Though they were lumped together because of their work on Indigenous issuesMaracles work on which, of course, far outstretched Downies more recent foraymany wondered if the timing had more to do with health concerns. [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. Bellegarde also bestowed on Downie an honorary aboriginal name, Wicapi Omani, which is Lakota for "man who walks among the stars". 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 published his first poetry and prose collection alongside the album and under the same title. ", Audience Relations, CBC P.O. Downies on-stage improvisations were a principal part of the bands appeal from day one, though he was not yet a lyricist. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. That includes Downies specifically Canadian references, which were all but alien on radio playlists then (or now). Downies privacy was put to the test in 2015, when the Huffington Post ran a story about how his Toronto home had recently sold for under the asking priceunheard of in the citys real estate market. CBC Television broadcast his solo Roy Thomson Hall concert of Secret Path on October 22. He was married to Laura Leigh Usher. In a trailer for Introduce Yerself, he noted that every song was about a single person. [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]. Thank you for all the help and support over the past two years. Lets celebrate our next 150 years.. On Oct. 17, 2017, Gord Downie passed away from brain cancer at the age of 53 in Toronto. Gord was the fourth of five children: older siblings Mike, Charlyn and Paula, and younger brother Patrick. "His main focus was the release of Secret Path," says Gord's brother, Patrick Downie. 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 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. But neither video nor radio was responsible for the bands rapid ascent: it was their live performances, where Downies unusual charisma electrified everyone who piled into either biker bars or student pubs to see them. [10] Throughout the Nineties and into the Aughts, the Tragically Hip and Downie developed and expanded their sound. 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.". Canadian rock legend diagnosed with brain cancer in 2015. 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. [20] With Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, Downie helped work on a cause to prevent a cement company from burning tires for fuel. 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. And I think at that time our feeling was, if we knew so little about something like this, like wow, there must be millions of Canadians who have no idea.". It's not very pleasant, but don't look away,' you know? It would be the last time. [6] In high school, Downie was the frontman for a band called the Slinks performing at the KCVI Variety show and rivaling older members Rob Baker and Gord Sinclair's band the Rodents. He was also a dedicated activist, focusing on environmental issues and the disenfranchisement of Canadas indigenous community. 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.. Yeah, no more ads! 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. Downie never sought to be iconic. My name is Maurice Duplessis, as he did on the stage of Vancouvers Thunderbird Stadium on Canada Day, 1992. 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. I know an 85-year-old with boy trouble. In December, the Assembly of First Nations honoured his work on reconciliation by endowing him with a Lakota spirit name: Wicapi Omani, or man who walks among the stars. In June, he and the band were named to the Order of Canada; Downie received his early, alongside activist Sylvia Maracle. or somewhat similarly minded mainstream artists like John Mellencamp. He commented on working with the Sadies, saying, "I enjoy getting together with those guys; it's a whole other universe. Thank you for all the help and support over the past two years. They picked up their first Juno award Most Promising Group of the Year in 1990. Bellegarde also bestowed on Downie an honorary . Making the documentary has been a welcome distraction for Mike, and a painful reminder for Patrick. [64], Residents of the Ontario village of Bobcaygeon, which Downie had written about in the song of the same name, held a candlelight vigil for him the night after his death;[65] a large public gathering also took place at Springer Market Square in the band's hometown of Kingston. ", 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. [60], Downie was widely mourned in Canada. [6] The Tragically Hip quickly became famous once MCA Records president Bruce Dickinson saw them performing at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto and offered them a record deal. 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. As their popularity in Canada grew, the Tragically Hip seemed primed to cross over in America, especially during alternative rocks Nineties heyday. He saved a special energy for Kingston, playing a near three-hour set that was at once jubilant, raucous and heart-wrenching. The album consists of ten songs. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. Though he clearly relished his role on stage, Downies approach to celebrity was always tenuous. Downieattended Kingston Collegiate Vocational Institute, a school that has also graduated the likes of John A. Macdonald, Robertson Davies, and Don Cherry. Downie had an aggressive and incurable form of brain cancer called glioblastoma, which he discovered after a seizure in December 2015. In the middle of the set, Downie made a plea for reconciliation with Canadas Indigenous peoples, calling out the Prime Minister by name. "Ahead by a Century" was the single most-played song on Canadian radio on the day Downie's death was announced. Meanwhile, the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund was started to "start a new relationship with Indigenous Peoples.". 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. Word of mouth about the band spread throughout Kingston and eventually to Toronto. 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. [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. "In many ways, Mike is in the trenches, and I think that's really helped him cope with the pain. Please note that CBC does not endorse the opinions expressed in comments. The cause was terminal brain cancer. 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 . Trending He delivered frenetic dance moves or stream-of-consciousness rants in ways that suggested he was channelling the music. Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Those were the private reasons. His later solo records, including a rollicking, punkish 2014 album recorded with the Sadies, were remarkably conventional compared to Coke Machine Glow. [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. SHAPIRO: In. The song "Goodnight Attawapiskat" from the album Now for Plan A was a result of this trip.[24]. "For me, it's not as easy. Youre family. And [doing it for] his own family as well, to put something in the coffers for his kids.. [15] It's the main take-away of almost everybody who worked with him,. 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. Lemire created a graphic novel inspired by Downie's songs, and its images were used to create the film. 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. [52] Under the stage name Kaya Usher, she released her own debut album as a singer, All This Is, in 2021 with the participation of two of their four children, and some of the tracks feature Usher performing with a guitar that had once belonged to Downie. 