Also, a series of music videos for all the songs on the album were created by Canadian artists and released on YouTube. Editors picks 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. "I think he really tried to put himself in those shoes and imagine what that was like," Mike says. [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. Nonetheless, someone piped up. Downie formed the Tragically Hip in 1984 alongside childhood friends Bobby Baker, Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair and Johnny Fay. " Rosa Hwang (@journorosa) October 18, 2017. 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. 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. Finding the Secret Path premieres . No one. To testify one more time. [53], Downie was the godson of Harry Sinden, a former hockey coach, general manager and president of the Boston Bruins. It was a moment that helped Gord finally get at something that had been nagging at him for years. 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. The album was scheduled for release on October 27th. He loved every hidden corner, every story, every aspect of this country that he celebrated his whole life. He was the poet who once asked, When are you thinking of disappearing? He saved a special energy for Kingston, playing a near three-hour set that was at once jubilant, raucous and heart-wrenching. Last year, he releaseda solo project, Secret Path, and announced the 23-track double-LP, Introduce Yerself last month. The album consists of ten songs. Related Interiors remain as they were left and in some cases stocked with goods. [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. Gord was the fourth of five children: older siblings Mike, Charlyn and Paula, and younger brother Patrick. 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. Last night Gord quietly passed away with his beloved children and family close by. lang and Neil Young, rapper Drake, and the rock group Rush, remembered Downie on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. [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". And their support hasn't gone. In the space of a month, he transformed the half-century-old tale of Chanie Wenjacka 12-year-old boy who froze to death running away from residential school in 1966into a current concern. It would turn out to be the last show of his bands 30-year, multi-million-selling, award-winning career, a fate many suspected at the time. When he spoke, he gave us goosebumps and made us proud to be Canadian. [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 called concert touring "grunt work," and talked about building the fan base one person at a time. A guerrilla act of love to show the rest of the country what strength and artistry, grace and humour the Cree possess." To play live, he formed a band featuring members of the Odds, the Rheostatics, Erics Trip, Dinner is Ruined, and the Skydiggers. He saw it as something that I think made sense to him as his life was coming to an end.". 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.". 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". [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. The Tragically Hip, photographed in New York in February 1992. Downies on-stage improvisations were a principal part of the bands appeal from day one, though he was not yet a lyricist. Gord Downie Memorial site? I think thats all part of what appeals to Canadian fans. [4][5] In Kingston, Downie attended the downtown high school Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute, where other members of the Tragically Hip also attended. ~ 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 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 band also earned 16 Juno Awards the most ever for a band and the fourth-most ever for an artist picking up their last two in April for Group of the Year and Rock Album of the Year for Man Machine Poem. He usually started with a "Hello," and often ended with a variation on "Good night, music lovers," but what would happen in between was anyone's guess. 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 was on a fishing trip. "In many ways, Mike is in the trenches, and I think that's really helped him cope with the pain. 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. 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. [citation needed]. 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." Downie was born in Kingston and grew up in nearby Amherstview playing hockey and music. 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.". She's trying to come to terms with the fact that, after decades of neglect, her brother's story is getting a national audience. 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. He delivered frenetic dance moves or stream-of-consciousness rants in ways that suggested he was channelling the music. Comments are welcome while open. Updated at 11:10 a.m. Gord, I always wanted to ask you: how do you get the energy to make it so real every day? "For Gord, his way of experiencing the world is to write about it. Pseudonyms will no longer be permitted. It's there all the time, tuned in to Fox News. He listened to everything he could in his older sister's 45 collection, and used his allowance to buy records. Sit down. to catch the first shows of the tour, just in case he didnt make it home. "Then for him to say, 'Look at this, this is our country too. All the while, he was writing and recording: with the Hip, keyboardist Kevin Hearn, avant-garde noisemakers Dinner is Ruined, and separate projects with producers Kevin Drew and Bob Rock. Chanie Wenjack, a 12-year-old Anishinaabe boy, ran away from a residential school in northern Ontario 52 years ago. St. Joseph Communications uses cookies for personalization, to customize its online advertisements, and for other purposes. In the remote north, in a land where the many not born there dare not go. A documentary film, Long Time Running, about the Tragically Hip's summer 2016 cross-Canada farewell concert tour, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2017. Thats whats missing as we celebrate doughnuts and hockey. 