
  • NXNE Favourite New Indie Release: Metric, ''Fantasies''

    2010

  • Favourite New Album: Three Days Grace, Life Starts Now
  • Favourite New Artist: Hollerado
  • Favourite New Single: Alexisonfire, "The Northern"
  • NXNE Favourite New Indie Release: Tokyo Police Club, Champ
  • Favourite Edge Session: Silversun Pickups