Not a word. Downie was reluctant at first; he told the Toronto Star he felt like a dilettante. Tom Sizemore, Heat and Saving Private Ryan Actor, Dead at 61 When he first said they were going on tour, I said, Are you okay? 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. Downie was married to Laura Leigh Usher,[48] herself a breast cancer survivor. The song "Goodnight Attawapiskat" from the album Now for Plan A was a result of this trip.[24]. Kevin Light/Reuters, I would get very jumbled emails when he was in treatment, or texts at odd hours of the night, says one former musical colleague. Shut up until its time to do it again. 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. Both it and Battle of the Nudes are credited as Gord Downie and the Country of Miracles. 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. In a genre prone to clich, outright nonsense and occasional misogyny, Gord Downie wrote lyrics that dipped in the same well as Al Purdy, Raymond Carver, Northrop Frye, Timothy Findley, Hugh MacLennan and others; he would even quote those writers directly in his lyrics. And their support hasn't gone. The Downie residence was the only one where the Hips gold record was nowhere to be seen; the elder Downies couldnt remember the name of his high-school punk band. Thank you for all the help and support over the past two years. 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. Downie never sought to be iconic. [6] In an interview with Canadian music journalist Steve Newton, Downie noted that the Tragically Hip's early setlist was originally drawn to bands such as The Yardbirds and The Stones, a decision that was made because the Hip wished other Kingston bar bands would also play the genre. "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. 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. "This is not to take away from anything he did on that farewell tour with the [Tragically] Hip, but this is what he really wanted to see to the end. His godfather was future Boston Bruins coach and general manager Harry Sinden, and Downie enjoyed the national pastime as both a die-hard Bruins fan and a goalie who took his B-level team to a provincial championship. Gord played goalie for Amherstviews hockey team, which won a provincial B-level championship. In the middle of the set, Downie made a plea for reconciliation with Canadas Indigenous peoples, calling out the Prime Minister by name. A month later, Downie launched his Secret Path project. [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. 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. The interview with Patrick and MikeDowniefromThe National, CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices. Meanwhile, the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund was started to "start a new relationship with Indigenous Peoples.". 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. [61] The CBC news broadcast, The National, spent 40 of its sixty-minute broadcast discussing Gord and The Hip. Downie died on October 17, 2017 at the age of 53. Last night, Gord quietly passed away with his beloved children and family close by, his familywrote in a statement. At home, he worked just as tirelessly at being a good father, son, brother, husband and friend. 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. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. 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. That's really compelling to me." In 2018, two recordings by Downie, "The East Wind" and "At the Quinte Hotel", were released on the compilation album The Al Purdy Songbook. 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. [36], Downie toured with the band in summer 2016 to support Man Machine Poem, the band's 13th studio album. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. [18] This marked his last public appearance before his death. "[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. Canadian rock legend Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip died at the age of 53 from brain cancer. 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." On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Those tender offerings touched his heart and he takes them with him now as he walks among the stars.. At home, he worked just as tirelessly at being a good father, son, brother, husband and friend. 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. Downieattended Kingston Collegiate Vocational Institute, a school that has also graduated the likes of John A. Macdonald, Robertson Davies, and Don Cherry. 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. [21] He was also a part of the Swim Drink Fish Music club, a project that unites artists and environmentalists in a music club to raise money for Waterkeeper organizations in Canada. Canadian Icon Gordon "Gord" Edgar Downie February 6th, 1964 - October 17th, 2017 We lost a true Canadian icon, talented poet and musician. Canadian rock legend Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip died at the age of 53 from brain cancer. [77], In August, Downie's Twitter account was reactivated, and began posting a series of teaser photographs of handwritten song lyrics, accompanied by numbers that appeared to be a calendar countdown to the date of October 15. He saved a special energy for Kingston, playing a near three-hour set that was at once jubilant, raucous and heart-wrenching. 