Discover the captivating stories behind Canada's film and television industry with 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood North,' the must-listen podcast that takes you deep into the making of iconic movies and the stars who shaped the history of Canadian filmmaking.
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What does it take to build a cultural empire when the doors are closed to you?
This episode comes courtesy of The Black Hum (https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-black-hum/id1776904663), produced by Knockabout Media and hosted by Cindy Charles. In this special feed drop, we bring you the extraordinary story of Rufus Rockhead, a Jamaican immigrant, First World War veteran, railway porter, bootlegger, and visionary entrepreneur who built Rockhead’s Paradise into the beating heart of Montreal’s jazz scene.
If you enjoy this episode, find The Black Hum wherever you get your podcasts and dive into Season 2 for five powerful stories of Canadians who changed the cultural landscape.
*Download our Discussion Questions for your class* (https://2ly.link/20rMZ)
Host Cindy Charles
Writer Nuruddin Qorane
Executive Producer Ryan Barnett
Associate Producer Cindy Charles
Voice Director & Editor Sonia Gemmiti
Researcher Dr. Sarafina Pagnotta
Series Consultants Kathy Grant & Mathias Joost
This series features interviews with Lt. Jerome Downey, Robert Downey, Jr., Michael Marville, Stephen Dame, Mathias Joost, Kathy Grant, Constance Backhouse, Dr. Dorothy Williams
Additional voices by Keith Francis & Matthew Barnett
Featuring "Hello Montreal" performed by Fred Waring & The Pennsylvanians
A Knockabout Media Production
This podcast was made possible thanks to funding from Veterans Affairs Canada’s Commemorative Partnership Program.
*This program and all relevant content is for educational purposes only and to the best of our knowledge is being used under Fair Dealing/Fair Use Act guidelines and within Canadian and United States standards of fair dealing/fair use*
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26 Jan 2026TRANSCRIPT
New from Knockabout: Rocket War
Military historians and veterans recount Canada's shift from peacekeeping to military engagement in the Persian Gulf following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, detailing Operation Friction and the experiences of those deployed.
19 Dec 2025TRANSCRIPT
Revisiting Tears Are Not Enough with Sean Quinlan
Before we head into a short break, we wanted to leave you with something special: a curious little detour into a very specific piece of Canadiana—“Tears Are Not Enough,” the all-star charity single that brought together some of the country’s biggest musical names in the 1980s.
In this episode, Ryan is joined by Sean Quinlan—host of Excursions Radio (https://www.excursionsradio.ca) and the voice of John Candy in our John Candy series—to revisit the song, the moment, the cultural weirdness, and the earnestness of it all. It’s a morsel, not a meal.
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Cited:
Tears Are Not Enough (1985), directed by John Zaritsky
'Tears Are Not Enough,’ performed by Northern Lights, written by David Foster, Jim Vallance, and Bryan Adams, with additional French lyrics by Rachel Paiement, released in 1985.
*This program and all relevant content is for educational purposes only and to the best of our knowledge is being used under Fair Dealing/Fair Use Act guidelines and within Canadian and United States standards of fair dealing/fair use*
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
Inside a recent episode
The Night's Most Important Man
Published 3 Mar 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] Names that included Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, and Nina Simone. And while there, these acts would share the stage with Canadian talents like Oliver Jones and Oscar Peterson. For a time Rufus saw no end in sight for Rockhead's paradise, but forces outside his control with determined to pull the plug. He had to continually fight against institutional racism and political corruption, and he endured several attempts to shut his business down. It turned out that nurturing an oasis where a culture and community could grow and thrive and the heart of Lamitropa was uphill work. […]
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