NHL players tweeted their thoughts, and rapper Drake took to Instagram to pay tribute. Throughout his career, he released four solo albums starting with his first solo album titled Coke Machine Glow in 2001.įans, politicians, athletes and fellow musicians are remembering Downie as a national icon. Another major accomplishment was being inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame and Music Walk of Fame. In June 2017, Downie received the Order of Canada, the highest honour for a civilian. He would sing about things that happened in the news or Canada’s treatment of First Nations peoples. Downie died on Tuesday night, per his family, with his children close by. He liked to include Canadian references in his songs. If Downie is to be remembered for one thing, it is being a songwriter. They made their first appearance on Saturday Night Live in 1995 but compared to selling out large arenas in Canada, they played smaller venues south of the border and album sales weren’t as high. However, after winning their first Juno for Most Promising Group and their next three albums going diamond and multi-platinum, the band didn’t do so well in the U.S. The name came from a sketch called “Elephant Parts,” a long-form music video by former Monkees member Michael Nesmith.Īfter releasing their first EP in 1987, they recorded their most popular album Up to Here that was released in 1989, making them a household name. Before forming The Tragically Hip, Downie was in a punk band in high school performing covers, until The Tragically Hip was formed in 1983 at Queen’s University. His godfather was Boston Bruins coach Harry Sinden which made him a hard-core Bruins fan and he even played goalie for his B-level team, which won a provincial championship.Īside from hockey, music was his passion. Like most average Canadians, Downie was a big hockey fan. 20, 2016.ĭownie was born in Kingston on Feb. The group announced the news via their website and. The last stop in the band’s hometown, Kingston, Ont. Gord Downie, the lead singer for Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, died Tuesday evening after a battle with brain cancer. The Tragically Hip announced that they would do a final summer tour. No one worked harder on every part of their life than Gord.”ĭownie was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, an incurable brain cancer which Canadians learned of in May 2016. At home, he worked just as tirelessly at being a good father, son, brother, husband and friend. As a musician, he lived “the life” for over 30 years, lucky to do most of it with his high school buddies. Surrounded by loved ones at the time of his death, a statement was published on the band’s website from his family that read, “Gord said he had lived many lives. This story was amended on 18 October 2017 to correct the spelling of Gord Downie’s solo album Introduce Yerself.Gord Downie, the frontman for one of Canada’s most admired rock bands, the Tragically Hip, died on Tuesday night at the age of 53.His final project, a solo album entitled Introduce Yerself, is due for release on 27 October. Wenjack was a First Nations boy who died in 1966 while attempting to escape from a residential school designed to assimilate Aboriginal Canadians. In recent years, Downie, who has been called “ Canada’s unofficial poet laureate”, had worked to support the indigenous people of Canada with the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund. The Tragically Hip’s music invited us to explore places we had never been – from Mistaken Point to Churchill – and helped us understand each other, while capturing the complexity and vastness of the place we call home.” He also gave a tearful public address about his “buddy Gord”. He was the frontman of one of Canada’s most iconic bands, a rock star, artist, and poet whose evocative lyrics came to define a country. Trudeau released a statement following Downie’s death, saying “For almost five decades, Gord Downie uncovered and told the stories of Canada.
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