He was on a fishing trip. His later solo records, including a rollicking, punkish 2014 album recorded with the Sadies, were remarkably conventional compared to Coke Machine Glow. He was the son of Lorna (Neal) and Edgar Charles Downie, a travelling salesman, later a real estate broker and developer. Singer Gord Downie Of The Tragically Hip Dies At 53 : NPR He was married to Laura Leigh Usher. 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. [29], In May 2016, Downie and his bandmates received honorary degrees from Queen's University. It's not easy and, what can you say, there's a lot of pain without really going back and digging it up.". Earlier this fall, Downie announced he had been working on another solo album, Introduce Yerself. The band even has its own postage stamp and a street named after it, Tragically Hip Way, in Kingston, Ont. 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. "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. Bob Berg/Getty. Edgar died in November 2015. Roy Tee/Hollandse Hoogte/Redux Gord Downie, the lead singer for the beloved Canadian alt-rock. He is known for Jumper (2008), One Week (2008) and Ararat (2002). Do the work. [6] In an interview with Canadian music journalist Steve Newton, Downie noted that the Tragically Hip's early setlist was originally drawn to bands such as The Yardbirds and The Stones, a decision that was made because the Hip wished other Kingston bar bands would also play the genre. He published his first poetry and prose collection alongside the album and under the same title. 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. 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. [14] As could anyone who watched him command 40,000 people at any given outdoor appearance during the 1990s, singing songs that were summer soundtracks for an entire generation. Downie died on October 17, 2017 at the age of 53. "I really didn't know anything about them, to my shame. Our identity and culture are richer because of his music, which was always raw and honest like Gord himself. At the Juno Awards of 2018, the album won the Juno Award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year, Downie and Drew won Songwriter of the Year for "A Natural", "Introduce Yerself" and "The North",[47] and Downie won the Artist of the Year. They were too traditional and aspirational to be punk or alternative, and yet they were raw enough that they immediately stood out on any mainstream radio playlist. [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 was 53. I don't pretend to understand it; it feels confusing and frightening and wonderful.". GORD DOWNIE AND BOB ROCK RELEASE "LUSTRE PARFAIT" Killbeat Music ", 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. GORD DOWNIE: (Singing) Sundown in the Paris of the prairie, wheat kings have all their treasures buried. [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. Gord Downie and Bob Rock Release the Raven and The Red-tailed Hawk Before his passing, Gord Downie took this country on a profound journey. 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. [11][12] 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. 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. Last night Gord quietly passed away with his beloved children and family close by. His family and managers said future releases are planned, including solo material and unreleased work with the Hip. "I think something like 'legacy' would be a word that Gord wouldn't be too comfortable with," Mike says. 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. Finding the Secret Path premieres . The interview with Patrick and MikeDowniefromThe National, CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices. Gord Downie - Canadian History Ehx By 2004, he'd clearly grown tired of the question. Bellegarde also bestowed on Downie an honorary aboriginal name, Wicapi Omani, which is Lakota for "man who walks among the stars". The album was raw, experimental and far removed from the rock radio world the Hip inhabited: droning organs, atonal guitar screeches and accordions competed for sonic space with Downies vocals atop opiated folk-country songs. "Gord and I, we knew so little about residential schools," Mike says. Gord Downie, the lead singer for the beloved Canadian alt-rock bandthe Tragically Hip, died Tuesday at the age of 53. Gord Downie: In my mind, there's always a TV flickering away in the corner of every song. He released his second solo album, Battle of the Nudes, in 2003 before returning to the studio with the Tragically Hip. Downie also appears in the Trailer Park Boys movie The Big Dirty, in which he and Alex Lifeson play a pair of police officers. On the evening of October 17th, 2017, Downie passed away at the age of 53. 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. [10] And all you hear are the rusty breezes pushing around weathervane Jesus. 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). However, the band never quite took. Comments are welcome while open. Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip (Photo by Aven Hoffarth) One of the best things about Gord Downie was his thoughtfulness. 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. Three days after the funeral, Downie had a seizure. A man that was so proud of his children and his family. "It certainly took ahold of Gord, I think, because it's just so simple a boy trying to get home. He called concert touring "grunt work," and talked about building the fan base one person at a time. [20] With Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, Downie helped work on a cause to prevent a cement company from burning tires for fuel. They then honoured the 215 children who were recently found buried. During their live shows, Downie would notably ad-lib lengthy stories in the middle of songs. When search suggestions are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. [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 wasn't just a rock starhe was a real poet, too Gord Downie Memorial site? : r/TragicallyHip [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 CANADIAN PRESS) Gord Downie, the Tragically Hip frontman who united a diverse array of music lovers with his commanding stage. [40], At the 6th Canadian Screen Awards in 2018, Downie posthumously won two Canadian Screen Awards for the television version of Secret Path. Tragically Hip's Gord Downie dead at 53 | CBC News Loaded. 