Trooper

In the ’70s, Trooper filled the Canadian charts with good-time rock ’n’ roll tunes, marked by the band’s signature vocal harmonies and hooky riffs. Their roots were in a late-’60s group called Winter’s Green, featuring singer Ra McGuire and guitarist Brian Smith. By the ’70s, the pair had moved on to the Vancouver band Applejack, renamed Trooper when Bachman-Turner Overdrive frontman Randy Bachman signed them to his label. With Bachman producing, they released their self-titled debut album in 1975 and scored hits straight out of the gate. But their real salad days came a couple of years later with beer-bottle-raising party-starters like “We’re Here for a Good Time (Not a Long Time)” and “Raise a Little Hell,” featured on platinum-selling albums like Knock ’Em Dead Kid, Thick As Thieves, and the record-breaking best-of Hot Shots. Trooper then stayed true to their name, remaining a beloved presence on the Canadian concert circuit for decades to come.