Gord Downie - Canadian History Ehx All Rights reserved. When he spoke, he gave us goosebumps and made us proud to be Canadian. The cause was terminal brain cancer. Edgar died in November 2015. Even the most cursory walk through his discography showed a man wrestling with notions of mortality in his work for years. Gord Downie, frontman of the Canadian rock band Tragically Hip, has died, his family said in a statement Wednesday. At Queen's University, Downie's alma mater, flags were lowered to half-mast following news of his death. In a tribute to Downie at the Juno Awards ceremony, Sarah Harmer, Dallas Green and Kevin Hearn performed a medley of the album's title track with the Tragically Hip song "Bobcaygeon". Lets celebrate our next 150 years.. Gord Downie: In my mind, there's always a TV flickering away in the corner of every song. 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. The Hip, as they're often called, won 16 Juno awards (the most of any band) and received a raft of other honours, including the Order of Canada. 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). Gord said he had lived many lives. Days earlier, this quiet man had held much of the entire nation rapt, millions watching as he summoned all his strength to tackle his terminal condition, to fend backhowever brieflythe inevitability of death. To encourage thoughtful and respectful conversations, first and last names will appear with each submission to CBC/Radio-Canada's online communities (except in children and youth-oriented communities). "Ahead by a Century" was the single most-played song on Canadian radio on the day Downie's death was announced. Do the work. when she met a 23-year-old Downie, who was just getting started with the Hip, playing mostly university gigs.. Clockwise from left: Gord Downie, guitarist Gord Sinclair, guitarist Rob Baker, bassist Paul Langlois and drummer Johnny Fay. On the evening of October 17th, 2017, Downie passed away at the age of 53. 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. To testify one more time. Canadian rock legend Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip died at the age of 53 from brain cancer. The Tragically Hip, photographed in New York in February 1992. Visitors walk the deserted streets of a town that once had a population between 7,000 and 8,000 people. He died on October 17, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario. He was married to Laura Leigh Usher. Yeah, no more ads! 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. 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. [79] The album is co-written with Josh Finlayson, a frequent collaborator, and is accompanied with an acoustic version of all the produced tracks. He was a board member of Lake Ontario Waterkeeper. [7], On December22, 2016, Downie was selected as The Canadian Press's Canadian Newsmaker of the Year and was the first entertainer selected for the title. Gord Downie passed away a year ago on October 17, 2017. . I think thats all part of what appeals to Canadian fans. The people Ive met, theyre so beautiful.. 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. Theyre five Canadian guys who go up on stage and they look like their audience. Everyone was prepared for the funeral at any moment. As a musician, he lived "the life" for over 30 years, lucky to do most of it with his high school buddies. Thank you for all the help and support over the past two years. Poetry and pop music are not strangers, of course: just ask the committee who granted Bob Dylan the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature. Now, one year later, Gord's brothers take us through his final year full of passion and emotion, and share what it was like to be right by his side the entire way. 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. "The first time we heard him open his mouth, we just went, holy shit. ~ 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 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. " [Gord] is the right person to tell the story," she says, "because the Creator chose him. Nickelback? 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. They picked up their first Juno award Most Promising Group of the Year in 1990. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and popular artists in Canadian music history.[2]. "His big heart served him well," Patrick Downie said of his brother Gord. In his last year, while living with his own tragic story, Gord Downie was consumed by another. 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. Gord said he had lived many lives, they added. 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. The Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund is a registered charity. 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. [9], Downie began pursuing a solo career with the release of Coke Machine Glow in 2001. See where those sparks land. He painted landscapes with his words, elevating Canadian geography, historical figures, and myths, Trudeau said on Wednesday. The album consists of ten songs. 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 Icon Gordon "Gord" Edgar Downie February 6th, 1964 - October 17th, 2017 We lost a true Canadian icon, talented poet and musician. "It takes ahold of you. Gord Downie, singer of The Tragically Hip, died of complications from brain cancer Tuesday night at the age of 53. And all you hear are the rusty breezes pushing around weathervane Jesus. 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. 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. But things were much quieter now. 