Gord Downie, the lead singer of the Tragically Hip, died Tuesday night surrounded by his loved ones. 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). In his last year, while living with his own tragic story of terminal cancer, singer Gord Downie was consumed by another. She's trying to come to terms with the fact that, after decades of neglect, her brother's story is getting a national audience. And I'd hate for that to go away, especially with something that's so important, was so important to him. Bob Berg/Getty. [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. Downie formed the Tragically Hip in 1984 alongside childhood friends Bobby Baker, Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair and Johnny Fay. Post navigation On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Gord Downie's legacy. His family released the following statement: Last night Gord quietly passed away with his beloved children and family. 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 never sought to be iconic. At Queen's University, Downie's alma mater, flags were lowered to half-mast following news of his death. The album consists of ten songs. 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.". Downie was born in Kingston and grew up in nearby Amherstview playing hockey and music. [13], In addition to his solo works, Downie collaborated with several fellow Canadian and international artists. 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.. Chanie Wenjack, a 12-year-old Anishinaabe boy, ran away from a residential school in northern Ontario 52 years ago. The song "Goodnight Attawapiskat" from the album Now for Plan A was a result of this trip.[24]. His subject matter was always broader than he was given credit for, but its easier for armchair academics to latch onto songs about hockey and a late-breaking story on the CBC; those topics werelow-hanging fruit in the dense forest of Downies imagination. Visitors walk the deserted streets of a town that once had a population between 7,000 and 8,000 people. "Ahead by a Century" was the single most-played song on Canadian radio on the day Downie's death was announced. Downie also appeared in Michael McGowan's 2008 film, One Week. [40], At the 6th Canadian Screen Awards in 2018, Downie posthumously won two Canadian Screen Awards for the television version of Secret Path. Gordon Edgar Downie CM (February 6, 1964 October 17, 2017) was a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, musician, writer and activist. 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. As original material slowly seeped its way into the set, it was the other Gord, Sinclair, who wrote most of the lyrics. 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. [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. 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. 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. Terfry collaborated with Downie on the song "Whispers of the Waves" off the album 20 Odd Years. That's really compelling to me." If the Tragically Hip frontman had to check out early as he did on Tuesday at 53 years of . The group also has a Canadian Music Hall of Fame induction, a Governor General's Performing Arts Award, an honorary fellowship with the Royal Conservatory of Music and a star on Canada's Walk of Fame. 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. 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. As with the blanket ceremony, the emotion and pride on his face was palpable. "I think he really tried to put himself in those shoes and imagine what that was like," Mike says. He died of hunger and exhaustion trying to walk 600 kilometres home to the family he was taken from. Canadian rock legend diagnosed with brain cancer in 2015. 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. 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". Those were the private reasons. What followed once the show hit the road, though, was a public outpouring that few could have predicted: a year of Downie transforming from an aging rock star to tragic hero. [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. "Who are you comparing us to?" "I think something like 'legacy' would be a word that Gord wouldn't be too comfortable with," Mike says. Vandoliers Play Tennessee Concert in Dresses to Protest State's New Drag Bill "It certainly took ahold of Gord, I think, because it's just so simple a boy trying to get home. His godfather was future Boston Bruins coach and general manager Harry Sinden, and Downie enjoyed the national pastime as both a die-hard Bruins fan and a goalie who took his B-level team to a provincial championship. Youre a rocknroll band. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6. [51] They were not divorced at the time of Downie's death and had remained close friends. 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 . With seven solo albums to his name, Downie's own music refutes definition, renowned for its adventurous poetry . He died Tuesday night surrounded by his children and family, according to a statement on the band's website. "I really didn't know anything about them, to my shame. He was 53. in which the Tragically Hip are shown as a local band practising in the main character's garage. Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip (Photo by Aven Hoffarth) One of the best things about Gord Downie was his thoughtfulness. It's so important to the country that we get this right. 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.". CBC broadcaster and musician Tom Power called them "Canada's local band." 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. 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. 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. In a trailer for Introduce Yerself, he noted that every song was about a single person. At the Assembly of First Nations in Gatineau, Quebec, on December 6, 2016, National Chief Perry Bellegarde honoured Downie with an eagle feather, a symbol of the creator above, for his support of the indigenous peoples of Canada. [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]. I wouldnt say its given me a stigma, but its something thats always stayed with me, not actually being from Kingston. His outsider status became part of his public identity: the poet in the bar band; the rock star slumming it with indie kids whilecozying up to intelligentsia; the artist with a commercially successful cushion who thrived on continuing to challenge himself with new collaborators and varied disciplines like dance, painting, and acting. Clockwise from left: Gord Downie, guitarist Gord Sinclair, guitarist Rob Baker, bassist Paul Langlois and drummer Johnny Fay. He published his first poetry and prose collection alongside the album and under the same title. Last night Gord quietly passed away with his beloved children and family close by. I think thats all part of what appeals to Canadian fans. When he spoke, he gave us goosebumps and made us proud to be Canadian. We reserve the right to close comments at any time. Gord Downie is the late lead singer and songwriter of rock giants The Tragically Hip. Gordon Edgar Downie was one of the most riveting and mystifying performers in rocknroll history. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. Everyone was prepared for the funeral at any moment. Gordon Edgar Downie was born in Kingston on Feb. 6, 1964, and spent his formative years in nearby Amherstview. (He wasnt nominated at that years inaugural Griffin Prize for Poetry, but he did perform at the gala.) It shouldnt have surprised us. 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. [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". Nickelback? 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. Are you sure? Then I understood his reasoning, not the least of which was doing it for the guys, which was really lovely, and I thought, Of course. The final concert was released on DVD under the title A National Celebration on December 24, 2017. I came from a rural area, he once recalled. The bands management broke the news just after the May long weekend in 2016, while simultaneously announcing a tour to promote the new album. [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. When he first said they were going on tour, I said, Are you okay? Downie died Tuesday after a battle with brain cancer. To the best of my internet sleuthing, I was unable to find anything online directing me to the most appropriate place to do . As a musician, he lived "the life" for over 30 years, lucky to do most of it with his high school buddies. We would like to thank all the kind folks at KGH and Sunnybrook, Gord's bandmates, management team, friends and fans. Last night, Gord quietly passed away with his beloved children and family close by, his familywrote in a statement. Before his passing, Gord Downie took this country on a profound journey. [19], Downie was heavily involved in environmental movements, especially issues concerning water rights. Do the work. Though he clearly relished his role on stage, Downies approach to celebrity was always tenuous. No one worked harder on every part of their life than Gord. [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. 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. By 2016, when he released his Secret Path project to address the legacy of residential schools, he decided that his celebrity was now his best asset: he knew he had the countrys attention after the Hips farewell tour, and the reluctant nationalist used it to focus specifically on an issue he felt was a glaring stain that could not be washed out of Canadas history. Gord, I always wanted to ask you: how do you get the energy to make it so real every day? All Rights reserved. But the new 150 years can be years of building an actual nation. The Tragically Hip's Gord Downie talks about the need to practice writing, in this interview from October 1989. Memorial has been sponsored successfully. Terfry composed the track and with the help of Charles Austen, his co-writer, decided Downie's vocals would be the best fit for their song. [50] Downie and Usher separated in 2015 before Downie's cancer diagnosis. [6] After graduating high school, Downie attended Queen's University where he majored in film studies, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts and Science in 1986. Gordon Downie was born in Amherstview, Ontario, and raised in Kingston, Ontario, along with his brothers Mike and Patrick, and sisters Charlyn and Paula. What few knew in 2015, however, was that Downie and Usher had separated, promptingthe sale of the house. 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. Theyre five Canadian guys who go up on stage and they look like their 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. [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. 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. 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. And their support hasn't gone. 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. A man that was so proud of his children and his family. Last night Gord quietly passed away with his beloved children and family close by. The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time "In many ways, Mike is in the trenches, and I think that's really helped him cope with the pain. when she met a 23-year-old Downie, who was just getting started with the Hip, playing mostly university gigs.. It wasnt until the 1991 release of the bands second album, Road Apples, that Downie seized the lyrical reins entirely. [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. In his last year, while living with his own tragic story, Gord Downie was consumed by another. He was the son of Lorna (Neal) and Edgar Charles Downie, a travelling salesman, later a real estate broker and developer. He saved a special energy for Kingston, playing a near three-hour set that was at once jubilant, raucous and heart-wrenching. It was passed in December 2019, establishing the Poet Laureate of Ontario. 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. SHAPIRO: In. The people Ive met, theyre so beautiful.. And for him that missing piece became very obvious. Thats whats missing as we celebrate doughnuts and hockey. 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. 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,. Gord was the fourth of five children: older siblings Mike, Charlyn and Paula, and younger brother Patrick. Lemire created a graphic novel inspired by Downie's songs, and its images were used to create the film. Also, a series of music videos for all the songs on the album were created by Canadian artists and released on YouTube. 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. The program won the Donald Brittain Award for Best Political or Social Documentary Program[41] and Best Music in a Non-Fiction Program. 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. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. Avril?". "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. Downie also made a cameo appearance in the 2008 indie drama Nothing Really Matters, directed by Jean-Marc Pich. On the evening of October 17th, 2017, Downie passed away at the age of 53. 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. Gord Downie, frontman of the Canadian rock band Tragically Hip, has died, his family said in a statement Wednesday. [43], In September 2017, Downie announced what would be his final solo double-album titled Introduce Yerself; it was released on October27, 2017, ten days after Downie's death.[44][45][46]. When he wasnt doing that, he directed his attention to environmental issues, specifically those endorsed by Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, a Canadian water charity run by an old Queens University classmate, Mark Mattson. My name is Maurice Duplessis, as he did on the stage of Vancouvers Thunderbird Stadium on Canada Day, 1992.