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). Gordon Edgar Downie was one of the most riveting and mystifying performers in rocknroll history. 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. 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. Written entirely in the first person, Downie tried to feel what Chanie Wenjack was feeling on his journey from moment he was taken away from his family, to his lonely death. 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. On February 2, 2017, Downie joined Blue Rodeo onstage at Massey Hall for a performance of Blue Rodeo's song "Lost Together". As a musician, he lived "the life" for over 30 years, lucky to do most of it with his high school buddies. Downie was born Feb. 6, 1964, to parents Edgar Charles and Lorna Downie and grew up in Amherstview, Ont., just outside Kingston. 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. It was passed in December 2019, establishing the Poet Laureate of Ontario. 1. 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. Several prominent Canadians, including actors Ryan Reynolds and Seth Rogen, Toronto mayor John Tory, singers k.d. Gordon Edgar Downie CM (February 6, 1964 October 17, 2017) was a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, musician, writer and activist. [77], In August, Downie's Twitter account was reactivated, and began posting a series of teaser photographs of handwritten song lyrics, accompanied by numbers that appeared to be a calendar countdown to the date of October 15. [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. 'Just seeing all those unguarded, real moments with Gord, that always just, that always gets me.'. Tragically Hip: Canada Waves Goodbye to a National Treasure. 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.". 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. Even when he stepped outside the Tragically Hip, Gord Downie loved to make rock records, first and foremost. "Then for him to say, 'Look at this, this is our country too. "His main focus was the release of Secret Path," says Gord's brother, Patrick Downie. 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. Last night, Gord quietly passed away with his beloved children and family close by, his familywrote in a statement. The group said they were "humbled" with the award. Lets celebrate our next 150 years.. He cherished the anomaly; hed arrive on stage and say, for no discernible reason, things like Hello and welcome. He saw it as something that I think made sense to him as his life was coming to an end.". The working men were going to work. 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. Record sales and radio play declined, though never precipitously enough to render the band irrelevant. Gordon Downie was born in Amherstview, Ontario, and raised in Kingston, Ontario, along with his brothers Mike and Patrick, and sisters Charlyn and Paula. Tragically Hip singer Gord Downie dies at 53 - Yahoo! [4][5] In Kingston, Downie attended the downtown high school Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute, where other members of the Tragically Hip also attended. By submitting a comment, you accept that CBC has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner CBC chooses. Cate Blanchett Suits Up and Gets Down in Sparks New Music Video, Taylor Swift Plots a Seventies Powder Party (Not That Kind) in Lavender Haze Behind-the-Scenes Video, Miley Cyrus Reviving the Backyard Sessions for Endless Summer Vacation Special, SST Records Producer Glen Spot Lockett Dead at 72, Glastonbury Co-Organizer Promises Female Headliners in 2024 After All-Male Top Billing This Year, There Were Sidemen. Terfry collaborated with Downie on the song "Whispers of the Waves" off the album 20 Odd Years. Gord Downie Biography, Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth, Family Downie was reluctant at first; he told the Toronto Star he felt like a dilettante. 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. ", Audience Relations, CBC P.O. 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). Gordon Edgar Downie was born in Kingston on Feb. 6, 1964, and spent his formative years in nearby Amherstview. I came from a rural area, he once recalled. Word of mouth about the band spread throughout Kingston and eventually to Toronto. In 2008, Downie appeared as a guest vocalist on City and Colour's single "Sleeping Sickness". Create the spark. That same summer, the Tragically Hip released a new album, Man Machine Poem, and embarked on a lengthy Canadian tour that culminated in an emotional final show:a hometown gig at the Rogers K-Rock Centre in Kingston, Ontario. The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time 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. The band was big enough in the mid-'90s to organize Another Roadside Attraction, a travelling music and arts festival that included a mix of Canadian acts (Rheostatics, Eric's Trip) and international stars (Midnight Oil, Wilco) all hand-picked by the band. And for him that missing piece became very obvious. [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]. Today Bodie is an authentic, intact ghost town. This was a man inviting us to his own wake. Updated at 11:10 a.m. In losing Gord Downie, we lose the Tragically Hip, and so - The Star As with the blanket ceremony, the emotion and pride on his face was palpable. Fans would often tear up at newly poignant lyrics written decades ago: "No dress rehearsal / This is our life" in Ahead by a Century and "I've got to go / It's been a pleasure doing business with you" in Scared. It had more in common with Neil Youngs 1975 ramshackle fan favourite album Tonights the Night than, say, anything that would have a life on classic-rock-radio playlists. Gord Downie, troubadour of Canada, charmed and challenged a nation 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. ", Mike says he hopes the film makes it clear that this idea, "meant a lot to this guy, he wasn't chasing causes around, this was really important. They're writing all the music and I'm writing all the lyrics and we're coming up with some neat stuff. He rarely granted interviews, and generally eschewed red-carpet jaunts for events like the Juno Awards. He was the poet who once asked, When are you thinking of disappearing? Bellegarde also bestowed on Downie an honorary . It's a story that gripped Downie, even as he struggled with the brain tumour that was killing him. 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. 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.