Artist: Trooper, Album: Knock 'Em Dead Kid, Song: Most Of The Country

"I've seen most of the country from the side of the road.  I'm getting from here to nowhere in no time and I don't believe I'll ever make it home."  Trooper are a rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia.  The two founding members, Brian Smith and Ra McGuire, began collaborating together during the mid sixties.  However, they wouldn't round out the Trooper line up until the early seventies and in 1974, they attracted the attention of Randy Bachman (see blogs 11/13/10, 11/9/11).  Randy would sign them to his Legend label and produce many of their groundbreaking albums between 1975 and 1978.  The band also boasted keyboard player Frank Ludwig who would give the band a unique dual vocalist approach.  The band is probably one of this country's most recognized rock acts.  Their hits like Raise A Little Hell and We're Here For A Good Time have propelled the band's stature to almost legendary status.  They were the first band in Canadian history to sell 400,000 copies and an unofficial poll once stated that 1 in 30 Canadians likely owned a copy of their greatest hits release, Hot Shots.  They have been nominated for a Juno 7 times in their career but have only won once in 1980 for Group Of The Year.  The band hit a real rough patch during the early eighties and coupled with poor management, they couldn't seem to sustain the same album success as their previous releases.  Nonetheless, their impressive catalogue of material is constantly played on radio from coast to coast in this country and it continues to win over new younger legions of fans.  The band also continues to tour and promote themselves and you can follow them at http://www.trooper.com/.  I haven't chosen one of the band's hits here but I do love this ballad from their third release in 1977 entitled, Knock 'Em Dead Kid.  Most Of The Country, is a deep album cut about a lonely drifter and you can check it out on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDXumRcacwo).  You can purchase the album, Knock 'Em Dead Kid, on Itunes.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!