Corey Hart, the man who wrote one of pop culture's most enduring hits, "Sunglasses At Night," but walked away from his thriving career after sales of 16 million albums in order to raise his kids, is getting inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the Juno Awards March 17. The show will air and stream on CBC from Budweiser Gardens, in London, Ontario, marking the first time in over 20 years he will perform live on television.
"We are proud to welcome Corey into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame," said Allan Reid, president & CEO, CARAS/The JUNO Awards & MusiCounts. "He was one of the biggest Canadian success stories of the eighties and nineties and even though he stepped back from the spotlight, he remained active in writing and producing for other artists. We look forward to celebrating him at The 2019 JUNO Awards in London."
The Canadian Music Hall of Fame was established by CARAS in 1978 to acknowledge artists that have made an outstanding contribution to the international recognition of Canadian music. Hart is in good company with his fellow Canadian icons, such as Rush, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, Anne Murray, Joni Mitchell, k.d. lang, Oscar Peterson, The Guess Who, The Tragically Hip, and Shania Twain.
"I am deeply humbled by this invitation into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame," said Hart in a statement. "It's an incredible honour to be acknowledged alongside so many other talented and venerable Canadian artists. My career goal since the beginning has always been to remain one hundred percent authentic to my artistic vision while embodying the highest respect and dedication towards the craft I love so much. It's even more symbolic to receive this recognition as I release my first collection of new studio music and prepare to embark on my first national Canadian tour in over 20 years - these are indeed …very exciting times for me."
The singer-songwriter, whose new music is coming on Warner Music Canada, produced by Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd's The Wall masterpiece to Andrea Bocelli's 2018's Si), returned to the spotlight in 2014 for a farewell concert in his hometown of Montreal, at Bell Centre, which sold out, but then it gave him the itch again. He slowly started doing the odd show, but concentrated on his Sierra record label and his signing Jonathan Roy, son of hockey legend Patrick.
But at a Canada's Walk of Fame dinner — he was inducted in 2016 — he met Ezrin and began working on new music. He just dropped a new single called "Dreaming Time Again" about his old pal Kenny Aronoff who plays drums on the song; Hart's son, his mini me, co-stars in the video, directed by Peter Guzda. The EP of the same name is out in May 3 — also his first set of new music in 20 years.
In 1983, Hart released his debut album, First Offense, containing the iconic song "Sunglasses at Night." The video was a staple on MTV and won the first-ever Juno Award for Best Video in 1984. The following year, he released his sophomore album, Boy In The Box, which achieved diamond status certification in Canada (1 million plus sales) faster than any other Canadian artist in history. The album had four hit singles, including "Never Surrender," which was No. 1 in Canada for nine weeks and won Single of the Year at the 1985 Juno Awards.
He has sold over 16 million records globally, has had nine consecutive singles on the U.S. Billboard top 40 and has had 11 top 10s in Canada. He has also been nominated for a Grammy, as well as ASCAP, ADISQ, SOCAN, and Juno Awards.
Milestones: Corey Hart, a new exhibition at Studio Bell - the physical home to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in Calgary, Alberta - opens on March 22, 2019 and will run until Oct. 2019 and features such artifacts as handwritten lyric books and the signature Wayfarer sunglasses that he wore in his "Sunglasses at Night" video. Bonus fan messages provided by Hart will be sprinkled throughout the exhibition and can be viewed using interactive "sunglasses".
