They picked up their first Juno award Most Promising Group of the Year in 1990. I don't pretend to understand it; it feels confusing and frightening and wonderful.". "His main focus was the release of Secret Path," says Gord's brother, Patrick Downie. [14] [61] The CBC news broadcast, The National, spent 40 of its sixty-minute broadcast discussing Gord and The Hip. Tom Sizemore, Heat and Saving Private Ryan Actor, Dead at 61 Their most recent album, Man Machine Poem, hit No. Now that he's gone, "letting go" is something that Gord Downie's brothers are also struggling with. Downie had cameo appearances in Men with Brooms, in which the Tragically Hip play a curling team. He was the singer and lyricist for the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, which he fronted from its formation in 1984 until his death in 2017. [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. [13], In addition to his solo works, Downie collaborated with several fellow Canadian and international artists. When you have five children, its hard to remember all the details, said Edgar. [57] Later in the day, he held a press conference at Parliament Hill at which he tearfully remembered Downie as "Our buddy Gord, who loved this country with everything he hadand not just loved it in a nebulous, 'Oh, I love Canada' way. 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. Last night Gord quietly passed away with his beloved children and family close by. [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. At home, he worked just as tirelessly at being a good father, son, brother, husband and friend. 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. But the bands greatest accomplishment may be transcending their status as a key Canadian cultural touchstone to an integral part of the countrys identity. Its telling, though, that the album on which he makes the most Canadian referencesthe album on which one song starts with an actual loon callis also their most commercially successful: 1992s Fully Completely. Downie was married to Laura Leigh Usher,[48] herself a breast cancer survivor. 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. In his last public appearance, Downie appeared at a WE Day event as part of Canada150 in Ottawa on July 2, once again calling on Canadian youth to reckon with the legacy of residential schools. 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 Tragically Hip Perform On TV For First Time Since Gord Downie's [76] A different recording of "The East Wind" appeared on The Grand Bounce, and "At the Quinte Hotel" was previously released in video form, but never in an audio recording. Gord Downie, troubadour of Canada, charmed and challenged a nation Your father is now buried. [79] The album is co-written with Josh Finlayson, a frequent collaborator, and is accompanied with an acoustic version of all the produced tracks. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6. Over and over and over and over again., Thank you everyone for all the respect, admiration and love you have given Gord throughout the years, his family wrote following his death. Canadian radio stations responded heavily to Downie's death, with early figures indicating the band's radio airplay on October 18 increased 1,500 percent compared to a normal day. No one., Downie was diagnosed with brain cancer in December 2015, but didnt reveal his disease publicly until May 2016. Gord Downie | Obituary | Sharing Memories - Arbor Memorial She's trying to come to terms with the fact that, after decades of neglect, her brother's story is getting a national audience. when she met a 23-year-old Downie, who was just getting started with the Hip, playing mostly university gigs.. As original material slowly seeped its way into the set, it was the other Gord, Sinclair, who wrote most of the lyrics. [29], In May 2016, Downie and his bandmates received honorary degrees from Queen's University. "I think he really tried to put himself in those shoes and imagine what that was like," Mike says. When search suggestions are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. At the Assembly of First Nations in Gatineau, Quebec, on December 6, 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. And it seems like you get up there every single time and give it!. Gord said he had lived many lives, they added. [10] [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] 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. Gordon Edgar Downie CM (February 6, 1964 October 17, 2017) was a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, musician, writer and activist. It really was his biggest wish.". Downie was reluctant at first; he told the Toronto Star he felt like a dilettante. No one worked harder on every part of their life than Gord. 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 called concert touring "grunt work," and talked about building the fan base one person at a time. "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. Gord was the fourth of five children: older siblings Mike, Charlyn and Paula, and younger brother Patrick. Shut up until its time to do it again. I think I take my nanas approach," he once admitted. Upon hearing the news, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released a tribute statement on his official website. "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," the statement said. To the best of my internet sleuthing, I was unable to find anything online directing me to the most appropriate place to do . Earlier this fall, Downie announced he had been working on another solo album, Introduce Yerself. Downie died Tuesday after a battle with brain cancer. Why a dying Gord Downie struggled to reveal 'The Secret Path' to Canadians | CBC News Loaded. or somewhat similarly minded mainstream artists like John Mellencamp. The Tragically Hip, photographed in New York in February 1992. [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. 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 2008, Downie appeared as a guest vocalist on City and Colour's single "Sleeping Sickness". ", After his final appearances with the Tragically Hip, Downie released Secret Path, a multimedia project that tells the tragic tale of 12-year-old Chanie Wenjack, who died of exposure and hunger in 1966 after running away from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School in Kenora, Ont. We are not the country we think we are. 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. Gord Downie, frontman of the Canadian rock band Tragically Hip, has died, his family said in a statement Wednesday. And I'd hate for that to go away, especially with something that's so important, was so important to him. Remembering the life and legacy of Gord Downie (1964 - 2017) 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. [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. Months of craniotomies, chemo and radiation therapy followed. [69] Several stations, including CHEZ-FM in Ottawa, CFRQ-FM in Halifax,[67] CJRQ-FM in Sudbury,[69] CJQQ-FM in Timmins, CKEZ-FM in New Glasgow and CIKR-FM in the Tragically Hip's hometown of Kingston[70] dropped their regular names to temporarily rebrand themselves as "Gord FM". 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. This was all a red (and white) herring: There are likely as many American references as Canadian ones in Tragically Hip songs, and Downie never threw darts at a map of Canada for song ideas, nor did he seek to set Heritage Minutes to music. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6. In his last year, while living with his own tragic story, Gord Downie was consumed by another. When he spoke, he gave us goosebumps and made us proud to be Canadian. Outside his work with the band, Downie released five solo albums his first, Coke Machine Glow, arrived in 2001 and collaborated with an array of artists including Buck 65, Fucked Up, Dallas Green, Alexisonfire and the Sadies. The last 150 years arent as much worth celebrating as we think, Downie said. Gord Downie Memorial site? : r/TragicallyHip Near the end of the CBC special, Chanie Wenjack's sister, Pearl, talks to the camera as she looks out over the woods. to catch the first shows of the tour, just in case he didnt make it home. 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. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. 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. Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. 26 Gord Downie quotes that will inspire you | CBC Music [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. Gord Downie: In my mind, there's always a TV flickering away in the corner of every song. 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. "His big heart served him well," Patrick Downie said of his brother Gord. [15] "That there wasn't a whole country, you know, we hadn't figured out what that missing piece was. Canadian rock legend Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip died at the age of 53 from brain cancer. Canadian Icon Gordon "Gord" Edgar Downie February 6th, 1964 - October 17th, 2017 We lost a true Canadian icon, talented poet and musician. The band won its first Juno (Most Promising Group) on the strength of that album and solidified its hold on the Canadian music scene with the next three albums: 1991's Road Apples, 1992's Fully Completely and 1994's Day for Night, all of which went multi-platinum or diamond. To play live, he formed a band featuring members of the Odds, the Rheostatics, Erics Trip, Dinner is Ruined, and the Skydiggers. The emotional strength that Patrick and Mike have shown is inspiring, but they add that they're driven to keep their brother's legacy alive with projects like Finding the Secret Path because of what it means to others. He was transfixed by Chanie Wenjack, a 12-year-old Anishinaabe residential school student who died of hunger and exhaustion while trying to walk 600 km home to his family. It was a moment that helped Gord finally get at something that had been nagging at him for years. The Tragically Hip formed in 1983 at Queen's University, named after a sketch in former Monkees member Michael Nesmith's long-form music video "Elephant Parts," and were soon playing the Kingston bar scene. In the latter part of the decade, he pushed the band to record two albums with Bob Rockwho produced albums by the likes of Metallica and Michael Bubleand he helped broaden the bands sonic palette. Why a dying Gord Downie struggled to reveal 'The Secret Path' to - CBC The song "Goodnight Attawapiskat" from the album Now for Plan A was a result of this trip.[24]. 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 was 53. "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. 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. The band even has its own postage stamp and a street named after it, Tragically Hip Way, in Kingston, Ont. Bob Berg/Getty. Throughout his career, Downie seemed unfiltered on stage. His family announced the news in a statement published on the Canadian band's . Gord Downie, the lead singer of the Tragically Hip, died Tuesday night surrounded by his loved ones. Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip (Photo by Aven Hoffarth) One of the best things about Gord Downie was his thoughtfulness. "For me, it's not as easy. 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. "I think something like 'legacy' would be a word that Gord wouldn't be too comfortable with," Mike says. Gord Downie on Apple Music 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 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. It's there all the time, tuned in to Fox News. He rarely granted interviews, and generally eschewed red-carpet jaunts for events like the Juno Awards. Downie also appeared in Michael McGowan's 2008 film, One Week. 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. [11][12] With seven solo albums to his name, Downie's own music refutes definition, renowned for its adventurous poetry . 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. Gord Downie's legacy. ET. Last night, Gord quietly passed away with his beloved children and family close by, his familywrote in a statement. Mike says it was partly out of a sense of guilt, partly out of shame, but mainly because, like him, there were so many people in Canada that didn't know the dark history of residential schools. [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. Very quick question to anyone that might be able to answer it.. I see stuff and I ," Patrick says, taking a moment to collect himself before continuing his thought. "Ahead by a Century" was the single most-played song on Canadian radio on the day Downie's death was announced. 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. 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. Then came Downie's diagnosis, which created a wave of nostalgia and celebration even as people prepared for his passing. Trending Not a word. 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. Then he got up, silently, walked over to a pile of wood, picked up two logs, and returned to put them on the fire. 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. 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. [53], Downie was the godson of Harry Sinden, a former hockey coach, general manager and president of the Boston Bruins. The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time [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]. 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.". Gord Downie was born on February 6, 1964 in Amherstview, Ontario, Canada. The interview with Patrick and MikeDowniefromThe National, CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices. ~ 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 He told Globe and Mail writer Ian Brown he planned to build a cabin near Chanie Wenjacks relatives in northwestern Ontario, where he could spend his final days. Published Oct 20, 2017 Following Gord Downie 's passing on Tuesday (October 17), Canadians are still grieving the loss of their beloved Tragically Hip frontman. No one. Downie kept storytelling at the center of both records. In 2005, the band was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. 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). The 23-song double album is due out Oct. 27, 2017, and is expected to be released posthumously by the Canadian label Arts & Crafts. 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. On February 2, 2017, Downie joined Blue Rodeo onstage at Massey Hall for a performance of Blue Rodeo's song "Lost Together". [31], Downie, along with his Tragically Hip bandmates, was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada on June19, 2017, for "their contribution to Canadian music and for their support of various social and environmental causes". As the Tragically Hip's lead singer and lyricist, Downie was the face and voice of a band whose discography sold more than eight million copies. 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. 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. He eventually joined a band that did punk covers, and was in a group called the Filters. If the Tragically Hip frontman had to check out early as he did on Tuesday at 53 years of . He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and popular artists in Canadian music history.[2]. Several prominent Canadians, including actors Ryan Reynolds and Seth Rogen, Toronto mayor John Tory, singers k.d. Even the most cursory walk through his discography showed a man wrestling with notions of mortality in his work for years.
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