The Tragically Hip are celebrating 30 years of their smash hit album Road Apples today (Feb. 19th, 2021). Here are 10 interesting facts about their seminal album that captured the hearts of Canadians and fans across the globe.

 

 

1) Road Apples was originally titled Saskadelphia, which was rejected by MCA America. A displeased Tragically Hip then said, “…we’ll call it ‘Horseshit.” Thus Road Apples was born, because it is a term used to describe frozen horse poop.

 

 

2) It was produced in New Orleans at Barris Studios by Don Smith who has worked with Keith Richards, Tom Petty, Cracker, 10,000 Maniacs, and Roy Orbison to name a few.

 

 

3) Road Apples was the band’s first #1 album, going platinum in 10 days, and is now diamond + in Canada today!

 

 

4) ‘Little Bones’ was named after a family cat in the Timothy Findley Book ‘Last of The Crazy People.’

 

 

5) ‘Fiddler’s Green’ was deep and personal, so it wasn’t played live very often by the band until the final Man Machine Poem tour

 

 

 

6) ‘Twist My Arm’ features guest appearance by Benmont Tench of The Heartbreakers

 

 

7) ‘Three Pistols’ refers to the city of Trois-Pistoles, Quebec and is about Canadian Artist Tom Thompson

 

 

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8) Freeze dried, acrylicized ‘Road Apples’ awards were delivered to radio and media in Canada upon album release to thank them for making this hit happen!

 

 

9) The band shared the bill with Lenny Kravitz, The Happy Mondays, Living Color and Joe Jackson among several others at the world famous Pink Pop Festival in Landgraaf Holland on May 21st 1991, 3 months after the release of Road Apples

 

 

10) The Tragically Hip won Junos for ‘Most Promising Group of the Year’ in 1990 and ‘Entertainers of The Year’ in 1990

 

Don’t miss Road Apples in it’s full glory on the Sunday Night Vinyl Series this week at 6PM for more interesting facts from your host Howard Mandshien.

Filed under: 10-facts, 30th Anniversary, road-apples, Tragically Hip