Downie released seven solo albums, two posthumously: Coke Machine Glow (2001), Battle of the Nudes (2003), The Grand Bounce (2010), And the Conquering Sun (2014), Secret Path (2016), Introduce Yerself (2017), and Away Is Mine (2020). It was passed in December 2019, establishing the Poet Laureate of Ontario. Working with Gold and Gregg, the Hip signed a record deal with MCA that led to an eponymous 1987 EP, but the band didn't start to become a household name until 1989's Up to Here, which included the hits Blow at High Dough and New Orleans is Sinking, both of which still get heavy play on Canadian radio. Lets not celebrate the last 150 years, Downie told a Toronto audience last October. Youre a rocknroll band. His third solo effort, The Grand Bounce, was released in 2010. ", Audience Relations, CBC P.O. The 15-show Man Machine Poem tour, especially its final concert, became a cultural event, as Downie's dire prognosis prompted an outpouring of support from people across the country who had the rare opportunity to celebrate a much-loved Canadian before he was gone. The man slumped a bit. The rest of the Tragically Hip were scions of the Kingston elitesons of doctors, deans, judges and popular teachers. No matter how opaque or directly critical of Canadian history he may have been, Downie faced a sea of literal flag-waving at almost every single showespecially at shows not on Canadian soil. He was 53. Gord knew this day was coming his response was to spend this precious time as he always had making music, making memories and expressing deep gratitude to his family and friends for a life well lived, often sealing it with a kiss on the lips. It was a rare piece of celebrity news about Downie, who had steadfastly shielded his four children and Laura Usher, his wife of 23 years, from the public eye; the lone exception was in 2012, when Downie talked openly about Ushers bout with breast cancer. In 2014, Downie released an album with the Sadies called And the Conquering Sun. Then came Downie's diagnosis, which created a wave of nostalgia and celebration even as people prepared for his passing. Gord Downie was born on February 6, 1964 in Amherstview, Ontario, Canada. [3] His first to hit number one was Introduce Yerself, shortly after his death. The backing musicians, credited as the Goddamned Band, consisted of indie rock band the Dinner Is Ruined, Josh Finlayson of Skydiggers and singer-songwriter Julie Doiron. As a musician, he lived "the life" for over 30 years, lucky to do most of it with his high school buddies. Chanie Wenjack, a 12-year-old Anishinaabe boy, ran away from a residential school in northern Ontario 52 years ago. He sang about Canada, but disavowed nationalism, his songs exploring heavy topics like David Milgaard's wrongful conviction (Wheat Kings) or Canada's treatment of First Nations (Now the Struggle Has a Name). In 1995, a particularly successful year for the Hip, the band opened for both Page and Plant and the Rolling Stones, and performed on Saturday Night Live. [37], The tour was profiled in the 2017 documentary film Long Time Running, directed by Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier. Before his passing, Gord Downie took this country on a profound journey. There were a few others there, though, most of whom knew enough to respect the privacy of the cancer-stricken man who had travelled hundreds of kilometres to disappear. Thats what even newcomers discovered during the CBC broadcast of the Tragically Hips final show on Aug. 20, 2016, six months after Downie was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. "Growing up, he always felt that there was something missing," says Mike. Bobcaygeon, meanwhile, is a summer sing-along named for a sleepy town in East-Central Ontario, though the lyrics also grapple with the 1933 Christie Pits riot, during which Torontos Jewish community clashed with so-called Swastika clubs. By submitting a comment, you accept that CBC has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner CBC chooses. On that summer night in Kingston, the set list dipped back to the Hips first hit single, Blow at High Dough, the one that opens with the line: They shot a movie once, in my hometown. His movie, our hometowns: Downies lyrics imbued Canadas music scene with mystery and magic and presented it, poetically, to a wide mainstream audience. He published his first poetry and prose collection alongside the album and under the same title. Canadian rock legend Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip died at the age of 53 from brain cancer. On the evening of October 17th, 2017, Downie passed away at the age of 53. Downie contained similar complexities: He was an everyman poet, seeming both aloof and down to earth, writing lyrics that rhymed "catharsis" with "my arse is." In a trailer for Introduce Yerself, he noted that every song was about a single person. "I think my body's giving subtext and with my voice I'll give you the confines of my heart, which is illegible," he told CBC in 1999. The people Ive met, theyre so beautiful.. His family announced