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. In December, the Assembly of First Nations honoured his work on reconciliation by endowing him with a Lakota spirit name: Wicapi Omani, or man who walks among the stars. In June, he and the band were named to the Order of Canada; Downie received his early, alongside activist Sylvia Maracle. I think if I put myself out there like that, on the line, and make people emotionally connect with me, I feel like I couldnt ever do it again, because Id get bored or I just couldnt summon the same amount of emotion. In the bands first three years, they played 60s cover songs by the Rolling Stones, Van Morrisons Them, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye and the Monkees. Our identity and culture are richer because of his music, which was always raw and honest like Gord himself. In 2018, two recordings by Downie, "The East Wind" and "At the Quinte Hotel", were released on the compilation album The Al Purdy Songbook. ", Mike says he hopes the film makes it clear that this idea, "meant a lot to this guy, he wasn't chasing causes around, this was really important. [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] On Oct. 17, 2017, Gord Downie passed away from brain cancer at the age of 53 in Toronto. Usher was a 20-year-old student at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont. "You know, I feel enough pain without having to go back and see some of the images, or hear the music and things like that. Were still trying to figure out what makes us Canadian, and we have one of the loudest neighbors in the world, so this band helped a country, and Gord helped people lyrically, slowly start to try to define themselves.. Our music is entirely different. Nickelback? [61] The CBC news broadcast, The National, spent 40 of its sixty-minute broadcast discussing Gord and The Hip. Downie "was a great communicator," Gold said. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. "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. The gig notably came together thanks to the efforts of fellow Kingston, Ontario native Dan Aykroyd, who introduced the group despite John Goodman hosting that nights show. 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). 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. By 2004, he'd clearly grown tired of the question. 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. 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. CBC broadcaster and musician Tom Power called them "Canada's local band." When search suggestions are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Editors picks Over more than thirty years and across fourteen studio albums, Downie and his band of brothers built a legacy as the essential Canadian rock band. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. He loved every hidden corner, every story, every aspect of this country that he celebrated his whole life. 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. [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]. He also performed a few live shows to support the album, with supporting musicians Kevin Drew, Charles Spearin, Dave Hamelin, Kevin Hearn and Josh Finlayson. He died Tuesday night surrounded by his children and family, according to a statement on the band's website. [citation needed], In Kingston, Mayor Bryan Paterson issued a statement, laid a wreath in Springer Market Square near City Hall, and signed a condolence banner. [4][5] In Kingston, Downie attended the downtown high school Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute, where other members of the Tragically Hip also attended. Interiors remain as they were left and in some cases stocked with goods. 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. That's really compelling to me." Downies on-stage improvisations were a principal part of the bands appeal from day one, though he was not yet a lyricist. He listened to everything he could in his older sister's 45 collection, and used his allowance to buy records. [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. 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 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. Gord Downie is the late lead singer and songwriter of rock giants The Tragically Hip. That's a strange and comforting thing to me. At Queen's University, Downie's alma mater, flags were lowered to half-mast following news of his death. 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. Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell deserve to be read on the page just as often as you play their recordsbut they dont play rock music. Very quick question to anyone that might be able to answer it.. No one worked harder on every part of their life than Gord. Avril?". At home, he worked just as tirelessly at being a good father, son, brother, husband and friend. Theyre five Canadian guys who go up on stage and they look like their audience. 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. His family announced the news in a statement published on the Canadian band's . 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. He saw it as something that I think made sense to him as his life was coming to an end.". In 2005, the band was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. Brad Wheeler tells his. Meanwhile,Secret Pathcomprised not just a record, but a graphic novel and animated film as well, all of which werebased on the tragic, but largely unknown, story of Chanie Wenjack, an indigenous 12-year-old boy who froze to death trying to escape the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School. "That's kind of our job, to make sure that it's in place going forward, because I do think that he had an oversized impact on this country. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6. He was the son of Lorna (Neal) and Edgar Charles Downie, a travelling salesman, later a real estate broker and developer. Do the work. [14] [19], Downie was heavily involved in environmental movements, especially issues concerning water rights. "For Gord, his way of experiencing the world is to write about it. He clearly was so taken with it and couldn't let it go.". ", Audience Relations, CBC P.O. His later solo records, including a rollicking, punkish 2014 album recorded with the Sadies, were remarkably conventional compared to Coke Machine Glow. [8] Originally, the band covered popular British rock songs from the 1960s. [29], In May 2016, Downie and his bandmates received honorary degrees from Queen's University. " Rosa Hwang (@journorosa) October 18, 2017. A Kingston hospital diagnosed the 52-year-old singer with primary glioblastoma, an aggressive and terminal brain cancer. Tragically Hip: Canada Waves Goodbye to a National Treasure. Why a dying Gord Downie struggled to reveal 'The Secret Path' to Canadians | CBC News Loaded. The Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund is a registered charity. Aided by teleprompters showing the lyrics, Downie pranced about the stage with his signature theatrical dance moves, though less kinetically than in the past. The last 150 years arent as much worth celebrating as we think, Downie said. [38], In September 2016, Downie announced he would release a new solo album, Secret Path in October. I dream about it, but I dont want to get too far ahead of myself, he said. [62] Additionally, several National Hockey League teams and players, as well as the league itself, paid tribute to Downie through social media, owing to the high popularity of the Tragically Hip's music among Canadian professional hockey players. In the remote north, in a land where the many not born there dare not go. Then came May 24, 2016, when the band announced Downie's diagnosis of terminal brain cancer. Gordon Edgar Downie was one of the most riveting and mystifying performers in rocknroll history. (THE CANADIAN PRESS) Gord Downie, the Tragically Hip frontman who united a diverse array of music lovers with his commanding stage. Now that he's gone, "letting go" is something that Gord Downie's brothers are also struggling with. Downie performing in Guelph, Ontario in 2001, Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute, "Gord Downie, a Distinctly Canadian Rock Star, Dies at 53", "Remembering the life and legacy of Gord Downie (1964 2017)", "Gord Downie and the Country of Miracles The Grand Bounce", "Gord Downie Sheds Light on Collaborative Album with the Sadies", "How I Learned to Love the Tragically Hip and Still Be Punk", "Gord Downie is 'Lost Together' with Blue Rodeo as he joins band onstage at Toronto show", "The Tragically Hip to debut tour doc, Long Time Running, at the Toronto International Film Festival", "Board / Stewards Lake Ontario Waterkeeper", "Media Alert: Lafarge denied: Cement company's motion for leave to-appeal denied in alternative fuels case", "GreenHeroes: This Month Gord Downie, Mark Mattson and Lake Ontario Waterkeeper", "North of the 52nd with the Tragically Hip", "Gord Downie and the Hip gone fishin' in northern Ontario", "The Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund", "Downie takes to Parliament Hill to speak out for Canada's Indigenous Peoples", "Gord Downie chosen as Canadian Press Newsmaker of the Year", "Gord Downie chosen as top Canadian Press newsmaker for second consecutive year", "Gord Downie appointed to Order of Canada", "Courage, my word: Tragically Hip's Gord Downie reveals terminal brain cancer diagnosis", "Tragically Hip singer Gord Downie has terminal cancer, band plans tour 'for Gord', "Gord Downie underwent surgery for 'incurable' brain cancer, his doctor says", "Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip holds final show", "Tragically Hip to release documentary and farewell concert film in December", "Gord Downie to release solo album, graphic novel next month", "Canadian Screen Awards 2018: Maudie, Anne, Kim's Convenience win top prizes", "2018 Canadian Screen Awards honour national media", "Gord Downie's Secret Path, Amazing Race and CBC News among Canadian Screen Awards winners", "Gord Downie, a Canadian Rock Legend, Sings Goodbye", "Gord Downie to release solo album Introduce Yerself in October", "Gord Downie to release new solo album Introduce Yerself", "Early Junos Go to Gord Downie, Grimes, Alvvays and More", "If Secret Path 'is the last thing I do, I'm happy': What happens to Gord Downie next", "Gord Downie's widow Kaya Usher releases debut music with her Family Band", "Kaya Usher, widow of Gord Downie, on 'healing journey' of her debut album", "Gord Downie, Canada's everyman rock poet, dead at 53", "Glioblastoma, brain tumour that took Gord Downie's life, tough to treat: doctors", "Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada on the death of Gord Downie", "Justin Trudeau delivers emotional, tearful tribute to Gord Downie", "Justin Trudeau pays emotional tribute to Gord Downie: 'It hurts', "Condolences pour in for Gord Downie, Tragically Hip frontman", "Hockey world mourns Gord Downie's death", "Bobcaygeon residents feel special connection to Gord Downie", "Thursday's Round-Up of News Surrounding the Death of Gord Downie", "'I'd wish for more of this,' Ottawans' tributes to Gord Downie keep coming", "Red Deer radio stations crank up the Tragically Hip in wake of Gord Downie's death", "The Tragically Hip Week: Celebrating the Life of Gord Downie", "In Kingston, fans pay respects to Gord Downie", "Tragically Hip album sales, audio streams soar after Gord Downie's death", "Listen to a special Radio 2 broadcast celebrating the life of Gord Downie", "Tragically Hip's 'Long Time Running' documentary to air Friday on TV", "Gord Downie 'like a Terry Fox in the modern day,' says doctor", "Canadian poet Al Purdy inspires songs by Jason Collett, Sarah Harmer and more", "The Tragically Hip Reunite with Original Manager for Planned Archival Projects", "Gord Downie's Twitter Account Is Teasing Something", "Listen to 2 songs from Gord Downie's final solo recording, Away is Mine", "New song Lustre Parfait offers sample of posthumous Gord Downie, Bob Rock album", "Gord Downie and Bob Rock's Collaborative Album Gets Release Date, New Single", "Gord Downie Chart History: Canadian