Printable Version of Topic

Posted by: Dennis Sep 29 2006, 02:09 AM

I was going to go with artist of the week, or month, but we'll see how often I remember to update this one

Okay, for the first one I'm going to go with Stevie Ray Vaughn. Just so happens I'm listening to a CD my brother made for me of Stevie's greatest hits and it reminded me of how much I loved his music. He had a ton of great songs. For those who don't know anything about him he was a guitar playing phenomenom. He played several styles, all blues based and most of his more well known stuff is pretty rockin blues-rock. Here's a pretty all-encompassing article about him that I "borrowed" from Wikipedia (an awesome online resource btw)

Stevie Ray Vaughan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Stevie Ray Vaughan

Born October 3, 1954
Dallas, Texas, U.S.A.
Died August 27, 1990
East Troy, Wisconsin, U.S.A.
Alias(es) SRV (abbrev.)
Genre(s) Blues
Affiliation(s) Double Trouble
Label(s) Epic Records
Notable Guitars Fender Stratocaster "Number One"
Years Active 1983 - 1990
Stephen ("Stevie") Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990), born in Dallas, Texas, was an American blues guitarist, credited with reviving interest in blues in the 1980s. His broad appeal made him one of America's most influential electric blues guitarists. He is often referred to by his initials, SRV.

Contents
1 Life and career
1.1 Musical influences and style
1.2 Death
2 Posthumous recognition
3 Vaughan's guitars and musical equipment
4 Discography
4.1 Studio albums
4.2 Official live audio releases
4.3 Compilations
5 External links



Life and career
Vaughan was born and raised in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, but dropped out of Kimball High School and moved to Austin to pursue music. Vaughan's talent caught the attentions of Johnny Winter, and blues-club owner Clifford Antone.

Vaughan's first recording band was Paul Ray and the Cobras. They played at clubs and bars in Austin during the mid-1970s, and released one 45 RPM single:

Other Days b/w Texas Clover (1975), Viper 30372.
Vaughan later recorded two other 45 RPM singles under the band name The Cobras, but he was the only original band member involved:

My Song b/w Rough Edges, The Cobras w/W.C. Clark (1979), Hole Records HR-1520
Blow Joe Blow (crazy 'bout a saxophone) b/w Sugaree The Cobras (1980), Armadillo Records ARS-79-1.
Following The Cobras breakup, he formed Triple Threat in late 1975. That band included bassist Jackie Newhouse, drummer Chris Layton, and vocalist Lou Ann Barton. Barton left the band in 1978 to pursue a solo career. The remaining members started performing under the name Double Trouble. The band name was inspired by an Otis Rush song of the same name, which was initially part of their live repertoire. Vaughan became the band's lead singer.

Tommy Shannon (bass player on Johnny Winter's early albums) replaced Newhouse in 1981. A popular Austin, Texas draw, Vaughan soon attracted attention from David Bowie and Jackson Browne, and played on albums with both. Bowie first caught Vaughan at the Montreux Jazz Festival where initially a few members of the audience, who disliked Double Trouble's hard blues sound, booed Vaughan during his first visit in 1982. At their next appearance in 1985, most of the crowd cheered the performance, as the "Live at Montreux" DVD reveals. David Bowie featured Vaughan on his Let's Dance album in the songs "Let's Dance", "Modern Love" and "China Girl".

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble's debut album was released in 1983. The critically acclaimed Texas Flood (produced by John Hammond) featured a top-20 hit "Pride and Joy" and sold an astonishing 500,000 copies (earning the band a Gold Record). The follow-up albums Couldn't Stand the Weather (1984) and Soul to Soul (1985) also 'went gold', but they did not receive as much critical acclaim as the debut album.

Drug addiction and alcoholism took a toll on Vaughan in the mid-1980s, and after suddenly vomiting blood while in Germany on tour, he managed to struggle through three more shows before entering a drug rehabilitation program in Atlanta, Georgia later that year. He recovered fully from his addictions and became a teetotaler.

Upon his return from rehab, Vaughan recorded In Step (1989), which is praised as his best work since Texas Flood. It won a Grammy award for Best Contemporary Blues Record. Stevie Ray Vaughan did a co-headline tour with Jeff Beck in 1989, Carlos Santana joined them on at least one occasion 12/3/89.


Musical influences and style
Vaughan's blues playing style was strongly influenced by Albert King, who dubbed himself Stevie's "godfather", and by other blues musicians such as Otis Rush and Buddy Guy. He was also strongly influenced by Lonnie Mack. Stevie is recognized for his distinctive guitar sound, which was partly based on using heavy thirteen-gauge guitar strings. Vaughan's sound and playing style, which often features simultaneous lead and rhythm parts, also draws frequent comparisons to that of Jimi Hendrix; Vaughan covered several Hendrix tunes on his studio albums and in performance, such as "Little Wing", "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)", and "Third Stone from the Sun". He was also heavily influenced by Freddie King, another Texas bluesman, mainly through the use of tone and attack. King's heavy vibrato can clearly be heard in Vaughan's playing. Another stylistic influence was Albert Collins. His right hand attack, by using his index finger was utilized extensively by SRV, snapping the string against the fretboard. Stevie's brother Jimmie Vaughan has stated that Johnny "Guitar" Watson was the guitarist he and Stevie studied the most. SRV preferred to make use of the tonal capabilities of his amps, adding few effects. His effects included the Ibanez Tube Screamer, a wah-wah pedal, the Octavia, and occasionally a flanger/chorus. He also used volume as a dynamic, coaxing effects through the natural internal capabilities of his amps when overdriven.

Death
Vaughan's comeback was cut short when, in the early morning of August 27, 1990, he died in a helicopter crash near East Troy, Wisconsin. After a concert at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre, where earlier in the evening he appeared with Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton and his older brother Jimmie Vaughan, the musicians expected a long bus ride back to Chicago. Stevie was informed that three seats were open on one of the helicopters returning to Chicago with Clapton and his crew, enough for Stevie, Jimmie, and Jimmie's wife Connie. It turned out there was only one seat left, which Stevie requested from his brother; Jimmie obliged. Taking off into deep fog, the helicopter crashed moments later into a ski slope on the side of a hill within the Alpine Valley Resort. Vaughan, the pilot, and members of Clapton's crew (his agent, assistant tour manager, and a bodyguard) died on impact. No one realized that the crash had occurred until the helicopter failed to arrive in Chicago, and the wreckage was only found with the help of its locator beacon.[1] The main cause of the crash was believed to have been pilot error. [2]

After the news media got word of the helicopter crash, they stated that Stevie Ray Vaughan and his band had been killed in the crash. Chris Layton (Double Trouble's drummer) saw this on the news and had security let him into Stevie's motel room. Layton saw that the bed was made and the clock radio was playing the Eagles' song, 'Peaceful, Easy Feeling', which includes the lyrics "I may never see you again". Layton and Shannon then called their families to let them know they were okay.