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. The statement was released via the band's official Twitter. Post navigation [66] Most rock radio stations dropped regular programming to shift to an all-Tragically Hip format for the day,[67][68] and some further announced that they would continue the all-Hip format through the weekend until the morning of 23 October. If the Tragically Hip frontman had to check out early as he did on Tuesday at 53 years of . In 2005, the band was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. 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. 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. Meanwhile, the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund was started to "start a new relationship with Indigenous Peoples.". Gord Downie passed away a year ago on October 17, 2017. . "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. [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. Where some get lost. 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. 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). [8] Originally, the band covered popular British rock songs from the 1960s. 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. 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. It would be the last time. 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. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. They're writing all the music and I'm writing all the lyrics and we're coming up with some neat stuff. 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. To the best of my internet sleuthing, I was unable to find anything online directing me to the most appropriate place to do . Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. No one., Downie was diagnosed with brain cancer in December 2015, but didnt reveal his disease publicly until May 2016. ", Audience Relations, CBC P.O. Lemire created a graphic novel inspired by Downie's songs, and its images were used to create the film. [71], CBC Radio preempted some of its regular programming in favour of a Downie tribute special hosted by Rich Terfry;[72] although news of Downie's death broke just 20 minutes before airtime, CBC Radio One's entertainment magazine show Q dropped its planned lineup in favour of a live Downie tribute special. "That there wasn't a whole country, you know, we hadn't figured out what that missing piece was. 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. 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. In 2014, Downie released an album with the Sadies called And the Conquering Sun. [60], Downie was widely mourned in Canada. 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. As a musician, he lived the life for over 30 years, lucky to do most of it with his high school buddies. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. Even the most cursory walk through his discography showed a man wrestling with notions of mortality in his work for years. 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. 'Just seeing all those unguarded, real moments with Gord, that always just, that always gets me.'. Our identity and culture are richer because of his music, which was always raw and honest like Gord himself. when she met a 23-year-old Downie, who was just getting started with the Hip, playing mostly university gigs.. [23] The venue was small and not typical of the band. "For me, it's not as easy. I think that everyman quality matters.. I think I take my nanas approach," he once admitted. The band even has its own postage stamp and a street named after it, Tragically Hip Way, in Kingston, Ont. That includes Downies specifically Canadian references, which were all but alien on radio playlists then (or now). He eventually joined a band that did punk covers, and was in a group called the Filters. As with the blanket ceremony, the emotion and pride on his face was palpable. 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. [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. The Tragically Hip announced his diagnosis on their website on May 24, 2016. Yeah, no more ads! "The first time we heard him open his mouth, we just went, holy shit. He painted landscapes with his words, elevating Canadian geography, historical figures, and myths, Trudeau said on Wednesday. [42] At the 7th Canadian Screen Awards in 2019, two additional awards were won by Gord Downie's Secret Path in Concert, the CBC Television broadcast of Downie's 2016 Roy Thomson Hall performance of the album. David Lindley, Multi-Instrumentalist Who Shaped the Sound of Soft Rock, Dead at 78 It's the . Our music is entirely different. Thats what even newcomers discovered during the CBC broadcast of the Tragically Hips final show on Aug. 20, 2016, six months after Downie was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Canadian rock legend Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip died at the age of 53 from brain cancer. When you have five children, its hard to remember all the details, said Edgar. The cause was terminal brain cancer. Audience Relations, CBC P.O. Thank you for all the help and support over the past two years. Canadian Icon Gordon "Gord" Edgar Downie February 6th, 1964 - October 17th, 2017 We lost a true Canadian icon, talented poet and musician. 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. [51] They were not divorced at the time of Downie's death and had remained close friends. Then came Downie's diagnosis, which created a wave of nostalgia and celebration even as people prepared for his passing. Gord played goalie for Amherstviews hockey team, which won a provincial B-level championship. Gordon Downie was born in Amherstview, Ontario, and raised in Kingston, Ontario, along with his brothers Mike and Patrick, and sisters Charlyn and Paula. 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. When search suggestions are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Downie was not able to attend the ceremony due to his illness which had not yet been made public. But music was his first love. And for him that missing piece became very obvious. [38], In September 2016, Downie announced he would release a new solo album, Secret Path in October.