Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "COURAGE (FOR HUGH MACLENNAN)")ĭOWNIE: (Singing) Watch the band through a bunch of dancers. She's remembering Gord Downie, who died last night at the age of 53. Gordon Edgar 'Gord' Downie CM (6 February 1964 17 October 2017) was a Canadian rock musician, writer, and occasional actor.SHAPIRO: Talia Schlanger hosts the music program World Cafe produced by WXPN. Gord Downie age, hometown, biography Last.fm. And he just was the absolute epitome of courage. SCHLANGER: And that was his way to express the love and gratitude that he had in his heart for what he'd been through with these people. He's a straight man with a lot of hockey fans. And the thing that really sticks with me and even makes me tear up now is at the end of the show, he was up there with his bandmates, his brothers, his family, and on national television, in front of a third of Canada who ended up watching it, he kissed each of them on the lips. And about 10 minutes before the concert started, 10 minutes before Gord walked out onstage, the entire crowd erupted in "O Canada," the national anthem, and passed around this Canadian flag that made its way around the entire crowd and paused under the prime minister.Īnd then that show - I mean, nearly three hours - Gord as a performer, he was so magnetic and so mystifying, and he was in his best form that night. And so the mix of people who were there - I was sitting directly across from Canada's prime minister, Justin Trudeau, who was wearing a Tragically Hip T-Shirt. SCHLANGER: The vibe in that arena that night - I mean, the remarkable thing about Gord was that he could unite the deepest poets and the deepest thinkers along with rabid hockey fans who would scream in a crowd and college kids. SHAPIRO: Take us to that venue in what everybody knew would be the band's last performance, this beloved singer onstage for two and a half hours. And to see him take all of that strength and conviction and courage and put it into those final performances - I mean, I'll never forget it. I think that the entire nation mourned when the news came out last May, and the feelings around that final concert - I mean, I was in the crowd, and I'll never forget it as long as I live.Įveryone would cope with news like that in a different way, but what Gord did was use it to dig deeper into the things that he believed in and the things that made him an important artist - working for First Nations and indigenous rights and reconciliation, working for causes to do with water safety in Canada and in Ontario and to really be this beacon of love. I mean, we all - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today, we all knew that it was coming, and we all hoped that it wouldn't. SHAPIRO: How would you describe this loss? And she was in the crowd about final show. Joining us now is Talia Schlanger, who hosts the music program World Cafe produced by WXPN. SHAPIRO: Gord Downie died last night at the age of 53. Their final concert in August of 2016 back in Kingston was televised nationally by the CBC and seen by almost 12 million Canadians. The Tragically Hip announced one last tour. SHAPIRO: In May of last year, Gord Downie revealed that he'd been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. And all you hear are the rusty breezes pushing around weathervane Jesus. GORD DOWNIE: (Singing) Sundown in the Paris of the prairie, wheat kings have all their treasures buried. Over three decades, frontman Gord Downie and his band rose from high school buddies playing bars in Kingston, Ontario, to a national treasure, singing about Canada's landscape and history. The Tragically Hip has been called Canada's house band, the Canadian Bruce Springsteen, the most Canadian band ever. The band’s subsequent tour sold out nearly immediately.(SOUNDBITE OF THE TRAGICALLY HIP SONG, "WHEAT KINGS") The country was shocked when Downie revealed his terminal cancer diagnosis in May 2016. One of the country’s most revered singer-songwriters, Downie penned a steady stream of 1990s rock radio staples including “New Orleans Is Sinking,” “Blow at High Dough,” “Courage,” “Ahead By a Century” and “Bobcaygeon”. He spent the last chapter of his life raising funds for brain cancer research and advocating for the rights of Canada’s Indigenous Peoples. In the wake of his diagnosis with glioblastoma - an incurable form of cancer - the musician became a symbol of perseverance in the face of his mortality. 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. Thank you for all the help and support over the past two years. We would like to thank all the kind folks at KGH and Sunnybrook, Gord’s bandmates, management team, friends and fans.
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