the news in a statement published on the Canadian band's . [10] READ MORE: Gord Downie calls out to Justin Trudeau during Tragically Hip's final show of tour. A childrens choir sang The Stranger, the opening track from Secret Path. I see stuff and I ," Patrick says, taking a moment to collect himself before continuing his thought. The press and the music industry were largely baffled; among his peers, and especially among non-Hip fans, it remains a beloved and influential record. I dream about it, but I dont want to get too far ahead of myself, he said. Nonetheless, someone piped up. The Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund is a registered charity. Clockwise from left: Gord Downie, guitarist Gord Sinclair, guitarist Rob Baker, bassist Paul Langlois and drummer Johnny Fay. At the Assembly of First Nations in Gatineau, Quebec, on December6, 2016, National Chief Perry Bellegarde honoured Downie with an eagle feather, a symbol of the creator above, for his support of the Indigenous peoples of Canada. The Tragically Hip: 10 Essential Songs Gord played goalie for Amherstviews hockey team, which won a provincial B-level championship. This was a man inviting us to his own wake. Days earlier, this quiet man had held much of the entire nation rapt, millions watching as he summoned all his strength to tackle his terminal condition, to fend backhowever brieflythe inevitability of death. Tragically Hip front-man Gord Downie's brother Patrick on why he and his brother Mike are working so hard to preserve the singer's legacy. Copyright 2023 St. Joseph Communications. "Rock 'n' roll is not unlike love," he told music writer Michael Barclay in 2000. SHAPIRO: In. [71], CBC Radio preempted some of its regular programming in favour of a Downie tribute special hosted by Rich Terfry;[72] although news of Downie's death broke just 20 minutes before airtime, CBC Radio One's entertainment magazine show Q dropped its planned lineup in favour of a live Downie tribute special. lang and Neil Young, rapper Drake, and the rock group Rush, remembered Downie on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Downie formed the Tragically Hip in 1984 alongside childhood friends Bobby Baker, Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair and Johnny Fay. Musician manager Jake Gold, who along with Allan Gregg gave the Hip members their first shot, told the authors of the book Have Not Been The Same: The CanRock Renaissance 1985-95, about the Toronto show that won them and an ambivalent crowd over. Over three decades, the Tragically Hip released 14 studio albums, the majority of which topped the Canadian album charts and were eventually certified Platinum (their first three LPs all went Diamond). Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. It really was his biggest wish.". And all you hear are the rusty breezes pushing around weathervane Jesus. They tapped into rocknrolls primal energy in ways that had been largely forgotten by the late 80s: they were a dressed-down, no-frills roadhouse bar band whose videos were rejected by MTV, a band whose sound was far removed from the eras pop stars, stadium rock, hair metal, aging Boomers, newer bluesy bandseven from alternative icons like R.E.M. Do the work. As we move towards resolution and understanding and greater serenity in all aspects of our life, love's pretty elemental and that's nice to know. Downies privacy was put to the test in 2015, when the Huffington Post ran a story about how his Toronto home had recently sold for under the asking priceunheard of in the citys real estate market. [20] With Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, Downie helped work on a cause to prevent a cement company from burning tires for fuel. The group also has a Canadian Music Hall of Fame induction, a Governor General's Performing Arts Award, an honorary fellowship with the Royal Conservatory of Music and a star on Canada's Walk of Fame. Lemire created a graphic novel inspired by Downie's songs, and its images were used to create the film. When he wasnt doing that, he directed his attention to environmental issues, specifically those endorsed by Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, a Canadian water charity run by an old Queens University classmate, Mark Mattson. Bodie is currently a State Historic Park. Though he wasn't afraid to go it alone as a solo artist, Downie's legacy will always be tied most closely with the Tragically Hip. It was viewed by an estimated 11.7 million people. [15] They were too traditional and aspirational to be punk or alternative, and yet they were raw enough that they immediately stood out on any mainstream radio playlist. He is known for Jumper (2008), One Week (2008) and Ararat (2002). [citation needed], Downie died of glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, on October 17, 2017, at the age of 53 in Toronto. Months of craniotomies, chemo and radiation therapy followed. David Lindley, Multi-Instrumentalist Who Shaped the Sound of Soft Rock, Dead at 78 Wenjack was to 2016 what Syrian refugee Alan Kurdi was to 2015: a tragic symbol who launched a Canadian conversation about compassion and collective reckoning. The Secret Path began as 10 poems that Gord Downie wrote as he grappled with Chanie's story. Editors picks The Tragically Hip was formed in 1984 and went on to become a decidedly Canadian success story. Now, nearly a year after Gord Downie's death, his brothers Patrick and Mike are premiering a new CBC documentary they've produced Finding The Secret Path. There can be a certain darkness in the lyrics, in some ways that reminded me of reading and listening to Leonard Cohen or Robertson Davies. [49] They had four children. He died Tuesday night surrounded by his children and family, according to a statement on the band's website. Edgar died in November 2015. [22], In February 2012 in Fort Albany, Ontario, Downie and the Tragically Hip played at the Great Moon Gathering, a yearly educational conference that takes place in various communities along Northern Ontario's James Bay coast. On October 13, 2016, Downie and his brother Mike, along with the Wenjack family, announced the founding of the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund to support reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. [63] The Toronto Maple Leafs honoured Downie with a moment of silence before their game on October 18, during which the retired-jersey banner for Bill Barilko whom Downie had written about in the Tragically Hip song "Fifty Mission Cap" was lowered from the rafters of the Air Canada Centre. Also, a series of music videos for all the songs on the album were created by Canadian artists and released on YouTube. Years later, when he decided to be more vocal, he made sure he did his homework, studying casework, speaking at hearings, relying on research and science rather than his celebritymuch like his old friend Sarah Harmer, another Waterkeeper supporter. Gord, I always wanted to ask you: how do you get the energy to make it so real every day? Downie was not able to attend the ceremony due to his illness which had not yet been made public. [19], Downie was heavily involved in environmental movements, especially issues concerning water rights. The album was raw, experimental and far removed from the rock radio world the Hip inhabited: droning organs, atonal guitar screeches and accordions competed for sonic space with Downies vocals atop opiated folk-country songs. Comments are welcome while open. Then came May 24, 2016, when the band announced Downie's diagnosis of terminal brain cancer. Gordon Downie was born in Amherstview, Ontario, and raised in Kingston, Ontario, along with his brothers Mike and Patrick, and sisters Charlyn and Paula. [42] At the 7th Canadian Screen Awards in 2019, two additional awards were won by Gord Downie's Secret Path in Concert, the CBC Television broadcast of Downie's 2016 Roy Thomson Hall performance of the album. Gord Downie, troubadour of Canada, charmed and challenged a nation After a long battle with cancer, the Tragically Hip frontman died among his family on Tuesday night. The claims are located in Okanogan County, in Section 3, Township 35 N., Range 31 E. The state lease encompasses the south half of the northeast quarter and the east half of the southeast quarter and the Lots 5 and . Not a word. CBC broadcaster and musician Tom Power called them "Canada's local band." "The first time we heard him open his mouth, we just went, holy shit. ET. "That there wasn't a whole country, you know, we hadn't figured out what that missing piece was. If the Tragically Hip frontman had to check out early as he did on Tuesday at 53 years of . Tragically Hip frontman wants the story of Chanie Wenjack, an Indigenous boy who died running away from a residential school in northern Ontario, to be his legacy project, Gord Downie talks about cancer, his recent cross-country tour and why he's focusing on Indigenous issues, Tragically Hip singer addresses the crowd at Saturday's show in Kingston. Downie spent his final months speaking out in support of Indigenous people, declaring: "Canada is not Canada. Though they were lumped together because of their work on Indigenous issuesMaracles work on which, of course, far outstretched Downies more recent foraymany wondered if the timing had more to do with health concerns. It shouldnt have surprised us. [39] The album was accompanied by a graphic novel on which he collaborated with Jeff Lemire,[39] and an animated television film which aired on CBC Television. ~ MacKenzie Wilson HOMETOWN Amherstview, Ontario, Canada BORN February 6, 1964 Similar Artists Gord Downie & The Country of Miracles The Tragically Hip Hayden Joel Plaskett Rheostatics Dan Mangan Matthew Good Matt Mays Arkells Wintersleep Paused. CBC Television broadcast his solo Roy Thomson Hall concert of Secret Path on October 22. "It takes ahold of you. Your father is now buried. No one worked harder on every part of their life than Gord. Gord knew this day was coming his response was to spend this precious time as he always had making music, making memories and expressing deep gratitude to his family and