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. St. Joseph Communications uses cookies for personalization, to customize its online advertisements, and for other purposes. In 2018, two recordings by Downie, "The East Wind" and "At the Quinte Hotel", were released on the compilation album The Al Purdy Songbook. You are sitting on a project that might change the cultural landscape of First Nations for decades to come . 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. A guerrilla act of love to show the rest of the country what strength and artistry, grace and humour the Cree possess." Because of the feeling you get when you go up there. Those tender offerings touched his heart and he takes them with him now as he walks among the stars.. What few knew in 2015, however, was that Downie and Usher had separated, promptingthe sale of the house. It was viewed by an estimated 11.7 million people. His death was announced on the Tragically Hip website, stating quote: Last night Gord quietly passed away with his beloved children and family close by. At Queen's University, Downie's alma mater, flags were lowered to half-mast following news of his death. Near the end of the CBC special, Chanie Wenjack's sister, Pearl, talks to the camera as she looks out over the woods. As soon as Mike told his brother about Chanie's story, he says Gord was transfixed and made it his purpose to bring it to Canadians. Downie said growing up on the shores of Lake Ontario had an impact on the way he viewed the environment, which led him to support the Lake Ontario Waterkeeper as a board member and to pay for renewable energy at his Toronto home. The Secret Path began as 10 poems that Gord Downie wrote as he grappled with Chanie's story. 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. Several prominent Canadians, including actors Ryan Reynolds and Seth Rogen, Toronto mayor John Tory, singers k.d. 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. 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. It was a moment that helped Gord finally get at something that had been nagging at him for years. Last night Gord quietly passed away with his beloved children and family close by. Comments are welcome while open. Earlier this fall, Downie announced he had been working on another solo album, Introduce Yerself. When search suggestions are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Gord Downie, the lead singer of the Tragically Hip, died Tuesday night surrounded by his loved ones. "I really didn't know anything about them, to my shame. Create the spark. "His big heart served him well," Patrick Downie said of his brother Gord. But music was his first love. Everyone was prepared for the funeral at any moment. [21] He was also a part of the Swim Drink Fish Music club, a project that unites artists and environmentalists in a music club to raise money for Waterkeeper organizations in Canada. All Rights reserved. No one worked harder on every part of their life than Gord. No one worked harder on every part of their life than Gord. No matter how opaque or directly critical of Canadian history he may have been, Downie faced a sea of literal flag-waving at almost every single showespecially at shows not on Canadian soil. Usher was a 20-year-old student at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont. 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. 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. [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]. Tragically Hip: Canada Waves Goodbye to a National Treasure. In 2008, Downie appeared as a guest vocalist on City and Colour's single "Sleeping Sickness". The Tragically Hip released their first EP in December 1987; a year after that, they headed down to Memphis to record 1989s Up to Herewhich would become one of two Hip albums to eventually sell more than a million copies in Canada. The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time Some Canadians, being a cautious bunch, flew from Ontario to B.C. [citation needed], In Kingston, Mayor Bryan Paterson issued a statement, laid a wreath in Springer Market Square near City Hall, and signed a condolence banner. Gord Downie, the Tragically Hip frontman who united a diverse array of music lovers with his commanding stage presence and Canadiana-laced lyrics, has died, Gord Downie remembered by fans, Canadians far and wide, Remembering Gord Downie: Watch our Olympic montages set to Tragically Hip songs, 'Words cannot express our sorrow': Northern Ontario First Nations mourn passing of Gord Downie, CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices. We reserve the right to close comments at any time. Gord said he had lived many lives. However, the band never quite took. 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. Also, a series of music videos for all the songs on the album were created by Canadian artists and released on YouTube. He was a board member of Lake Ontario Waterkeeper. His death was announced in a statement from his family . [9], Downie began pursuing a solo career with the release of Coke Machine Glow in 2001. 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. On February 2, 2017, Downie joined Blue Rodeo onstage at Massey Hall for a performance of Blue Rodeo's song "Lost Together". ET. READ MORE: Gord Downie calls out to Justin Trudeau during Tragically Hip's final show of tour. 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. When he spoke, he gave us goosebumps and made us proud to be Canadian. See where those sparks land. he asked an interviewer from the Toronto Sun. 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. The Tragically Hip, photographed in New York in February 1992. [29], In May 2016, Downie and his bandmates received honorary degrees from Queen's University. He was on a fishing trip. Gord did not rest from working for the issues he cared about, and his commitment and passion will continue to motivate Canadians for years to come He will be sorely missed.. Before his passing, Gord Downie took this country on a profound journey. Interiors remain as they were left and in some cases stocked with goods. [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. 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. Audience Relations, CBC P.O. A man that was so proud of his children and his family. Years later, when he decided to be more vocal, he made sure he did his homework, studying casework, speaking at hearings, relying on research and science rather than his celebritymuch like his old friend Sarah Harmer, another Waterkeeper supporter. 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. Poetry and pop music are not strangers, of course: just ask the committee who granted Bob Dylan the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature. He stoked the fire until sparks came out. Garrett and his bandmates became invested in the fight against clearcutting in B.C.s Clayoquot Sound, and convinced the Hip to join them. Paul Langlois, the son of the school's gym teacher and football coach who Downie befriended in Grade 11, wouldnt join until a year later; by that time, Downie was studying film at Queens (mostly, I learned how to drink, he said of his time there). He sang about Canada, but disavowed nationalism, his songs exploring heavy topics like David Milgaard's wrongful conviction (Wheat Kings) or Canada's treatment of First Nations (Now the Struggle Has a Name).