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. Gord Downie, the lead singer for the beloved Canadian alt-rock bandthe Tragically Hip, died Tuesday at the age of 53. When he finished, Gord Downie left an eternal flame. Following the release of Man Machine Poem and the Tragically Hips final concert, Downie continued to work. The Tragically Hip's Gord Downie talks about the need to practice writing, in this interview from October 1989. Pseudonyms will no longer be permitted. "You find it oddly strangely comforting that no matter how old you get, when it comes to matters of the heart, you're always 15 inside. Visitors walk the deserted streets of a town that once had a population between 7,000 and 8,000 people. A Kingston hospital diagnosed the 52-year-old singer with primary glioblastoma, an aggressive and terminal brain cancer. Those were the private reasons. Their most recent album, Man Machine Poem, hit No. Tragically Hip lead singer Gord Downie performs with band members Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair, Johnny Fay and Rob Baker at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre to kick off the bands latest Man Machine Poem tour in light of Downies brain cancer diagnosis, in Victoria, B.C., Canada July 22, 2016. My name is Maurice Duplessis, as he did on the stage of Vancouvers Thunderbird Stadium on Canada Day, 1992. At home, he worked just as tirelessly at being a good father, son, brother, husband and friend. 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. He died of hunger and exhaustion trying to walk 600 kilometres home to the family he was taken from. A childrens choir sang The Stranger, the opening track from Secret Path. 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. 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. No one worked harder on every part of their life than Gord. Downie passed away on the night of Tuesday, Oct. 17, with his children and family by his side, according to a statement released by the band. He says that watching it stirs a mixture of sadness and pride. [6] In 1986, Manning left the band as guitarist-vocalist Paul Langlois joined. Last night Gord quietly passed away with his beloved children and family close by. Downies on-stage improvisations were a principal part of the bands appeal from day one, though he was not yet a lyricist. 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. The Idol: How HBOs Next Euphoria Became Twisted Torture Porn. "Rock 'n' roll is not unlike love," he told music writer Michael Barclay in 2000. ET. He eventually joined a band that did punk covers, and was in a group called the Filters. And all you hear are the rusty breezes pushing around weathervane Jesus. [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 certainly took ahold of Gord, I think, because it's just so simple a boy trying to get home. He listened to everything he could in his older sister's 45 collection, and used his allowance to buy records. I think that everyman quality matters.. But music was his first love. They picked up their first Juno award Most Promising Group of the Year in 1990. Downie had an aggressive and incurable form of brain cancer called glioblastoma, which he discovered after a seizure in December 2015. I wouldnt say its given me a stigma, but its something thats always stayed with me, not actually being from Kingston. His outsider status became part of his public identity: the poet in the bar band; the rock star slumming it with indie kids whilecozying up to intelligentsia; the artist with a commercially successful cushion who thrived on continuing to challenge himself with new collaborators and varied disciplines like dance, painting, and acting. 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. He loved every hidden corner, every story, every aspect of this country that he celebrated his whole life. It's not very pleasant, but don't look away,' you know? [15] Gord Downie Memorial site? On February 2, 2017, Downie joined Blue Rodeo onstage at Massey Hall for a performance of Blue Rodeo's song "Lost Together". 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. What followed once the show hit the road, though, was a public outpouring that few could have predicted: a year of Downie transforming from an aging rock star to tragic hero. "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. [29], In May 2016, Downie and his bandmates received honorary degrees from Queen's University. The Tragically Hip announced his diagnosis on their website on May 24, 2016. Downie said growing up on the shores of Lake Ontario had an impact on the way he viewed the environment, which led him to support the Lake Ontario Waterkeeper as a board member and to pay for renewable energy at his Toronto home. "Gord and I, we knew so little about residential schools," Mike says. That's who influenced me as a poet.". His words and lyrics spoke to everyone, coast to coast and across the miles. "I really didn't know anything about them, to my shame. He stoked the fire until sparks came out. It was brave . 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. " Rosa Hwang (@journorosa) October 18, 2017. Then came May 24, 2016, when the band announced Downie's diagnosis of terminal brain cancer. Where some go to get lost. [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. Downie formed the Tragically Hip in 1984 alongside childhood friends Bobby Baker, Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair and Johnny Fay. 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. Gordon Downie (known widely as Gord Downie) was born in Amherstview, Ontario, and raised in Kingston, Ontario, along with his brothers Mike and Patrick, and sisters Charlyn and Paula. The final concert, in Kingston on Aug. 20,2016 was broadcast byCBC. Chanie Wenjack, a 12-year-old Anishinaabe boy, ran away from a residential school in northern Ontario 52 years ago. Last night Gord quietly passed away with his beloved children and family close by. 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. 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. 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. Its focus is on youth learning and combining Cree education with the contemporary world. As their popularity in Canada grew, the Tragically Hip seemed primed to cross over in America, especially during alternative rocks Nineties heyday. 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. Editors picks Avril?". He released his second solo album, Battle of the Nudes, in 2003 before returning to the studio with the Tragically Hip. Gord Downie is the late lead singer and songwriter of rock giants The Tragically Hip.
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