Article content

If there were an Ottawa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and you could induct into it any one person from the city’s musical history, who would it be?

Bruce Cockburn?

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Who belongs in an Ottawa rock and roll hall of fame? Back to video

Alanis Morissette?

And then there’s Paul Anka, who not only had huge pop hits as a young singer, but also wrote the standard My Way, which has the unique distinction of having been covered by both Elvis Presley and Sid Vicious, not to mention many others.

Ask Rich Bowie the question of who he’d first put into a rock hall of fame for the capital city and he doesn’t hesitate: “Richard Patterson” — the drummer for 1960s band the Esquires, long-ago bandmate of Cockburn and, according to many who where there 50 years ago, the centre of the city’s music scene.

Bowie’s pick carries weight because he’s trying to create an Ottawa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The plan — at this point just an enthusiastic idea — is to form a committee and have a meeting next week. It’s so early in the process that Bowie doesn’t want to reveal who is on the committee, though, off the record, he drops a short list of names that are recognizable to anyone with a foot in the Ottawa music scene.