Albums", "Future Releases on Triple A (AAA) Radio Stations", The referendum on the Charlottetown Accord, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gord_Downie&oldid=1141735018, Juno Award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year winners, Juno Award for Songwriter of the Year winners, Juno Award for Artist of the Year winners, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in Canadian English, Pages using infobox musical artist with associated acts, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, "The Raven and the Red-Tailed Hawk" (2022), "Secret Path" (documentary and full animated film) (2016), This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 14:44. Gord Downie, the Tragically Hip frontman who united a diverse array of music lovers with his commanding stage presence and Canadiana-laced lyrics, has died. Terfry composed the track and with the help of Charles Austen, his co-writer, decided Downie's vocals would be the best fit for their song. [16], Also in 2014 Downie appeared as a guest vocalist on "The Art of Patrons", a song from Fucked Up's album Glass Boys.[17]. As with the blanket ceremony, the emotion and pride on his face was palpable. Most artists will hear crowds singing the first verse and choruses of their most popular songs; Downie routinely had audiences singing every single line in his discography back to him, no matter how arcane or untethered the lyric was to rhyme or meter, songs full of what songwriter John K. Samson calls beautifully meaningful non-sequiturs., The Tragically Hip, photographed in New York in February 1992. Chanie Wenjack, a 12-year-old Anishinaabe boy, ran away from a residential school in northern Ontario 52 years ago. Thats whats missing as we celebrate doughnuts and hockey. The interview with Patrick and MikeDowniefromThe National, CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices. He died on October 17, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario. Canadian Icon Gordon "Gord" Edgar Downie February 6th, 1964 - October 17th, 2017 We lost a true Canadian icon, talented poet and musician. 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. It was a move unprecedented in music history: this was not a suicide, like with Kurt Cobain; this was not an addict flaming out in public, as Amy Winehouse did; this was not an artist whose later work showed clear signs of physical decline, like Johnny Cash; this was not someone who was going to disappear quietly, like David Bowie, who left us to wrestle with his final artistic statements posthumously. "For me, it's not as easy. It's so important to the country that we get this right. Tom Sizemore, Heat and Saving Private Ryan Actor, Dead at 61 We would like to thank all the kind folks at KGH and Sunnybrook, Gord's bandmates, management team, friends and fans. Its focus is on youth learning and combining Cree education with the contemporary world. Where some go to get lost. or somewhat similarly minded mainstream artists like John Mellencamp. With seven solo albums to his name, Downie's own music refutes definition, renowned for its adventurous poetry . 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. 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. 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. Record sales and radio play declined, though never precipitously enough to render the band irrelevant. 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. 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. [33], In December 2015, shortly after attending his father's funeral, Downie was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour. In June 2020, the Tragically Hip and manager Jake Gold announced that they were undertaking an "archaeological dig" to select music and memorabilia from the band's archives for future release. As a musician, he lived the life for over 30 years, lucky to do most of it with his high school buddies. 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. I see stuff and I ," Patrick says, taking a moment to collect himself before continuing his thought. In addition to the Tragically Hip's performance, Downie sang a song with a local band, Northern Revolution. Then came Downie's diagnosis, which created a wave of nostalgia and celebration even as people prepared for his passing. You are sitting on a project that might change the cultural landscape of First Nations for decades to come . "Then for him to say, 'Look at this, this is our country too. He was the poet who once asked, When are you thinking of disappearing? Downie never sought to be iconic. 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. Over more than thirty years and across fourteen studio albums, Downie and his band of brothers built a legacy as the essential Canadian rock band. Sit down. His death was announced in a statement from his family . The band even has its own postage stamp and a street named after it, Tragically Hip Way, in Kingston, Ont. 1. Not a word. [15] Author Joseph Boyden, who invited them, said their motivation was to "initiate a guerrilla act of love for a people who are so thoroughly underrepresented but now, somehow, overexposed for only their shortcomings. Downie dismissed questions about why the band didn't break big in the U.S., telling CBC that he felt successful after the band's first practice. 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. Downieattended Kingston Collegiate Vocational Institute, a school that has also graduated the likes of John A. Macdonald, Robertson Davies, and Don Cherry. "I really didn't know anything about them, to my shame. Create the spark. Their self-titled debut EP arrived in 1987 while their first LP, Up to Here, followed in 1989. Fans would often tear up at newly poignant lyrics written decades ago: "No dress rehearsal / This is our life" in Ahead by a Century and "I've got to go / It's been a pleasure doing business with you" in Scared. Gord said he had lived many lives. Those were the private reasons. Making the documentary has been a welcome distraction for Mike, and a painful reminder for Patrick.