Gord Downie was given sufficient time to pen his own obituary, and that is exactly how it should be. 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. It was passed in December 2019, establishing the Poet Laureate of Ontario. Gord Downie, the lead singer for the beloved Canadian alt-rock bandthe Tragically Hip, died Tuesday at the age of 53. He published his first poetry and prose collection alongside the album and under the same title. [34][35] Doctors at Toronto's Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre confirmed the same day that it was a glioblastoma, which had responded favourably to radiation and chemotherapy treatment but was not curable. The Tragically Hip: 10 Essential Songs They picked up their first Juno award Most Promising Group of the Year in 1990. [3] His first to hit number one was Introduce Yerself, shortly after his death. He cherished the anomaly; hed arrive on stage and say, for no discernible reason, things like Hello and welcome. It's the . The interview with Patrick and MikeDowniefromThe National, CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices. Downie "was a great communicator," Gold said. "Then for him to say, 'Look at this, this is our country too. A month later, Downie launched his Secret Path project. We are not the country we think we are. Bellegarde also bestowed on Downie an honorary aboriginal name, Wicapi Omani, which is Lakota for "man who walks among the stars". Downie died Tuesday after a battle with brain cancer. Last night Gord quietly passed away with his beloved children and family close by. It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. Lets celebrate our next 150 years.. 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. After the final cross-country tour, all 17 Hip recordings (including box sets and live concerts) were back on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart as sales and downloads skyrocketed. The entire band valued their privacy, but Downie even more so: perhaps because of the adulation directed his way, but also because of the way he was raised. "I really didn't know anything about them, to my shame. [20] With Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, Downie helped work on a cause to prevent a cement company from burning tires for fuel. Downie was born on Feb. 6, 1964, in Amherstview, Ont., just slightly west of Kingston, to Lorna and Edgar, a travelling salesman turned real estate developer. [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. [49] They had four children. [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. [51] They were not divorced at the time of Downie's death and had remained close friends. 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." Not surprisingly, Downie has cited all those as key influences, as well as David Byrne, Van Morrison and, yes, Jim Morrison; Downie sang a few Doors tunes . On February 2, 2017, Downie joined Blue Rodeo onstage at Massey Hall for a performance of Blue Rodeo's song "Lost Together". The group said they were "humbled" with the award. [1] [54] [55] The surviving members of the Tragically Hip made the news of his death public the next morning, by sharing an official statement from his family on their website: [54] Downie never sought to be iconic. Gord Downie was born on February 6, 1964 in Amherstview, Ontario, Canada. He was the poet who once asked, When are you thinking of disappearing? He was the son of Lorna (Neal) and Edgar Charles Downie, a travelling salesman, later a real estate broker and developer. Gordon Edgar Downie was one of the most riveting and mystifying performers in rocknroll history. When are you falling off the map? He was the singer who once sang, Do I make you scared? when she met a 23-year-old Downie, who was just getting started with the Hip, playing mostly university gigs.. "Who are you comparing us to?" In the remote north, in a land where the many not born there dare not go. It really was his biggest wish.". Thank you everyone for all the respect, admiration and love you have given Gord throughout the years those tender offerings touched his heart and he takes them with him now as he walks among the stars. The program won the Donald Brittain Award for Best Political or Social Documentary Program[41] and Best Music in a Non-Fiction Program. 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. 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. Their self-titled debut EP arrived in 1987 while their first LP, Up to Here, followed in 1989. He eventually joined a band that did punk covers, and was in a group called the Filters. 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. 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. 