A few years ago, I had the great pleasure of interviewing Tony Orlando (Knock Three Times, Tie a Yellow Ribbon, Bless You, Candida to name a few) He gave Cashbox Canada a beautiful quote: “Cashbox Magazine was the tree – the rest of the publications were the leaves that came from that tree.” – Legendary Artist Tony Orlando
Back in the day when the music industry relied on the trades, music magazines were the professionals’ music bibles. We had Radio and Records, Billboard, Cashbox and in Canada we had RPM Magazine and The Record.
Cashbox Magazine was launched before Billboard and the name was derived from the actual jukebox plays, when someone put the money in, it went to a box with a letter and a number. This was calculated by the spins the jukebox played. This way the jukebox companies could report the plays a song was getting in diners, clubs and more. Hence the ‘Cashbox’. The first charts were born and expressions like “Bubbling Under” and on the Charts “With a Bullet” were all part of the Cashbox legacy.
I get asked so often how did I end up with the Canadian brand of the iconic Cashbox Magazine? Thirteen years ago, I was out shopping at Canadian Tire on a Saturday – a tradition in Canada. I bumped into an old colleague of mine from the nightclub days who was on his cell phone when he saw me and said to the person, he was talking to that Sandy Graham was the one he needed to ask, ‘the question’.
He handed me his cell phone and this very Southern drawl came across the line from Bruce Elrod in South Carolina (now deceased) who had resurrected Cashbox Magazine in the USA and was looking for someone to run the same thing in Canada. I told Bruce I would only do it if I could own it, never thinking he would say yes.
Bruce Elrod said yes. It changed my life.
And so it began, Cashbox Canada was born.
The first few months were a struggle as I had been an editor at one time in my career, thanks to Joey Cee at Record World, but I had never been a publisher. So, after a few months of trying to re-create the magic of being on a Cashbox Cover (which if you watch the Ray Charles movie he actually says at one point ‘I’ve finally made it! I’m on the cover of Cashbox!) rounding up people as passionate as myself about the music and artists – we did it! We started publishing and became an established name on its own in Canada as well as sharing the history of the legendary Cashbox Magazine, now no longer in existence.
We survived somehow throughout various team changes, COVID, lack of advertising support due to free social media, and a slew of learning curves, but we are still here – 18 years later.
We stayed dedicated to our original mandate; honour the legacy artists who paved the way for us all and give the new indie artists a chance to get their music out there. We also have a strict rule of never writing a negative review as we believe our opinions are just that – our opinions.
Which leads me to spread the accolades to Team Cashbox who have stuck by me all these years”
Jain MacMillan is the behind-the-scenes graphic artist guru who creates our legendary covers every week and has now become a part of our history and a keepsake for many an artist to hold in their hearts and in their own personal archives. Jain treats the legends and the indies the same, the great thing is being a music lover herself (she is one of the people behind the hit Beatles ONES Show) she actually takes the time to listen to the artist’s music and research them before she creates the weekly cover. She is also the one who does our other artwork, logos and makes the covers keepsakes forever. There are only 51 covers a year and without Jain we would never have the magic of the cover for the cover story.
Chris Wardman, web developer and technical whiz, Chris the guy who keeps me sane when our site goes down or we have a glitch. Chris has a long and varied history in the music industry – you should google him – it is pretty impressive – even I get impressed when I do that. Chris is a no-nonsense guy who keeps us looking current and up to date. He has moved to an island somewhere, so we must respect his privacy but sometimes I think it was just to get away from me. Thanks, Chris, for ALWAYS responding to my SOS!
Don Graham is a prolific singer/songwriter who has been writing and performing for decades and to this day is the best stage show I have been able to witness when it comes to taking an audience on a roller coaster of emotions with his jokes, sad and heartwarming original songs. He has been given so many accolades from legendary performers, producers and musicians that is a story on its own. As a writer with Cashbox, we give him the special artists to interview who we know will feel comfortable with him. They all come back to me and say they felt like they were talking to an old friend. Thanks, Don, for always listening and giving me sound advice on Cashbox Canada and my crazy ideas.
Lisa Hartt is a legend in her own right, having a legacy status with her career with The Lisa Hartt band, and how has brought her career full circle and currently releasing new product. Lisa brings an expertise of writing and empathy to her stories and is appreciate for her insight and words in her reviews.
Michael Williams is another behind the scenes writer for us. He is the first to send out a new track of a local artist he feels needs attention and when he can he writes feature articles for us. Michael will always be famous as one of the first MuchMusic V-Jays and also does voice overwork (you can google him too if you want to use that velvety voice on an ad or commercial. Michael is still very active in the business, hosting live shows and travelling across Canada for special appearances. I have girlfriends who just want him to call and say hello so they can keep his voice saved. Not sure what they do with it or why and I’m not gonna ask.
Tracey Savein is our newest addition to the Cashbox Team. Recently we launched a column called “Picture This”, a column dedicated to Tracey’s tireless mission to capture great photos of live shows, exhibits, and more. With a long history of candid great shots, this column is a great feature in our constant search to stay vibrant and current.
The one person I will always be grateful to the legendary Bobby Curtola.We had a friendship of close to 30 years so when I asked his advice on opening Cashbox Canada, he was over the top happy for me. He really was the one who encouraged and backed me to get it started and I will always be grateful for his guidance and insight. When we did road shows together, he would always announce me as his longtime pr girl and the owner of the legendary Cashbox Canada Magazine. Truth is I never met a nicer guy, and he was the one who was the real legend. Sadly, Canada’s original teen idol passed away June 4, 2016, but the indelible mark he left on Cashbox Canada is eternal.
So now we celebrate our 18th year of trying our best to give the artists a platform to promote their musical careers both from the past and the present. Over the years, we have interviewed the legendary chart topping artists who paved the way right along side with the new indie artists who we provided a platform for their new music.
Thank you to all of you, the readers, pr people and artists who have made it possible to last in this business. Here’s to many more years of promoting great music!
Editor’s Note: The success of Cashbox Canada is because of the team who are as passionate about the music as I am. I wouldn’t be able to be do it without them. So big thanks and kudos to them all. Cashbox Canada started out as something that earned its name from the original magazine, now we have established a history of our own thanks to you the artists and readers alike.