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. 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. He rarely granted interviews, and generally eschewed red-carpet jaunts for events like the Juno Awards. Clockwise from left: Gord Downie, guitarist Gord Sinclair, guitarist Rob Baker, bassist Paul Langlois and drummer Johnny Fay. Their self-titled debut EP arrived in 1987 while their first LP, Up to Here, followed in 1989. Canadian rock legend diagnosed with brain cancer in 2015. Interiors remain as they were left and in some cases stocked with goods. As their popularity in Canada grew, the Tragically Hip seemed primed to cross over in America, especially during alternative rocks Nineties heyday. Pseudonyms will no longer be permitted. Our identity and culture are richer because of his music, which was always raw and honest like Gord himself. Why a dying Gord Downie struggled to reveal 'The Secret Path' to Canadians | CBC News Loaded. The claims are located in Okanogan County, in Section 3, Township 35 N., Range 31 E. The state lease encompasses the south half of the northeast quarter and the east half of the southeast quarter and the Lots 5 and . No one worked harder on every part of their life than Gord. lang and Neil Young, rapper Drake, and the rock group Rush, remembered Downie on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. His family released the following statement: Last night Gord quietly passed away with his beloved children and family. And it seems like you get up there every single time and give it!. [6] In 1986, Manning left the band as guitarist-vocalist Paul Langlois joined. The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time 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. [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. "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. Everyone whose family has ever been cursed with cancer projected stories onto the tale of a man who chose to stare down a terminal diagnosis and take the show on the road. 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. Gord Downie was born on February 6, 1964 in Amherstview, Ontario, Canada. Downieattended Kingston Collegiate Vocational Institute, a school that has also graduated the likes of John A. Macdonald, Robertson Davies, and Don Cherry. 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. 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. More recently, he and other members of the band appeared in the episode of Trailer Park Boys entitled "Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys", in which he is harassed while eating a bologna sandwich at a singles dance. Downies political awareness had been tweaked in 1993, when the Hip invited Midnight Oil on a summer Canadian tour; that bands singer, Peter Garrett, was an outspoken activist who would later serve as Australias environment minister. [40], At the 6th Canadian Screen Awards in 2018, Downie posthumously won two Canadian Screen Awards for the television version of Secret Path. The rest of the Tragically Hip were scions of the Kingston elitesons of doctors, deans, judges and popular teachers. I came from a rural area, he once recalled. (He wasnt nominated at that years inaugural Griffin Prize for Poetry, but he did perform at the gala.) 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. The Bodie Group is composed of five patented claims and 224.45 acres under mineral prospecting lease from the State of Washington. I am planning a trip to Kingston, Ontario in the next few days and was hoping to find a site to pay my respects to Gord. In the remote north, in a land where the many not born there dare not go. The last 150 years arent as much worth celebrating as we think, Downie said. Gord Downie's Family Plots Public Memorial | Exclaim! "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. It's not very pleasant, but don't look away,' you know? 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. "It certainly took ahold of Gord, I think, because it's just so simple a boy trying to get home. [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. Throughout his career, Downie seemed unfiltered on stage. At the end of their set that night, the whole place stood up and clapped and it was undeniable if you were in the room that night that this was something special.". It's the . [23] The venue was small and not typical of the band. [8] Originally, the band covered popular British rock songs from the 1960s. At home, he worked just as tirelessly at being a good father, son, brother, husband and friend. 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. Nonetheless, someone piped up. It was brave . [38], In September 2016, Downie announced he would release a new solo album, Secret Path in October. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. 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. 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. I know an 85-year-old with boy trouble. With seven solo albums to his name, Downie's own music refutes definition, renowned for its adventurous poetry . The Tragically Hip announced his diagnosis on their website on May 24, 2016. Gord Downie's not-so-Secret Path to truth and reconciliation Everything about itthe music, the film, the band, his performancemakes you want to pay attention By Michael Barclay October 22,. Gordon R Downie (1899-1943) - Find a Grave Memorial 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. [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". [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: (Singing) Sundown in the Paris of the prairie, wheat kings have all their treasures buried. 