friends for a life well lived, often sealing it with a kiss on the lips. He called concert touring "grunt work," and talked about building the fan base one person at a time. By 2016, when he released his Secret Path project to address the legacy of residential schools, he decided that his celebrity was now his best asset: he knew he had the countrys attention after the Hips farewell tour, and the reluctant nationalist used it to focus specifically on an issue he felt was a glaring stain that could not be washed out of Canadas history. Gord was my friend, but Gord was everyone's friend, it's who we were, our buddy Gord, who loved this country with everything he had." "He loved every hidden corner, every story, every aspect of this country that he celebrated his whole life." "We are less as a country without Gord Downie in it." At home, he worked just as tirelessly at being a good father, son, brother, husband and friend. The band never reached the same sales figures it did with its first four full-length albums, but continued to make music that was generally well-received by critics and selling at platinum or multi-platinum levels. Fifty Mission Cap,for instance, recounts the story of Toronto Maple Leafs hero Bill Barilko, who died in a plane crash months after winning the Stanley Cup. "I think he really tried to put himself in those shoes and imagine what that was like," Mike says. As soon as Mike told his brother about Chanie's story, he says Gord was transfixed and made it his purpose to bring it to Canadians. "[58] Canadian MP Tony Clement called upon the government to consider holding a state funeral for Downie, stating "I think he matters that much to Canadians. "His big heart served him well," Patrick Downie said of his brother Gord. [citation needed]. The Tragically Hip's Gord Downie talks about the need to practice writing, in this interview from October 1989. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6. Gordie doesnt like to be the centre of attention, added Lorna. The band's propulsive, muscular rock, coupled with intense live performances and Downie's cryptic, literary lyrics, allowed the band to attract a diverse fan base that included party animals and armchair philosophers alike. As with the blanket ceremony, the emotion and pride on his face was palpable. Gord Downie was given sufficient time to pen his own obituary, and that is exactly how it should be. In the middle of the set, Downie made a plea for reconciliation with Canadas Indigenous peoples, calling out the Prime Minister by name. Everyone whose family has ever been cursed with cancer projected stories onto the tale of a man who chose to stare down a terminal diagnosis and take the show on the road. His death was announced on the Tragically Hip website, stating quote: Last night Gord quietly passed away with his beloved children and family close by. Are you sure? Then I understood his reasoning, not the least of which was doing it for the guys, which was really lovely, and I thought, Of course. As a musician, he lived "the life" for over 30 years, lucky to do most of it with his high school buddies. Poetry and pop music are not strangers, of course: just ask the committee who granted Bob Dylan the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature. Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip (Photo by Aven Hoffarth) One of the best things about Gord Downie was his thoughtfulness. The group gigged around Canada throughout the Eighties and eventually earned a record contract after then-MCA president Bruce Dickinson caught them live in Toronto. Memorial has been sponsored successfully. He met his future Tragically Hip bandmates while attending. Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. All the while, he was writing and recording: with the Hip, keyboardist Kevin Hearn, avant-garde noisemakers Dinner is Ruined, and separate projects with producers Kevin Drew and Bob Rock. He was the poet who once asked, When are you thinking of disappearing? [40], At the 6th Canadian Screen Awards in 2018, Downie posthumously won two Canadian Screen Awards for the television version of Secret Path. The band was big enough in the mid-'90s to organize Another Roadside Attraction, a travelling music and arts festival that included a mix of Canadian acts (Rheostatics, Eric's Trip) and international stars (Midnight Oil, Wilco) all hand-picked by the band. Downie also appeared in Michael McGowan's 2008 film, One Week. GORD DOWNIE: (Singing) Sundown in the Paris of the prairie, wheat kings have all their treasures buried. Making the documentary has been a welcome distraction for Mike, and a painful reminder for Patrick. The program won the Donald Brittain Award for Best Political or Social Documentary Program[41] and Best Music in a Non-Fiction Program. "The Barenaked Ladies? [6] After graduating high school, Downie attended Queen's University where he majored in film studies, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts and Science in 1986. When you hear the songs, clearly it was affecting him. It was brave . Near the end of the