Stevie Ray Vaughan is interred in the Laurel Land Memorial Park, Dallas, Texas.


Posthumous recognition

Vaughan memorial at Town Lake, in Austin, TexasA duet album, Family Style, with his brother, Jimmie Vaughan (also a noted blues-rock guitarist and former member of The Fabulous Thunderbirds) was released in September 1990 after Stevie's death and was a popular hit. 1991's The Sky Is Crying was the first of several posthumous Vaughan releases with chart success. Jimmie Vaughan later co-wrote and recorded a song in tribute to his brother and other late blues guitarists, entitled "Six Strings Down". Mark Cole, former guitarist from Charge also wrote and recorded a tribute song to Jimi Hendrix and Vaughan titled Vaughandrix. Eric Johnson, another noted guitar hero from Austin, Texas, wrote a song entitled SRV in his Venus Isle album for Stevie Ray.

In 1991, Texas governor Ann Richards proclaimed October 3, Vaughan's birthday, to be "Stevie Ray Vaughan Day." An annual motorcycle ride and concert in Central Texas benefits the Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial Scholarship Fund. [3]

In 1992, Fender released the Stevie Ray Vaughan Signature Stratocaster, a reproduction of his battered 1962 Fender Stratocaster which he had affectionately named "Number One" (and sometimes referred to as his "First Wife"), designed along with Stevie before his death. As of 2006, the model is still in production. It depicts "Number One" as it would have been brand-new in 1962, though when Stevie bought it in 1974 it was already badly weathered, as can be seen in several photographs of a young Vaughan. It also utilizes the black letter-script pick-guard, a polyurethane finish, Pau Ferro fretboard, and Stevie's initials on the pickguard. The Brazilian rosewood of Stevie's guitar was too expensive, and only about 50 SRV Signature models exist with the Brazilian rosewood instead of the pau ferro. While pau ferro does not look like Brazilian rosewood when new, it darkens with age. Some guitarists feel that a polyurethane finish lessens sustain, but it protects the guitar better and lasts longer than the nitrocellulose lacquer that Stevie's guitar had.

In 1994, Austin, Texas erected a Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial Statue at Auditorium Shores on Town Lake, the site of a number of Vaughan's concerts. It has become one of the city's most popular tourist attractions.

In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine named him number seven on their list of the "100 greatest guitarists of all time". [4]

In 2004, Fender released the Stevie Ray Vaughan Tribute Model "Number One" Stratocaster Guitar, a direct replica of Stevie Ray Vaughan's primary guitar, also called "First Wife". A 1962 Stratocaster that oddly contained 1959-stamped pickups, it possessed a deep, dark growl of a tone that was immediately identifiable. Even though it used all "stock" Fender Strat parts, about the only "original equipment" parts it possessed by 1990 were the body and the pickups. Over the years, Stevie and Rene Martinez, his guitar tech, replaced the pickguard, tremolo, and neck.

The neck was damaged during a stage accident, and a spare was used from another of Stevie's Stratocasters. After he died, the original neck was put back on and the guitar was given to his brother. This is confirmed both by an interview with Jimmie Vaughan as well as pictures of Fender personnel dissecting the guitar to create 100 Custom Shop "Relic" reproductions in a Guitar World Magazine, as well as several other online sources.

Vaughan is one of the acts mentioned in the television version of You Know They Got a Hell of a Band, a Stephen King short story from his novel Nightmares and Dreamscapes. Vaughan's mentioning in the story is part of a more sinister plot where late rock and roll legends are set to play a concert that will go on forever.


Vaughan's guitars and musical equipment
There are many myths about Stevie's stage equipment but here are the facts as reported by his guitar technician René Martinez, who worked with Stevie's equipment for many years and also went on to become guitar technician for Carlos Santana.

For guitars, Stevie used some acoustics and a Hamiltone Custom, but he mainly used Fender Stratocasters. His most famous was a Strat with a Brazilian rosewood "veneer" fingerboard; it had "1962" stamped on the neck and body, but "1959" written on the pickups. Unlike what was widely believed, he never used bass frets, but did use "jumbo" Dunlop 6105s. On this particular guitar, he also had a left-handed tremolo installed and was known as "Number One" or "First Wife", at least once being called "First Wife" in an interview with Stevie. It had a D-shaped thick neck that was perfect for his large hands and thick fingers. It was taken apart by Fender employees to make 100 exact copies, and these facts were verified as can be read in an issue of Guitar World magazine. The pickups were never overwound purposely, but were from a batch of pickups made at Fender in 1959 that had been mistakenly overwound, producing "Number One's" distinctive sound. This also puts to bed the rumor that it was buried with Stevie. Jimmie Vaughan, Stevie's older brother, has possession of all of Stevie's guitars, save for the only one released to the public, "Lenny". It was sold in the Eric Clapton guitar auction for more than $600,000.

"Lenny" was a 1963 maple-neck that was named after his wife, Lenora. It had a very bright, thin sound. Supposedly, Stevie found this guitar in a pawnshop, but couldn't afford to buy it. One of Stevie's roadies, Byron Barr, bought it and he and Lenora presented it to Stevie for his birthday in 1976. According to the story, Lenora was supposed to pay Byron for the guitar; she started a pool with her friends to collect the money, but it was Stevie who eventually settled the debt, with cash and a leather jacket. Its neck was originally a thin rosewood, but Stevie replaced it with a thicker non-Fender maple neck. "Lenny" can be seen and heard on "Live at the El Mocambo". He plays it at the end of the set, playing the song of the same name.

"Charley" was a Stratocaster built for him by the late Charley Wirz, a friend and owner of Charley's Guitars in Dallas, Texas. Three Danelectro "lipstick tubes" are the pickups, and it had a hardtail bridge.

"Red" was a 1964 with a lefty neck that let him emulate the sounds of Otis Rush and Jimi Hendrix. This setup was able to give Stevie not only the sound he wanted, but the feel that lacked from a right hand neck.