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. [51] They were not divorced at the time of Downie's death and had remained close friends. 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. The group said they were "humbled" with the award. To the best of my internet sleuthing, I was unable to find anything online directing me to the most appropriate place to do . "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. 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. Audience Relations, CBC P.O. Last night Gord quietly passed away with his beloved children and family close by. He was also a dedicated activist, focusing on environmental issues and the disenfranchisement of Canadas indigenous community. He saw it as something that I think made sense to him as his life was coming to an end.". Downie died Tuesday after a battle with brain cancer. [20] With Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, Downie helped work on a cause to prevent a cement company from burning tires for fuel. The interview with Patrick and MikeDowniefromThe National, CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices. [citation needed], Downie died of glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, on October 17, 2017, at the age of 53 in Toronto. In losing Gord Downie, we lose the Tragically Hip, and so - The Star Please note that CBC does not endorse the opinions expressed in comments. The statement was released via the band's official Twitter. Our music is entirely different. 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. Gord was the fourth of five children . Fifty Mission Cap,for instance, recounts the story of Toronto Maple Leafs hero Bill Barilko, who died in a plane crash months after winning the Stanley Cup. [25] Chanie Wenjack was a young indigenous boy who died trying to escape a residential school,[27] who became the centre of Downie's Secret Path project. 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. 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.". Its kinda what I do. He was the man who once wrote a song for his late grandmothera song he sang several nights on stage in the summer of 2016that said, You were far more unifying than you know.. 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. Downie had cameo appearances in Men with Brooms, in which the Tragically Hip play a curling team. [14] 'Just seeing all those unguarded, real moments with Gord, that always just, that always gets me.'. It shouldnt have surprised us. [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". 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. He was the poet who once asked, When are you thinking of disappearing? During his final months, Downie chose to say goodbye in his own unique wayand he let fans bid the beloved band farewell, too. Then came May 24, 2016, when the band announced Downie's diagnosis of terminal brain cancer. Downie was also featured in the sitcom Corner Gas in the episode "Rock On!" In the middle of the set, Downie made a plea for reconciliation with Canadas Indigenous peoples, calling out the Prime Minister by name. Then sit back and see what happens, because its not like you can control it. [citation needed]. 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. He was the son of Lorna (Neal) and Edgar Charles Downie, a travelling salesman, later a real estate broker and developer. Tom Sizemore, Heat and Saving Private Ryan Actor, Dead at 61 He was 53. 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. [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] [39] The album was accompanied by a graphic novel on which he collaborated with Jeff Lemire,[39] and an animated television film which aired on CBC Television. 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. Downie had an aggressive and incurable form of brain cancer called glioblastoma, which he discovered after a seizure in December 2015. Several prominent Canadians, including actors Ryan Reynolds and Seth Rogen, Toronto mayor John Tory, singers k.d. [10] My name is Maurice Duplessis, as he did on the stage of Vancouvers Thunderbird Stadium on Canada Day, 1992. We would like to thank all the kind folks at KGH and Sunnybrook, Gord's bandmates, management team, friends and fans. Sit down. He died of hunger and exhaustion trying to walk 600 kilometres home to the family he was taken from. 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. In 2013, the band was featured on a set of postage stampsand in July, they received the Order of Canada, one of the countrys highest honors. Then came Downie's diagnosis, which created a wave of nostalgia and celebration even as people prepared for his passing. Gord Downie of Tragically Hip dies at 53 | CNN 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. he asked an interviewer from the Toronto Sun. (THE CANADIAN PRESS) Gord Downie, the Tragically Hip frontman who united a diverse array of music lovers with his commanding stage. Downie died of glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, on October 17, 2017, at the age of 53 in Toronto. [32], In December 2017, Percy Hatfield, the Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) representing WindsorTecumseh introduced the bill Poet Laureate of Ontario Act In Memory of Gord Downie to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Related Gord was my friend, but Gord was everyone's friend, it's who we were, our buddy Gord, who loved this country with everything he had." "He loved every hidden corner, every story, every aspect of this country that he celebrated his whole life." "We are less as a country without Gord Downie in it."