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.". This, it seemed, meant much more to him than the Hips final show or the Order of Canada or the millions of records he sold. Another 11.7 million watched a CBC broadcast of the concert, with hundreds of viewing parties held in public parks, squares, movie theatres, bars and restaurants across Canada. Following the release of Man Machine Poem and the Tragically Hips final concert, Downie continued to work. In a rare interview with the CBC upon Secret Pathsrelease, Downie spoke about how he hoped Secret Path would bring more attention to the challenges indigenous communities face and potentially help shape Canadas future. At home, he worked just as tirelessly at being a good father, son, brother, husband and friend. He saved a special energy for Kingston, playing a near three-hour set that was at once jubilant, raucous and heart-wrenching. [13], In addition to his solo works, Downie collaborated with several fellow Canadian and international artists. And I think at that time our feeling was, if we knew so little about something like this, like wow, there must be millions of Canadians who have no idea.". He loved every hidden corner, every story, every aspect of this country that he celebrated his whole life. The Tragically Hip's Gord Downie talks about the need to practice writing, in this interview from October 1989. The working men were going to work. Editors picks It shouldnt have surprised us. [10] Downie died of glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, on October 17, 2017, at the age of 53 in Toronto. During their live shows, Downie would notably ad-lib lengthy stories in the middle of songs. Four of those five young men played their first gig as the Tragically Hip in November 1984, in a small white room at the Kingston Artists Association. Its focus is on youth learning and combining Cree education with the contemporary world. It would turn out to be the last show of his bands 30-year, multi-million-selling, award-winning career, a fate many suspected at the time. Memorial has been sponsored successfully. Our music is entirely different. Video clips dont do justice to the energy in the room generated by a performer who communicated more with a flick of the finger than anyone elses high kicks. At the Juno Awards of 2018, the album won the Juno Award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year, Downie and Drew won Songwriter of the Year for "A Natural", "Introduce Yerself" and "The North",[47] and Downie won the Artist of the Year. 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. In a trailer for Introduce Yerself, he noted that every song was about a single person. Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip (Photo by Aven Hoffarth) One of the best things about Gord Downie was his thoughtfulness. 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. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time Canadian Icon Gordon "Gord" Edgar Downie February 6th, 1964 - October 17th, 2017 We lost a true Canadian icon, talented poet and musician. Gord did not rest from working for the issues he cared about, and his commitment and passion will continue to motivate Canadians for years to come He will be sorely missed.. "Patrick and I are comfortable with the word legacy. Solo albums were a pressure-release valve for Downie during the early 2000s, as the Hip became elder statesmen in danger of being taken for granted. Do the work. Downie, who won two Junos for the 10-song solo album, thought of the Secret Path music, concerts and film created with artist Jeff Lemire as his legacy project. On Oct. 17, 2017, Gord Downie passed away from brain cancer at the age of 53 in Toronto. Related "It certainly took ahold of Gord, I think, because it's just so simple a boy trying to get home. Downiejoined a punk band called the Slinks; their friendly competitors at the school were a Grade 13 group called the Rodents, featuring bassist Gord Sinclair and guitarist Robbie Baker. When search suggestions are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Clockwise from left: Gord Downie, guitarist Gord Sinclair, guitarist Rob Baker, bassist Paul Langlois and drummer Johnny Fay. "His big heart served him well," Patrick Downie said of his brother Gord. But things were much quieter now. Last year, he releaseda solo project, Secret Path, and announced the 23-track double-LP, Introduce Yerself last month. ~ 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 As a musician, he lived "the life" for over 30 years, lucky to do most of it with his high school buddies. [66] Most rock radio stations dropped regular programming to shift to an all-Tragically Hip format for the day,[67][68] and some further announced that they would continue the all-Hip format through the weekend until the morning of 23 October. [7], In 1984, at age 20, Downie formed the Tragically Hip with Rodents's members Rob Baker and Gord Sinclair, another younger Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute alumnus, Johnny Fay, and saxophonist Davis Manning. Downie formed the Tragically Hip in 1984 alongside childhood friends Bobby Baker, Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair and Johnny Fay. 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. 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. Both it and Battle of the Nudes are credited as Gord Downie and the Country of Miracles. Imagine if they were part of us and we them, how incredibly cool it would make us? Comments are welcome while open. Updated at 11:10 a.m. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6. Post navigation To the best of my internet sleuthing, I was unable to find anything online directing me to the most appropriate place to do . Gord Downie, the lead singer of the Tragically Hip, died Tuesday night surrounded by his loved ones. Thats whats missing as we celebrate doughnuts and hockey. Gord Downie was a haunting presence around Toronto in 2017: singing Lost Together with Blue Rodeo at Massey Hall, taking in a PJ Harvey show, embracing Drake at a Raptors game, posing with Bobby Orr. Even when he stepped outside the Tragically Hip, Gord Downie loved to make rock records, first and foremost. Kingston Transit buses displayed "GORD, WE'LL MISS YOU" on their electronic destination signs, alternately with the regular route number and name display. [79] The album is co-written with Josh Finlayson, a frequent collaborator, and is accompanied with an acoustic version of all the produced tracks. "She said, I wouldnt go to the lobby of my building to see Frank Sinatra. In a 1991 profile of the Hip, a reporter from the Kingston Whig-Standard visited all the band members families. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. 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. 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. Three days after the funeral, Downie had a seizure. Each night, Downie took to the stage dressed in metallic leather suits and feather-adorned hats, performing hits from the Tragically Hip's entire discography. Thank you for all the help and support over the past two years. It was viewed by an estimated 11.7 million people. [53], Downie was the godson of Harry Sinden, a former hockey coach, general manager and president of the Boston Bruins. He delivered frenetic dance moves or stream-of-consciousness rants in ways that suggested he was channelling the music. Now that he's gone, "letting go" is something that Gord Downie's brothers are also struggling with. Downieattended Kingston Collegiate Vocational Institute, a school that has also graduated the likes of John A. Macdonald, Robertson Davies, and Don Cherry. GORD DOWNIE: (Singing) Sundown in the Paris of the prairie, wheat kings have all their treasures buried. 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. They then honoured the 215 children who were recently found buried. [6] The Tragically Hip quickly became famous once MCA Records president Bruce Dickinson saw them performing at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto and offered them a record deal. He called concert touring "grunt work," and talked about building the fan base one person at a time. Gord said he had lived many lives. The Tragically Hip was formed in 1984 and went on to become a decidedly Canadian success story. The statement was released via the band's official Twitter. His words and lyrics spoke to everyone, coast to coast and across the miles. [28], Downie took to Parliament Hill on July2, 2017, to speak out for Canada's young Indigenous people, likening it to the same kind of pain young people suffered in the now defunct residential schools. 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. Tragically Hip: Canada Waves Goodbye to a National Treasure. [52] Under the stage name Kaya Usher, she released her own debut album as a singer, All This Is, in 2021 with the participation of two of their four children, and some of the tracks feature Usher performing with a guitar that had once belonged to Downie. It was a Terry Fox story with a twist: a story where the protagonist completes his goal before the disease gets the better of him. We would like to thank all the kind folks at KGH and Sunnybrook, Gord's bandmates, management team, friends and fans. The Idol: How HBOs Next Euphoria Became Twisted Torture Porn. Throughout the Nineties and into the Aughts, the Tragically Hip and Downie developed and expanded their sound. No other act of the day was embraced with the fervour and frenzy that Hip fans displayed toward Downie as a performer, but it was his lyrics that inflamed his fans. Why a dying Gord Downie struggled to reveal 'The Secret Path' to Canadians | CBC News Loaded. "His main focus was the release of Secret Path," says Gord's brother, Patrick Downie. Colin James is also featured in the episode. Downie had cameo appearances in Men with Brooms, in which the Tragically Hip play a curling team. [80] The album, to be titled Lustre Parfait, is slated for release in May 2023.[81]. His godfather was Harry Sinden, who was then a real-estate developer with Edgar, and who would go on to become the Stanley Cup-winning coach of the Boston Bruins and lead Team Canada to victory in the 1972 SummitSeries against the Soviet Union. [64], Residents of the Ontario village of Bobcaygeon, which Downie had written about in the song of the same name, held a candlelight vigil for him the night after his death;[65] a large public gathering also took place at Springer Market Square in the band's hometown of Kingston. It wasnt until the 1991 release of the bands second album, Road Apples, that Downie seized the lyrical reins entirely. These tales would often spawn new Hip songs Nautical Disaster and Ahead by a Century were both borne out of New Orleans Is Sinking while some live versions, such as Highway Girl, proved more popular than the studio recordings. I think rock 'n' roll is the same. "Growing up, he always felt that there was something missing," says Mike. Yet, with the exception of certain, mostly border cities in the U.S. and pockets of support in western Europe, the Hip rarely made an impact outside Canada, continuing to play smaller venues like the House of Blues stateside while they sold out hockey arenas north of the border.
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