Vaughan also played a guitar made by deceased Minneapolis, Minn., luthier, Roger Benedict. A semi-hollow, Alder-built guitar called the "Groove Master" was a model of choice for Vaughan. It is a seafoam-green Stratocaster-shaped guitar with three lipstick pickups.

He used a Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, many different Ibanez Tube Screamers (most notably the TS-808, but he also used a TS-9 for solos sometimes), Vox or Dunlop Cry Baby wahs (one of which was owned and used by Jimi Hendrix), and at one point a Univibe, though he usually used his rotating Leslie speaker cabinet.

His amps were a blonde '62 Fender Twin, a 100-watt Marshall JCM 800 half stack, a 150-watt Dumble Steel String Singer, two '64 Fender Vibroverbs (they are consecutively numbered: 5 and 6; Stevie was very proud of having obtained such low serial numbers). He also had a pair of 4x10 Fender Super Reverbs. At some venues he also had several Marshall full stacks for volume.


Discography

Studio albums
Texas Flood (1983)
Couldn't Stand the Weather (1984)
Soul to Soul (1985)
In Step (1989)
Family Style (with brother Jimmie Vaughan as "The Vaughan Brothers", 1990)
The Sky Is Crying (posthumous release) (1991)

Official live audio releases
In the Beginning (recorded 1980)
In Session (with Albert King, recorded 1983)
Live at Carnegie Hall (recorded 1984)
Live Alive (recorded 1985 and 1986)
Live At Montreux 1982 & 1985' (recorded 1982 & 1985)

Compilations
Greatest Hits (1995)
The Essential Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (1995)
The Real Deal: Greatest Hits Volume 2 (1999)
Blues at Sunrise (2000)
SRV (box set, with early recordings, rarities, hits, and live material) (2000)
Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues - Stevie Ray Vaughan (2003)

Posted by: Dennis Oct 2 2006, 01:47 AM

Artist number two...Van The Man.
No particular reason this time, just somebody whose singing I enjoy. Here's another bio courtesy of Wikepedia :

Van Morrison (born August 31, 1945 as George Ivan Morrison) is a singer and songwriter from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He plays a variety of instruments, including the guitar, harmonica, keyboards, and saxophone. Featuring his characteristic growl — a unique mix of throaty folk, blues, Irish, skat, and Celtic influences — Morrison is widely considered one of the most unusual and influential vocalists in the history of rock and roll. Famed critic Greil Marcus has gone so far as to note that "No white man sings like Van Morrison."

Known as "Van the Man" by his fans, Morrison first rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Northern Irish band Them, penning their seminal 1965 hit "Gloria". A few years later, Morrison left the band for a successful solo career.

Morrison has pursued an idiosyncratic musical path. Much of his music is tightly structured around the conventions of American soul and R&B, such as the popular singles "Brown Eyed Girl", "Moondance", and "Domino". An equal part of his catalogue consists of lengthy, loosely connected, spiritually inspired musical journeys that show the influence of Celtic tradition, jazz, and stream-of-consciousness narrative, such as his classic album Astral Weeks and lesser known works such as Veedon Fleece and Common One. The two strains together are sometimes referred to as "Celtic Soul".

Morrison's career, spanning some four decades, has influenced many popular musical artists. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2000, Morrison ranked number 25 on American cable music channel VH1's list of its 100 greatest artists of rock and roll. He lives in Dublin, Ireland.

Biography

Early life
Growing up in a Church of Ireland family in East Belfast, Morrison was exposed to music from an early age, as his father, George, collected American jazz and blues albums, and his mother Violet was a singer. His father's taste in music was passed on to him, and he grew up listening to artists such as Ray Charles, Leadbelly and Solomon Burke. In a 2005 Rolling Stone article he said that "Those guys were the inspiration that got me going. If it wasn't for that kind of music, I couldn't do what I'm doing now."

Before becoming a successful musician, Morrison had a job as a window cleaner, referenced in the autobiographical songs "Cleaning Windows" and "St Dominic's Preview".

1960s
Morrison left home at age 15 to pursue a music career. He played in several local skiffle and rock 'n' roll bands, including playing saxophone for Clubsound during practise sessions, before joining the group The Monarchs and touring across Europe. He formed the group Them in 1964 and came to prominence fronting the band. The band had a number of chart hits, most notably the rock standard, "Gloria", subsequently covered by many artists, including The Doors and Shadows of Knight. At one point in the mid-60's Van also played impromptu in Los Angeles at the Whisky a Go Go club with Jim Morrison, in which the two sang 'Gloria' together. He was quoted, years later during an interview saying, "Of my whole career, the shining moment was when I sang 'Gloria' onstage at the Whisky with Jim Morrison."

Morrison became unhappy with increasing emphasis on the use of studio musicians, and left the band after a U.S. tour in 1966. He returned to Belfast, intending to quit the music business. Them’s one-time producer, Bert Berns, persuaded him to return to New York and record solo for the Bang Records label. From these early sessions emerged one of his best-known songs, "Brown Eyed Girl" (which reached #10 in the US in 1967). Master session drummer Gary Chester played on that song. The album that came from those sessions was Blowin' Your Mind!. Morrison later admitted he wasn't pleased with the results, claiming in a Rolling Stone interview in 1969, "It came out wrong and they released it without my consent." Recordings from these sessions have been occasionally re-released by Bang and in bootleg form, under various names. Most of these recordings were remixed and repackaged in 1991 as the Bang Masters. The compilation included an alternate take of "Brown Eyed Girl" as well as early versions of "Beside You" and "Madame George", songs that would appear with slightly different chord changes, instrumentation, and lyrics on Morrison's second album.

After Berns’s death in 1967, Morrison moved to Boston, Massachusetts. He was soon confronted with personal and financial problems. He had entered an alcohol-induced depression and had trouble finding gigs. However, through the few gigs he could find, he regained his professional footing and started recording with the Warner Bros. label. His first album for them was Astral Weeks (which he had already performed in several clubs around Boston), a mystical song cycle considered by many to be his best work. Released in 1968, the album was critically acclaimed, but received an indifferent response from the public. Morrison, in a Rolling Stone interview in 1970, described the album as a rock opera with a definite story line. Astral Weeks has been placed on several lists of the best albums of all time and is often cited as an early example of a "concept album".

1970s

Morrison then moved to Woodstock, New York, ostensibly to be close to the area where Bob Dylan was residing, and released his next album, Moondance in 1970, which reached #29 on the Billboard charts. The style of this album was in great contrast to that of Astral Weeks. Astral Weeks was a sorrowful and vulnerable album, Moondance on the other hand was a much more optimistic and cheerful affair. The title track, though never released in the US as a single, was heavily played in many radio formats. The evocative song "Into the Mystic" has also gained a wide following over the years. He produced the album himself because he felt no one else knew what he was looking for.

