Gord Downie, the poetic lead singer of the Tragically Hip whose determined fight with brain cancer inspired a nation, has died. He was 53.
Downie died Tuesday night B次元官网网址渨ith his beloved children and family close by,B次元官网网址� the band said in a statement on its website Wednesday morning.
In the wake of his diagnosis with glioblastoma B次元官网网址� an incurable form of cancer B次元官网网址� the musician became a symbol of perseverance in the face of his mortality.
B次元官网网址淕ord knew this day was coming B次元官网网址� his response was to spend this precious time as he always had B次元官网网址� making music, making memories and expressing deep gratitude to his family and friends for a life well lived, often sealing it with a kiss B次元官网网址� on the lips,B次元官网网址� the statement said.
Statement -
B次元官网网址� The Tragically Hip (@thehipdotcom)
Downie spent the last chapter of his life raising funds for brain cancer research and advocating for the rights of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 Indigenous Peoples.
B次元官网网址淕ord said he had lived many lives,B次元官网网址� said the statement, which was attributed to the Downie family. B次元官网网址淎s a musician, he lived B次元官网网址榯he lifeB次元官网网址� for over 30 years, lucky to do most of it with his high school buddies. At home, he worked just as tirelessly at being a good father, son, brother, husband and friend. No one worked harder on every part of their life than Gord. No one.B次元官网网址�
Downie, one of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 most revered singer-songwriters, penned a steady stream of 1990s rock radio staples including B次元官网网址淣ew Orleans Is Sinking,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淏low at High Dough,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淐ourage (For Hugh MacLennan),B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淎head By a CenturyB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淏obcaygeon.B次元官网网址� While Hip albums released in the 2000s didnB次元官网网址檛 produce nearly as many hits, the band hung on to its unofficial status as CanadaB次元官网网址檚 favourite rock band.
While the Hip was frequently described as quintessentially Canadian, Downie had dismissed the suggestion that he set out to celebrate his homeland in song.
B次元官网网址淚 havenB次元官网网址檛 written too many political lyrics,B次元官网网址� he said in an interview with The Canadian Press in 2014. B次元官网网址淣or have I written any pro-Canada lyrics, any kind of jingoistic, nationalistic cantB次元官网网址�. That stuff doesnB次元官网网址檛 interest me and I donB次元官网网址檛 even know if I could write that if I tried because I donB次元官网网址檛 really feel it.
B次元官网网址淪ocial causes are quite obvious. Music brings people together. So my function in anything I do is to help bring people closer in.B次元官网网址�
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The last chapter of his career found Downie using his time in the spotlight to focus more attention on the issues facing Indigenous communities in Canada.
In the aftermath of the shocking May 2016 announcement that Downie had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer the band said it would mount a tour B次元官网网址� which many assumed would be the HipB次元官网网址檚 last.
Interest was off the charts and tickets sold out nearly immediately. Despite conflicting with its coverage of the Summer Games in Rio, the CBC broadcast the last show of the tour live, in the HipB次元官网网址檚 hometown of Kingston, Ont., and thousands of fans also attended public viewing parties across the country to experience the bandB次元官网网址檚 swan song.
An impassioned Downie led the group through a nearly three-hour set and acknowledged the countryB次元官网网址檚 enthusiastic support.
B次元官网网址淭hank you, people, for keeping me pushing and keeping me pushing,B次元官网网址� he said from the stage, which prompted a B次元官网网址淕ordie!B次元官网网址� chant from the audience.
He used the national platform to call for more attention to the inequities faced by Indigenous Peoples, particularly in the North.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e in good hands, folks, real good hands,B次元官网网址� Downie said in reference to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
B次元官网网址淗e cares about the people way up North, that we were trained our entire lives to ignore, trained our entire lives to hear not a word of whatB次元官网网址檚 going on up there. And whatB次元官网网址檚 going on up there ainB次元官网网址檛 good. ItB次元官网网址檚 maybe worse than itB次元官网网址檚 ever been, so itB次元官网网址檚 not on the improve. (But) weB次元官网网址檙e going to get it fixed and we got the guy to do it, to start, to help.B次元官网网址�
There will never be another one like you, Gord. Rest in peace my friend.
B次元官网网址� Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau)
About two months later, Downie released the multimedia solo project B次元官网网址淪ecret Path,B次元官网网址� which recounted the life of 12-year-old Chanie Wenjack, who died in 1966 after running away from a residential school in northern Ontario.
B次元官网网址淪ecret PathB次元官网网址� won three Juno Awards in April B次元官网网址� best adult alternative album, songwriter of the year for Downie, and best recording package of the year for its presentation with a graphic novel. While Downie didnB次元官网网址檛 attend the Juno festivities, he appeared in a pre-recorded acceptance speech during the telecast.
B次元官网网址淔irst Nations have many, many stories like this one,B次元官网网址� he said in reference to WenjackB次元官网网址檚 experience being separated from his family and put in a residential school.
B次元官网网址淢y dream would be that this record with Jeff LemireB次元官网网址檚 drawings might help people. Might give teachers something to help teach our young ones.B次元官网网址�
In June, Downie was inducted as a member of the Order of Canada for his work in raising awareness of Indigenous issues. He was also set to be honoured by the Order of Canada along with his bandmates for B次元官网网址渢heir contribution to Canadian music and for their support of various social and environmental causes.B次元官网网址�
The Tragically HipB次元官网网址檚 last release, B次元官网网址滿an Machine Poem,B次元官网网址� won the Juno for rock album of the year and the band also took home the group of the year prize, which was its third time winning the award among 11 nominations.
