Gordon Edgar Downie CM (February 6, 1964 October 17, 2017) was a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, musician, writer and activist. [19], Downie was heavily involved in environmental movements, especially issues concerning water rights. 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. He took it in stride: if part of his poetrys appeal was that he rarely telegraphed direct meaning, he had to accept the fact that fans were going to read whatever they wanted into what he said. Last year, he releaseda solo project, Secret Path, and announced the 23-track double-LP, Introduce Yerself last month. "For Gord, his way of experiencing the world is to write about it. 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. Word of mouth about the band spread throughout Kingston and eventually to Toronto. His death was announced in a statement from his family . 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. Meanwhile, the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund was started to "start a new relationship with Indigenous Peoples.". It was a moment that helped Gord finally get at something that had been nagging at him for years. 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). 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. [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]. His later solo records, including a rollicking, punkish 2014 album recorded with the Sadies, were remarkably conventional compared to Coke Machine Glow. 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. Usher was a 20-year-old student at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont. Their self-titled debut EP arrived in 1987 while their first LP, Up to Here, followed in 1989. Yeah, no more ads! [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. GORD DOWNIE: (Singing) Sundown in the Paris of the prairie, wheat kings have all their treasures buried. 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. 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. At home, he worked just as tirelessly at being a good father, son, brother, husband and friend. Those tender offerings touched his heart and he takes them with him now as he walks among the stars.. [9], Downie began pursuing a solo career with the release of Coke Machine Glow in 2001. When you hear the songs, clearly it was affecting him. Gord played goalie for Amherstviews hockey team, which won a provincial B-level championship. His family announced the news in a statement published on the Canadian band's . There was no left turn in Downies career greater than his first solo album, 2001s Coke Machine Glow, compiled of songs his Hip bandmates had rejected and works culled from an accompanying book of poetry by the same namewhich set sales records in a corner of the publishing industry where 10,000 copies might as well be 100,000. ~ 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 also performed a few live shows to support the album, with supporting musicians Kevin Drew, Charles Spearin, Dave Hamelin, Kevin Hearn and Josh Finlayson. Finding the Secret Path premieres . It's the . [25][26] The fund is a part of Downie's legacy and commitment to Canada's First Peoples. 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. If anything, the Hip's lack of success in the U.S. has only made Canadians more protective of them. 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. Michael Barclay is the co-author of Have Not Been the Same, and the author ofThe Never-Ending Present: The Story of Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip. Downie had an aggressive and incurable form of brain cancer called glioblastoma, which he discovered after a seizure in December 2015. Gords command of language was profound. [8] Originally, the band covered popular British rock songs from the 1960s. Downie recorded the latter album, produced by Drew, across two four-day sessions in January 2016 and February 2017, with much of the final product assembled from first takes. A Kingston hospital diagnosed the 52-year-old singer with primary glioblastoma, an aggressive and terminal brain cancer. 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. Roy Tee/Hollandse Hoogte/Redux Gord Downie, the lead singer for the beloved Canadian alt-rock. "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. But he did, at the final Tragically Hip show at the K-Rock Centre in Kingston on Aug. 20broadcast live on the CBC to an estimated 11.7 million viewers, with 20,000 people from across the continent assembled in Kingstons Springer Market Square to celebrate. Tragically Hip's Gord Downie dead at 53 | CBC News Loaded. In his last year, while living with his own tragic story, Gord Downie was consumed by another. Lets not celebrate the last 150 years, Downie told a Toronto audience last October. Both it and Battle of the Nudes are credited as Gord Downie and the Country of Miracles. It was brave . 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. He also called Downie "the greatest frontman this country has ever produced.". As with the blanket ceremony, the emotion and pride on his face was palpable. Record sales and radio play declined, though never precipitously enough to render the band irrelevant. Imagine if they were part of us and we them, how incredibly cool it would make us? That song also features a line that sums up the way Gord Downie and his teenage friends built their career from the outset of its ascendancy: Sometimes the faster it gets, the less you need to know / but you gotta remember, the smarter it gets, the further its going to go.. We would like to thank all the kind folks at KGH and Sunnybrook, Gord's bandmates, management team, friends and fans. 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. 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. And I'd hate for that to go away, especially with something that's so important, was so important to him. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time To play live, he formed a band featuring members of the Odds, the Rheostatics, Erics Trip, Dinner is Ruined, and the Skydiggers. Downie formed the Tragically Hip in 1984 alongside childhood friends Bobby Baker, Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair and Johnny Fay. In front of an intimate crowd of 6,700 inside Kingston's K-Rock Centre, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Downie thanked the audience "for keeping me pushing" and used the opportunity to call for action on Indigenous issues. "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. 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. The Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund is a registered charity. However, the band never quite took. "In many ways, Mike is in the trenches, and I think that's really helped him cope with the pain. Canadians learned of Downie's illness on May 24 last year the same day the rest of the rock group,Paul Langlois, Rob Baker, Gord Sinclair and Johnny Fay,announced that the Kingston, Ont.-based band would head out on a final summer tour "for Gord, and for all of us.". 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. Colin James is also featured in the episode. 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 . he asked an interviewer from the Toronto Sun. "The first time we heard him open his mouth, we just went, holy shit. Downies lyrics were often packed with references to Canadian totems and history, though he approached both with an appreciation for lore and a cautionary eye towards reality. 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. 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. 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. The band even has its own postage stamp and a street named after it, Tragically Hip Way, in Kingston, Ont. The Secret Path began as 10 poems that Gord Downie wrote as he grappled with Chanie's story. [40], At the 6th Canadian Screen Awards in 2018, Downie posthumously won two Canadian Screen Awards for the television version of Secret Path. During their live shows, Downie would notably ad-lib lengthy stories in the middle of songs. [36], Downie toured with the band in summer 2016 to support Man Machine Poem, the band's 13th studio album. Over the course of his career, Downie released three other musically adventurous solo albums, a collaboration with Toronto roots-rock band the Sadies, and a book of poetry. 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. 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. [79] The album is co-written with Josh Finlayson, a frequent collaborator, and is accompanied with an acoustic version of all the produced tracks. Downie was born Feb. 6, 1964, to parents Edgar Charles and Lorna Downie and grew up in Amherstview, Ont., just outside Kingston. Downie had cameo appearances in Men with Brooms, in which the Tragically Hip play a curling team. And for him that missing piece became very obvious. The 100 Best Albums of 2022, Speaking with The New York Times around the bands final show, Broken Social Scenes Kevin Drew summed up the Tragically Hips influence: Were a country that hasnt really embraced its history just yet. His words and lyrics spoke to everyone, coast to coast and across the miles. [73], In the wake of Downie's death, CTV rescheduled the planned broadcast premiere of Long Time Running, a documentary film by Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier about the Man Machine Poem Tour of 2016, from November 12 to October 20. He died on October 17, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario. The Tragically Hip, photographed in New York in February 1992. Bellegarde also bestowed on Downie an honorary aboriginal name, Wicapi Omani, which is Lakota for "man who walks among the stars". [14] And all you hear are the rusty breezes pushing around weathervane Jesus. Create the spark. Brad Wheeler tells his. His family released the following statement: Last night Gord quietly passed away with his beloved children and family. A man that was so proud of his children and his family. when she met a 23-year-old Downie, who was just getting started with the Hip, playing mostly university gigs.. [29], In May 2016, Downie and his bandmates received honorary degrees from Queen's University. 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.
Floating Breakfast Tulum,
Police Incident Astley,
What Is A Bramble Golf Format?,
Articles W