Over the next few years, he released several acclaimed albums (particularly 1970's His Band and the Street Choir, 1971's Tupelo Honey and 1972's Saint Dominic's Preview), which spawned the hits "Domino" (#9 in the US in 1970), "Wild Night", and "Tupelo Honey".

By 1972, despite being a performer for nearly 10 years, he began experiencing stage-fright when performing in front of large audiences, in front of thousands of people as opposed to the hundreds he had experienced in his early career. He would get anxious on stage and have difficulty establishing eye-contact with the audience. He once said on an interview about performing on stage, "I dig singing the songs but there are times when it's pretty agonizing for me to be out there."

After a brief break from music, he started performing in clubs and regained his ability to perform live, albeit with a smaller audience. He then formed the backing group, The Caledonia Soul Orchestra and ventured on a three-month US tour with them. This tour was captured for posterity on the live double album, It's Too Late to Stop Now, widely regarded as one of the great live albums in rock history. Soon after recording the album, Morrison restructured the Caledonia Soul Orchestra into a smaller unit, the Caledonia Soul Express. For many years, his parents, George and Violet owned a record store in Fairfax, California named Caledonia Records.

In 1973 Morrison divorced his wife of seven years, the violinist Janet Planet, with whom he had a daughter, the singer-songwriter Shana Morrison, with whom he has occasionally duetted. He then released the introspective and poignant album Veedon Fleece in 1974. Though it attracted little attention at the time of its release, its critical stature has grown over the years, and Veedon Fleece is now considered one of Morrison's best works. "You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push the River", one of the album's side closers, exemplifies the long, hypnotic, cryptic Morrison, with its references to visionary poet William Blake and to the apparently Grail-like Veedon Fleece object.

Morrison would not release a follow-up album for the next three years. During this time, he was able to write and record a number of new songs, and in a KSAN radio interview in 1974, Van indicated plans to release a new album, Mechanical Bliss, a mere 4-5 months after Veedon Fleece. The projected February 1975 street date came and went without a release as Morrison continued to work on the album. During this time, the album title underwent a number of changes (at one time, it was to be called Stiff Upper Lip, another time it was retitled Naked In The Jungle), and the painter Zox was even commissioned to create the sleeve-artwork. The project was ultimately abandoned, and much of the work done would have to wait until 1998's Philosopher's Stone to see official release. (Zox's painting was later incorporated into the cover art to The Royal Scam, a Steely Dan album released in 1976.)

In 1976, Morrison performed at the farewell concert for The Band, which took place on Thanksgiving Day. It was his first live performance in quite some time, and Morrison considered skipping his appearance up until the very last minute.

Morrison was on good terms with The Band. They were near-neighbours in Woodstock and they had shared experience of stage-fright. At the concert, Van performed two songs, one of them being "Caravan", from his 1970 album, Moondance; which was described by All Movie Guide as "a rousing performance". The concert was filmed and later issued in Martin Scorsese's 1978 film, The Last Waltz, which is widely considered a landmark concert film. A highlight is Morrison's out-of-character exuberance, exemplified by extraordinary high-kicks.

In 1977, Morrison finally released A Period of Transition, a collaboration with Dr. John, who also appeared at The Last Waltz. Universally dismissed as subpar work, it did begin a very prolific period of song making. The following year, Morrison released Wavelength; it, too, was widely dismissed, but the engaging title track became a modest hit. The opening track, "Kingdom Hall" (about Morrison's own childhood experience around Jehovah's Witnesses), also foreshadowed the religious turn in Morrison's next album, Into the Music.

Released in 1979, Into The Music was hailed as a masterpiece: "An erotic/religious cycle of songs that culminates in the greatest side of music Morrison has created since Astral Weeks" (Dave Marsh, The Rolling Stone Album Guide, 2nd Edition). It has been called Morrison's last great album by many members of the music press.


1980s
Much of the music Morrison released throughout the 80s continued to focus on themes of spirituality and faith as Morrison's compositions steered towards New Age territory. He gave a special thanks to L. Ron Hubbard on his 1983 album, Inarticulate Speech of the Heart, although he has never been formally associated with Scientology or any other Church.

Morrison's 1986 release, No Guru, No Method, No Teacher, earned enthusiastic reviews from many, but not all critics. During the recording, the artist's characteristic deep growl was in grand form and the album featured some of the grittiest acoustic arrangements since the days of Astral Weeks, but not all critics were comfortable with the increasingly religious content.

Unflustered, Morrison was slightly less gritty and more adult contemporary with the well received Poetic Champions Compose, considered to be one of his highlights of the '80s. In 1988, he released Irish Heartbeat with the Irish group, The Chieftains; a popular-selling record, which demonstrated the full range of Morrison's unique vocal power on a collection of traditional Irish folk songs. In 1989, Morrison released an even more popular seller, Avalon Sunset, which featured the hit duet with Cliff Richard, "Whenever God Shines His Light"; and the ballad, "Have I Told You Lately" (also popularised by Rod Stewart). A critical and commercial success, Morrison was able to capitalize on its success with the release of The Best of Van Morrison. Not to be mistaken with a similarly-titled compilation released in 1967 (and long out-of-print), this was the first collection ever to survey his entire career. Compiled by Morrison himself and focusing on his hit singles, it became a multi-platinum success and remains the most popular item in Van Morrison's catalogue.


1990s
In 1990, Morrison joined many other guests for Roger Waters' massive performance of The Wall in Berlin. He sang "Comfortably Numb" with Roger Waters, old friend Levon Helm, Garth Hudson and Rick Danko.

Though Morrison's commercial success would continue throughout the 1990s, the critical reception to his work began to decline. 1990's Enlightenment yielded one hit single, "Real Real Gone" (first recorded ten years earlier), and 1991's double-CD Hymns to the Silence was one of his most ambitious works, but 1993's Too Long in Exile, 1995's Days Like This, and others were not well received.

In contrast, the live (double) album A Night in San Francisco (1994) was a tour-de-force, reminding all and sundry that on his day, Morrison is still a remarkable live performer.

This period was also marked by a number of side projects, including the live, jazz performances of 1996's How Long Has This Been Going On, 1997's Tell Me Something: The Songs of Mose Allison, and 2000's The Skiffle Sessions - Live in Belfast, all of which found Morrison paying tribute to his long-time favourites.