The HipB次元官网网址檚 modest beginnings can be traced back to 1984 in Kingston, where Downie co-founded the band with four high-school friends B次元官网网址� including guitarist Rob Baker, bassist Gord Sinclair and drummer Johnny Fay. Guitarist Paul Langlois joined in 1986 when saxophonist David Manning left the band.
The early years were a slog as the Hip graduated from local university campus shows to dive bars like the Toucan, where they played on a stage tucked in the back corner of the venueB次元官网网址檚 basement.
A small but loyal fan base began to form just as their self-titled debut EP hit record stores in 1987. While not one of the HipB次元官网网址檚 most-loved releases B次元官网网址� and one the band didnB次元官网网址檛 touch during their career-spanning final tour B次元官网网址� it offered a sliver of insight into DownieB次元官网网址檚 songwriting and performance potential.
DownieB次元官网网址檚 reputation for adding monologues to songs during live performances was started with a memorable performance of B次元官网网址淗ighway Girl,B次元官网网址� which fans nicknamed the B次元官网网址渄ouble suicide rantB次元官网网址� version. Part of the mid-song rant would later make up the lyrics of the song B次元官网网址淟ocked in the Trunk of a Car.B次元官网网址�
But it was the live B次元官网网址渒iller whale tankB次元官网网址� version of the fan favourite B次元官网网址淣ew Orleans Is Sinking,B次元官网网址� off the bandB次元官网网址檚 1989 followup B次元官网网址淯p to Here,B次元官网网址� that cemented DownieB次元官网网址檚 legacy as a unique live performer always capable of surprising an audience.
The legend of the bandB次元官网网址檚 thrilling concerts grew as rock radio stations devoured the HipB次元官网网址檚 output of one hit album after another. B次元官网网址淩oad ApplesB次元官网网址� in 1991 produced favourites like B次元官网网址淟ittle Bones,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淟ong Time RunningB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址漈hree Pistols,B次元官网网址� and the next year the record B次元官网网址滷ully CompletelyB次元官网网址� introduced another slew of soon-to-be classics including B次元官网网址淎t the Hundredth Meridian,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址滷ifty Mission CapB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淲heat Kings.B次元官网网址�
Stories of the HipB次元官网网址檚 unusual ability to attract huge crowds wherever they played in Canada gradually began to trickle south of the border and the band got its biggest chance to break through in the United States in 1995, thanks to a fellow Kingston native. Dan Aykroyd introduced the Tragically Hip as musical guests on B次元官网网址淪aturday Night LiveB次元官网网址� to play two songs off B次元官网网址淒ay for Night,B次元官网网址� which was released six months earlier.
The band won over pockets of fans in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere but never got as big internationally as they were back home, where they collected 16 Junos, a star on the Canadian Walk of Fame, and immortalization on a postage stamp in 2013.
While playing sold-out shows to adoring audiences, Downie also sought out opportunities to stretch himself creatively outside the confines of the Hip.
He dabbled in acting with roles as a police officer in B次元官网网址淭railer Park Boys: The MovieB次元官网网址� and as a recovering cancer patient in the drama B次元官网网址淥ne Week.B次元官网网址� Prior to B次元官网网址淪ecret PathB次元官网网址� he had cultivated several other solo projects, starting with the album B次元官网网址滳oke Machine GlowB次元官网网址� in 2001, released with a companion book of poetry; B次元官网网址滲attle of the NudesB次元官网网址� in 2003; and B次元官网网址淭he Grand Bounce,B次元官网网址� credited to Gord Downie and the Country of Miracles, in 2010.
In 2014, Downie recalled the thrill of performing for a different kind of audience B次元官网网址� at a country music festival B次元官网网址� in support of a side project with the Sadies.
B次元官网网址淚n this country, perhaps with a certain identity trailing you around, itB次元官网网址檚 hard to be miscast,B次元官网网址� Downie told The Canadian Press.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 hard to play a gig where you might get the hook, where you might be booed gloriously off the stage. I donB次元官网网址檛 mean that to sound immodestB次元官网网址�. (When) youB次元官网网址檙e kids, itB次元官网网址檚 the thing youB次元官网网址檙e most afraid of, but itB次元官网网址檚 the thing you miss, just the sort of lack of approval.B次元官网网址�
Staunchly dedicated to his environmental side projects, Downie was a devoted board member of the Lake Ontario Waterkeeper advocacy group, helping to raise money for the cause through benefits.
After his diagnosis, he lent his name to brain cancer research with the Gord Downie fund at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto.
DownieB次元官网网址檚 final public performance was in February as a surprise guest during a Blue Rodeo concert at TorontoB次元官网网址檚 Massey Hall. Singer Jim Cuddy introduced Downie before he joined the band in a rendition of their 1992 hit B次元官网网址滾ost Together,B次元官网网址� alongside members of the Sadies. As the song finished Downie kissed and hugged his fellow musicians, waved to the audience and left the stage.
Late last month, Downie surprised fans by announcing he would be releasing a new solo album of 23 original songs produced with long-time collaborator Kevin Drew.
B次元官网网址淚ntroduce YerselfB次元官网网址� is slated for release Oct. 27 with each song written about a specific person.