CBC special, Chanie Wenjack's sister, Pearl, talks to the camera as she looks out over the woods. And Then There Was David Lindley, See the Beths Deliver Refreshing 'Expert in a Dying Field' Mini-Set on 'CBS Mornings', The YSL Case Is Stretching Fulton County's Justice System to Its Breaking Point, Trump Promises to Continue Presidential Campaign if Indicted, Then Delivers a Snoozy CPAC Speech, NBA 'Investigating,' Team Suspends Ja Morant After Allegedly Flashing Gun on Social Media. Just a few close friends on a starry night in front of a campfire. [79] The album is co-written with Josh Finlayson, a frequent collaborator, and is accompanied with an acoustic version of all the produced tracks. Very quick question to anyone that might be able to answer it.. A documentary film, Long Time Running, about the Tragically Hip's summer 2016 cross-Canada farewell concert tour, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2017. when she met a 23-year-old Downie, who was just getting started with the Hip, playing mostly university gigs.. It wasnt until the 1991 release of the bands second album, Road Apples, that Downie seized the lyrical reins entirely. That included only three live shows, in Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax, and appearances at the Ottawa WE Day event and Haydens Dream Serenade concert in Toronto. And for him that missing piece became very obvious. He listened to everything he could in his older sister's 45 collection, and used his allowance to buy records. Those tender offerings touched his heart and he takes them with him now as he walks among the stars.. [74], Arjun Sahgal, an oncologist with the Sunnybrook Hospital who had been involved in treating Downie after his cancer diagnosis, lauded Downie's strength and courage in continuing to tour, make music and use his fame to publicize both cancer awareness and indigenous reconciliation issues, and called Downie "a Terry Fox in the modern day".[75]. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. "It certainly took ahold of Gord, I think, because it's just so simple a boy trying to get home. The poet whose metaphors had inspired generations of rocknroll fans had nothing more to saywith words, anyway. He commented on working with the Sadies, saying, "I enjoy getting together with those guys; it's a whole other universe. Gordon Edgar Downie was born in Amherstview, Ontario, and raised in Kingston, Ontario, along with his brothers Mike and Patrick, and sisters Charlyn and Paula. But neither video nor radio was responsible for the bands rapid ascent: it was their live performances, where Downies unusual charisma electrified everyone who piled into either biker bars or student pubs to see them. He loved every hidden corner, every story, every aspect of this country that he celebrated his whole life. Last year, he releaseda solo project, Secret Path, and announced the 23-track double-LP, Introduce Yerself last month. Gord Downie's brother Mike describes what the Tragically Hip's front-man went through to keep pushing his projects ahead during his final struggle with a terminal brain tumour. It's so important to the country that we get this right. I think I take my nanas approach," he once admitted. The more you dig, the more you get into it, the more awful it becomes and you start to realize what was going on for so many kids.". "Who are you comparing us to?" [79], In October 2022, the song "Lustre Parfait" was released to streaming services as a preview of an album collecting various previously unreleased songs that Downie had recorded with Bob Rock. Cate Blanchett Suits Up and Gets Down in Sparks New Music Video, Taylor Swift Plots a Seventies Powder Party (Not That Kind) in Lavender Haze Behind-the-Scenes Video, Miley Cyrus Reviving the Backyard Sessions for Endless Summer Vacation Special, SST Records Producer Glen Spot Lockett Dead at 72, Glastonbury Co-Organizer Promises Female Headliners in 2024 After All-Male Top Billing This Year, There Were Sidemen. He said he told Canadian stories because they were there to be told, and said he performed music because it was the ultimate medium for expressions of love. He says that watching it stirs a mixture of sadness and pride. [78] On September 21, it was confirmed that Away Is Mine, an album comprising the last songs Downie recorded in his lifetime, will be released on October 16. Gords command of language was profound. In 2018, two recordings by Downie, "The East Wind" and "At the Quinte Hotel", were released on the compilation album The Al Purdy Songbook. When he first said they were going on tour, I said, Are you okay? [34] The tour's final concert was held at the Rogers K-Rock Centre in Kingston, Ontario, on August 20 and was broadcast and streamed live by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on television, radio and internet. Canadian rock legend diagnosed with brain cancer in 2015. Where some go to get lost. The Hips biggest U.S. moment came in 1995 when after notching their third straight Canadian Number One album withDay for Night they playedSaturday Night Live.