In 1997, Morrison released The Healing Game, arguably his best album of the 1990s. The following year, Morrison finally released some of his unissued studio recordings in a warmly received two-disc set, The Philosopher's Stone. His next release, 1999's Back on Top, was a modest success, being his highest charting album in the US since 1978's Wavelength.

During this decade, Morrison developed a close association with two vocal talents at opposite ends of their careers. Georgie Fame (with whom Morrison had already worked occasionally) lent his smooth voice and Hammond organ skills; and the sweet sound of Brian Kennedy's vocals complemented the grizzled voice of Morrison, both in studio and live performances.

Taking this concept of association a stage further, the 90s saw an upsurge in Morrison's collaborations with other artists, a trend that has continued into the new millennium.

These include:

with blues legend John Lee Hooker on Hooker's 1997 album, Don't Look Back.
The title track from this album would go on to win a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals in 1998.
This was not the first time the two had worked together; Morrison appeared on Hooker's albums Never Get Out of These Blues Alive in 1972, Born In Mississippi, Raised Up In Tennessee in 1973, and Chill Out in 1995.
with singer Tom Jones on the 1999 album Reload
with Mark Knopfler on his 2000 album Sailing to Philadelphia
with musical legend Ray Charles on his 2004 album Genius Loves Company

2000s
Van Morrison continued to record and tour in the 2000s, performing two or three times a week. Playing fewer of his well-known songs in concert than almost any other artist from his era, Morrison refuses to be relegated into a nostalgia act.

In 2000, Morrison released a collaboration with Linda Gail Lewis (Jerry Lee Lewis's sister), You Win Again. Another side project, this time focusing on R&B and country-and-western standards, Lewis proved to be an excellent duet partner, and the project set the stage for Morrison's next album, Choppin' Wood. Clinton Heylin's book, Can You Feel the Silence?, discusses this period in great detail, but due to legal issues surrounding the matter, not everything could be divulged. By the end of 2000, the album was essentially finished when Lewis and Morrison had a falling out.

As a result, Morrison went back and re-recorded and/or remixed most of the tracks, removing Lewis's contributions in the process. A few songs were removed from the final running order and more new ones were added in. The result was released in 2002 as Down the Road. Arguably Morrison's strongest release since Avalon Sunset, Heylin contends that the original version, Choppin' Wood, would have been a true return to form. It is doubtful if that notion will ever be put to the test because the original recordings have yet to circulate, privately or publicly.

"In recognition of his unique position as one of the most important songwriters of the past century," Van Morrison was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame at an awards ceremony in New York City in June 2003. Ray Charles presented the award, following a performance in which the pair performed Morrison's "Crazy Love".

In the same year, Morrison released What's Wrong with This Picture? on the legendary jazz record label, Blue Note Records. The album would later receive a Grammy nomination for 'Best Contemporary Blues Album.'

In 2004, his song "Bright Side of the Road" from his 1979 album Into the Music was featured in the UNESCO ads for the World Press Freedom Day.

Morrison still remains popular with the public; his 2005 album, Magic Time debuted at #25 on the US Billboard charts upon release in May 2005, some 40 years after first entering the public's eye as the frontman of Them.

Later in the year, Morrison also donated a previously unreleased studio track to a charity album, Hurricane Relief: Come Together Now, which raised money for relief efforts intended for Gulf Coast victims devastated by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The song, "Blue & Green", was composed by Morrison and featured the late Foggy Lyttle on guitar.

Van appeared in The Hebridean Celtic Festival in Stornoway (Outer Hebrides) in the summer of 2005, where he was a headline act at the growing international Celtic music festival.

He released an album with a country music theme entitled Pay the Devil on March 7, 2006.

During February of 2006 in Dublin, his longterm partner Michelle Rocca (Miss Ireland 1980) gave birth to Van Morrison's second daughter.

In September, 2006, Van was the headline act on first night of the nationally acclaimed "Austin City Limits" Music Festival.

Influence
Morrison's influence can be readily seen in the music of many major artists, including U2 (much of The Unforgettable Fire), Bruce Springsteen ("Spirit in the Night", "4th of July (Sandy)", "Backstreets"), John Mellencamp ("A Little Night Dancin'", a cover of Morrison's "Wild Night"), Joan Armatrading, Rickie Lee Jones, Rod Stewart, Patti Smith (her poetic-proto-punk "Gloria" most explicitly), Elvis Costello (who later toured with Morrison), Graham Parker, Daryl Hall, Thin Lizzy, Bob Seger ("I know Springsteen was very much affected by Van Morrison, and so was I." - interview in Creem), Dexys Midnight Runners, Jimi Hendrix ("Gloria"), Jeff Buckley ("The Way Young Lovers Do", "Sweet Thing") and numerous others, including Counting Crows (the "sha-la-la" sequence in Mr Jones, is a tribute to Morrison).

Over the years, Morrison has expressed some grudges regarding his pervasive influence. In 1984, Bill Flanagan asked Van Morrison, "so many artists imitate you... but among the people obviously in your debt are some who are fine artists in their own rights. Do you take their borrowings as a compliment or a rip-off?"

Morrison replied, "Well, it's both. And I'm flattered by the compliment. Especially since a lot of these people have said it. Springsteen's acknowledged it, and he's doing his own thing. Seger's acknowledged it. But at the same time you feel sort of ripped off – not in the way one would think you would feel, but in the way that there's just people who 'don't know.' That's the way you feel ripped off – in an academic context."

In a later interview taken for the August 1985 edition of New Age magazine, Van Morrison gave a more negative reaction when Stephen Davis asked a similar question. "You see, for a long time I'd never even heard of these people, because I don't really listen to pop radio or any of that," Morrison said. "I have my own preferences for music and my own albums that I play. So I'm not really influenced by what the media are running through. For years people have been saying to me...'have you heard this guy Springsteen? You should really check him out!' I just ignored it. Then four or five months ago I was in Amsterdam, and a friend of mine put on a video. Springsteen came on the video, and that was the first time I ever saw him, and he's definitely ripped me off. There's no doubt about that...he's even ripped my movements off as well. My seventies movements, you know what I mean? 'This' stuff [demonstrates]...I feel pissed off now that I know about it. I'd never seen it before, so I didn't know."

A year later in 1986, Morrison referenced this topic on No Guru, No Method, No Teacher. One of the album's songs, "A Town Called Paradise", opened with the words, "Copycats ripped off my words / Copycats ripped off my songs / Copycats ripped off my melody..."

Awards and Recognition
Grammy Awards:

Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, 1996, "Have I Told You Lately" (with The Chieftains)
Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, 1998, "Don't Look Back" (with John Lee Hooker)
Hall of Fame, 1999, Astral Weeks
Hall of Fame, 1999, Moondance
Other recognition:

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 1993
Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, 2003

Discography

Albums
Blowin' Your Mind! (1967) #182 US
Astral Weeks (1968) did not chart in US
Moondance (1970) #29 US
His Band and the Street Choir (1970) #32 US
Tupelo Honey (1971) #27 US
Saint Dominic's Preview (1972) #15 US
Hard Nose the Highway (1973) #27 US
It's Too Late to Stop Now (1974) #53 US
Veedon Fleece (1974) #53 US
A Period of Transition (1977) #43 US
Wavelength (1978) #28 US
Into the Music (1979) #43 US
Common One (1980) #73 US
Beautiful Vision (1982) #44 US
Inarticulate Speech of the Heart (1983) #116 US
Live at the Grand Opera House, Belfast (1984)
A Sense of Wonder (1985) #61 US
No Guru, No Method, No Teacher (1986) #70 US
Poetic Champions Compose (1987) #90 US
Irish Heartbeat (1988); with The Chieftans #102 US
Avalon Sunset (1989) #91 US
Enlightenment (1990) #62 US
Hymns to the Silence (1991) #99 US
Too Long in Exile (1993) #29 US
A Night in San Francisco (1994) #125 US
Days Like This (1995) #33 US
How Long Has This Been Going On (1996) #55 US
Tell Me Something: The Songs of Mose Allison (1996) did not chart in US
The Healing Game (1997) #32 US
Back on Top (1999) #28 US
The Skiffle Sessions - Live In Belfast 1998 (2000; with Lonnie Donegan) #??? US
You Win Again (2000) #161 US
Down the Road (2002) #25 US
What's Wrong with This Picture? (2003) #32 US
Magic Time (2005) #25 US
Pay the Devil (2006) #26 US

Compilations
The Best of Van Morrison (1990)
Bang Masters (1991)
The Best of Van Morrison Volume Two (1993)
The Philosopher's Stone (1998)
Super Hits (1999)
Brown Eyed Girl (2000)

Selected Singles
"Brown Eyed Girl" (1967) #10 US
"Moondance" (1977) #92 US
"Sweet Thing" (1968) #? US
"Come Running" (1970) #39 US
"Domino" (1970) #9 US
"Blue Money" (1971) #23 US
"Call Me Up In Dreamland" (1971) #95 US
"Wild Night" (1971) #28 US
"Tupelo Honey" (1972) #48 US
"Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile)" (1972) #61 US
"Redwood Tree" (1972) #98 US
"Wavelength" (1978) #42 US
"Have I Told You Lately" (1989) #12 US
"Real Real Gone" (1990) #18 US

Posted by: freebird Oct 2 2006, 12:55 PM

Great info Dennis -- Texas mourned big time when Stevie Ray died. I always preferred him over ZZ Top . I was a little shocked to see that he produced so few albums. Could of done many more had his life not been cut short in the crash. "American Pie" is appropriate for Stevie Ray also.



Van Morrison is just pure talent through and through. I'd never heard the Springsteen reference but I can see why Van would be ticked off about it.

Posted by: Dennis Oct 3 2006, 12:51 AM

Ok, today's subject is near and dear to my heart, though I'm pretty sure none of you will have ever heard of him. It's Canadian Legend Stompin' Tom Connors. He is to Canada what Woody Guthrie is to the United States (except that Tom is still alive). He's a folk/country singer and he's a nut. I mean that in the kindest terms possible. In the early 70's he won all kinds of awards for his music and television show etc. One day he returned them all in protest for the lack of support the music industry was giving to local artists - thus ensuring him a spot in the heart of nearly every Canadian musician ever since. He has written so many songs it would take me days to write the titles of 'em all (and I doubt I'd know half of 'em). He has a very unique style and voice that most people either love or hate. His songs range from very simplistic, childlike tunes to "story-songs" which incorporate Canadian history that would otherwise be obscure to even most of us if Tom hadn't set it to music. I'll post the Wikepedia bio, then I'll see if I can dig up an example of his words for you....


Stompin' Tom Connors
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charles Thomas "Stompin' Tom" Connors OC (born February 9, 1936) is one of Canada's most prolific and well-known folk singers.

Contents
1 Early life
2 Musical Career
3 Nickname
4 Notable Achievements
5 Discography
5.1 Compilations
5.2 External links



Early life
He was born Charles Thomas Connors (known as Tommy Messer) in Saint John, New Brunswick to the teenaged Isabel Connors and her boyfriend Thomas Sullivan. Tom spent a short time living with his mother in a low-security women's penitentiary before he was seized by Children's Aid Society and later adopted by the Aylward family in Skinners Pond, Prince Edward Island.

At the age of 15 he left his adoptive family, to hitchhike across Canada, a journey that consumed the next 13 years of his life as he traveled between various part-time jobs while writing songs for his guitar. In his last stop in Timmins, Ontario, he worked in one of the local gold mines and was offered a year-long contract to sing on stage at the Maple Leaf Hotel, which earned him the attention of the local CKGB radio station.


Musical Career
During the mid-1970s, Connors wrote and recorded "The Consumer", an ode to bill-paying that became the theme song for the popular CBC consumer affairs program, Marketplace. For the first few seasons, Connors appeared in the opening credits of the program, before "The Consumer" was replaced as the theme initially by an instrumental background version, and ultimately by another piece of music entirely.

Typically writing about Canadian lore and history, some of Connors' better-known songs have included "Bud the Spud", "Big Joe Mufferaw", "The Black Donnellys", "Reesor Crossing Tragedy", "Sudbury Saturday Night" and "The Hockey Song" (aka "The Good Old Hockey Game"); the last is frequently played over sound systems at NHL hockey games.


Nickname
Connors' habit of stomping the heel of his boot to keep rhythm earned him the "Stompin' " nickname - first announced at the King George Tavern in Peterborough, Ontario. Various stories have circulated about the origin of the foot stomping, but it's generally accepted that he did this to keep a strong tempo for his guitar playing - especially in the noisy bars and beer joints where he frequently performed. After numerous complaints about damaged stage floors, Tom began to carry a piece of plywood that he stomped even more vigorously than before. The "stompin' " board has since become one of his trademarks. After stomping a hole in the wood, he would pick it up and show it to the audience (accompanied by a joke about the quality of the local lumber) before calling for a new one. It was reported that when asked about his "stompin' board", Tom replied, "it's just a stage I'm going through". Stompin' Tom periodically auctions off his stompin' boards for charity.


Notable Achievements
He received an honorary Doctorate of Law from St. Thomas University in 1993, which was the inspiration for his album titled Dr. Stompin' Tom Connors, eh?, released the same year. In 1996 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, and four years later was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Law from the University of Toronto.

As the 1970s progressed, he retired to his farm in Norval, Ontario to protest the lack of support given to Canadian stories by the policies of the Federal government, particularly the CRTC. He remained in retirement for 12 years before persistent love from young roots revivalists drew him back into the studio and on to the stage. To this day, Stompin' Tom never fails to sell every available ticket for a performance, and remains one of Canada's more prolific recording artists. His songs often pay tribute to Canadian newsmakers or personalities, and can be topical, referring to news events of the day.

An autobiography detailing his childhood years in a female prison, in an orphanage, and as an indentured farm labourer became a bestseller in 1997. It details his life "before the fame". Recent years have seen the re-release of 25 of his record albums.

Connors' music is rarely heard outside Canada, with the possible exception of his anthemic "The Hockey Song" which has been recorded by many artists. It has been suggested that Connors refuses to allow foreign release of his material, although a more likely reason is that the very Canadian-specific subject matter of many of his folk songs has resulted in limited demand in foreign markets. When Late Night with Conan O'Brien taped a week's worth of shows in Canada in 2004, Connors was one of the guests of honor, leading the Toronto audience in a rendition of "The Hockey Song"; this was one of the only times Connors had ever performed on American television.

In The Greatest Canadian list, he ranked #13, the highest placing for any artist on the list.

He currently lives in Ballinafad, Ontario.

Discography
Tom has released music on no fewer than seven different labels. His earliest foray into recording was on the CKGB Timmins radio station label. These 45 RPM singles were pressed by Quality Records in Toronto, and distributed (and paid for) primarily by Tom. His first two albums (and two subsequent 45 RPM singles) were released on the Rebel Records bluegrass label, under the name "Tom Connors".

Most of Tom's well-known albums were released on Dominion Records, and on the Boot Records label that he co-founded with Jury Krytiuk and Mark Altman. His releases on Dominion (and all subsequent releases) were done under the name "Stompin' Tom Connors". Most of the Rebel and Dominion albums would be reissued (and in some cases, re-recorded) under the Boot label, and would represent the bulk of his recorded material. It was released on 33 1/3 RPM record albums, 45 RPM record singles, 8-tracks, and cassette tapes.

After his retreat from the music business in the late 70's, he started the ACT (Assisting Canadian Talent) label in 1986, and released two albums.

All of his subsequent releases (and rereleases) have been through Capital / EMI. Most of this work is now available on compact disc.

A partial list of his recorded works includes:

1967 The Northlands' Own Tom Connors
1969 On Tragedy Trail
1970 Bud the Spud and Other Favorites
1970 Stompin' Tom Meets Big Joe Mufferaw
1970 Merry Christmas Everybody
1971 Live at the Horseshoe
1972 My Stompin' Grounds
1972 Love & Laughter
1973 Stompin' Tom and the Hockey Song
1973 To It and at It
1974 Across This Land with Stompin' Tom Connors [live]
1974 Stompin' Tom Meets Muk Tuk Annie
1975 The North Atlantic Squadron
1975 The Unpopular Stompin' Tom Connors
1976 Stompin' Tom at the Gumboot Cloggeroo
1985 Stompin' Tom Is Back to Assist Canadian Talent
1994 Fiddle and Song
1995 Stompin' Tom and the Moon Man Newfie
1995 Northlands Zone
1995 The Unpopular Stompin' Tom Connors
1996 More of the Stompin' Tom Phenomenon
1996 Once Upon a Stompin' Tom
1997 Believe in Your Country
1997 Long Gone to the Yukon
1997 The Confederation Bridge
2001 Sings Canadian History
[edit]
Compilations
1971 The Best of Stompin' Tom Connors
1972 Stompin' Tom Connors Sings 60 Old Time...
1973 Northlands Zone
1976 Stompin' Tom Sings 60 More Old Time Favorites
1978 Pistol Packin' Mama
1978 Bringing Them Back
1990 A Proud Canadian
1993 Dr. Stompin' Tom, Eh?
1993 K.I.C. Along with Stompin' Tom
1998 25 of the Best Stompin' Tom Souvenirs
2001 And the Moon Man/Unpopular
2006 Live Concert (DVD)



And here's some lyrics for those that have travelled this far...

Martin Hartwell Story: Stompin' Tom Connors

Chorus
Lost up in no-man's land, in the Northwest Territories
They were lost up in no-man's land
The Martin Hartwell story
The Martin Hartwell story

On November the 8th of '72, North of the Arctic Circle
A plane took off from Cambridge Bay, and the pilot's name was Hartwell
He had to make it to Yellowknife although the night was stormin'
To save the lives of an Eskimo boy and a pregnant Eskimo woman

"Oh, Mr. Hartwell," said the nurse. "I pray that you will guide us.
To save this woman with her child and the boy with appendicitis."
But the wind, it blew and the storm, it grew and the signal of Kantooita
They missed by miles and flying wild, they crashed beside Lake Hota

Repeat Chorus

Now Judy Hill, the federal nurse, she never lived to waken
And the life of the mother and her child were both soon after taken
But the pilot woke to find himself and the Eskimo boy were livin'
Left in pain beside the plane to search the skies of heaven

Day by day the pilot lay with both his ankles broken
And it took the lad everything he had to keep the fire stokin'
While in the sky too far away the rescue team were seekin'
A signal wave that might be traced the Hartwell's radio beacon

Repeat Chorus

After nineteen days the aerial search was said to be completed
Until someone cried, "They're still alive and the search must be repeated."
And the day the beep was finally heard was the day we'll all remember
A man was found safe and sound on the 9th day of December

Hartwell said he should have died at 35 below zero
And the reason Hartwell did survive, the boy had died a hero,
"He brought me food when I couldn't move while he himself grew feeble
Yes, Davy Kootook died a saint and a credit to his people
Davy Kootook died a saint and a credit to his people."

Repeat Chorus

The Martin Hartwell story

Posted by: Dennis Dec 15 2006, 03:12 AM

Today's artist of the Moment is...The Tragically Hip.
Another Canadian one that most of you are probably not familiar with...so here's your chance to learn

I'm going to start this one off by posting the lyrics to a few songs, then I'll post the bio. The singer of this band - Gord Downie - just has an incredible way with words. Seeing them in concert is such a great experience because of the spoken word things he does between songs. They are usually hilarious and usually insightful. Anyhow, with no further ado here are some lyrics from The Tragically Hip:

1'st a couple from early in their career -

38 Years Old

Twelve men broke loose in Seventy-Three
From Millhaven maximum security
Twelve pictures lined up, across the front page
Seems the Mounties had a summertime war to wage
The chief told the people they had nothing to fear
Said, "The last thing they wanna do is stick around here"
They mostly came from towns with long French names
But one of the dozen was a hometown shame.

Chorus
Same pattern on the table
Same clock on the wall
Been one seat empty, eighteen years in all
Freezing slow time, away from the world
He's 38 year's old, never kissed a girl

We were sitting round the table, heard the telephone ring
Father said he tell em if he saw anything
Heard the tap on my window in the middle of the night
Held back the curtain for my older brother Mike

See my sister got raped, so a man got killed
Local boy went to prison, man's buried on the hill
Folks went back to normal when they closed the case
But they still stare at their shoes when they pass our place

My mother cried, "The horror has finally ceased"
He whispered,"Yea for the time being at least"
Over her shoulder, on the squad car megaphone
Said,"Let's go Michael, son, we're taking you home."

Chorus



Boots or Hearts

Well I think that there's a problem here
Her voice just don't sound right
But I left myself on her answering machine
Said, "I'm back in town tonight."
I feel I've stepped out of the wilderness
All squint-eyed and confused
But even babies raised by wolves
Know exactly when they've been used

Chorus
See when it starts to fall apart
It really falls apart
Like boots or hearts, Oh when they start
They really fall apart

Fingers and toes, fingers and toes
Forty things we share
Forty-one if you include
The fact that we don't care
Now you've blocked off most of main street
For your faith parade
Everyone in town now, they probably all agree
I'm lying in the bed I made

Chorus

Now you won't even let me talk to you
We got some air to clear
We'd probably only agree on one thing anyway
That's what the hell is happening here?
Fingers and toes, fingers and toes
Forty things we share
Forty-one if you include
The fact that we don't care
See when it starts to fall apart

Chorus



Little Bones

It gets so sticky down here
Better butter your cue-finger up
It's the start of another new year
Better call the newspaper up
2.50 for a hi-ball,
And buck and a half for a beer
Happy hour, happy hour
Happy hour is here

The long days of Shockley are gone
So is football Kennedy style
Famous last words taken all wrong
Wind up on the very same pile
2.50 for a decade
And a buck and a half for a year
Happy hour, happy hour
Happy hour is here

I can cry, beg and whine
T'every Rebel I find
Just to give me a line
I could use to describe

They'd say, "Baby eat this chicken slow
It's full of all them little bones."

So regal and decadent here
Coffin cheaters dance on their graves
Music, all it's delicate fear
Is the only thing that don't change
2.50 for and eyeball
And a buck and a half for an ear
Happy hour, happy hour
Happy hour is here

Nothing's dead down here, just a little tired
They'd say, "Baby eat this chicken slow
It's full of all them little bones."

Posted by: Dennis Dec 15 2006, 03:13 AM

THE TRAGICALLY HIP

“There’s this fuckin’ band you’ve gotta see, They used to scare the livin’ shit outta me!” An Inch An Hour

In March 1988, The Tragically Hip was a band you had to see. The Kingston quintet's reputation had preceded it to Winnipeg, first stop on its inaugural cross-Canada tour. Having spent the previous two years barnstorming the pubs, clubs and beer halls of Ontario, the group had released an eight-song, eponymous mini-album. Smalltown Bringdown and Last American Exit were being played at local radio and a feature on The New Music had prepped Prairie audiences for a young band that played no-frills rock 'n' roll. Rob Baker, Gordon Downie, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois and Gord Sinclair looked like a gang -- a T-shirts and jeans group in an age of teased hair and spandex. Their sound was an improbable, riffing roar that left mouths agape. Downie's lithe, sweat-soaked performances transfixed audiences.

When The Hip were booked into Winnipeg's Diamond Club, a nightspot which usually showcased Top 40 bands, I called the local agent to ask if he knew what he'd done. He said the Diamond's owners, an ambitious family of hoteliers, didn't want anyone else to `have' The Hip, the biggest buzz band from out East.

On Monday, March 14, 1988, John Cougar Mellencamp's Lonesome Jubilee tour played the Winnipeg Arena. The show had sold-out the old hockey rink in record time. Just about every rock fan in Winnipeg was at the concert that night, meaning those interested in the Hip didn't get across town to the Diamond until 11:30 p.m. By the time they arrived, The Hip's show was already over.
"Over? We were fired!"

Seventeen years later, Gordon Downie still rankles at the thought. The Diamond Club's manager had been horrified by the band's first set, its bum's eye for clothes and by the singer, who had done one song lying on his back.

A day later, the band was homeless, as it had lost its hotel rooms with the firing. The Hip faced a week in Winnipeg without a gig. I hadn't been at the show the night before but I'd heard what had happened and spoke to Rob Baker on the phone. The band was low, he said, consulting with the musicians' union and considering its options. Within hours, free hotel rooms had been procured at the Osborne Village Motor Inn and gas-money gigs were booked at Corner Boys, a rec-room/lounge co-owned by boxer Donnie Lalonde, the WBF light heavyweight champ.

That Friday, my nightspots column in The Winnipeg Sun told The Hip's unlucky story, with the provocative headline "Tragically gypped!" Less than a month later, as the band worked its way back East, it played a weekend at The Junkyard as a thank you to the hotel owners who had provided rooms in March.

When I arrived at the club, there was a lineup out the door. The room was heaving. The rest is a familiar tale.

* * *

From his Toronto home in the autumn of 2005, Downie recalls the days of discovery and wonder that were the late '80s for The Tragically Hip. "We didn't have a lot of guile, and some say we still don't," he says. "Our needs were few. That was our first tour across the country. Like any rock band going across the country, everything was brand new and everything was possible. Every whiff of interest or approval distilled itself into confidence, and anything that wasn't confidence was just well-disguised insecurity. We also had a very self-deprecating sense of humour, collectively, so we turned all those kinds of sad-sack stories into tales of triumph," he says.

"I don't think you can do that if you have an ounce of ambition or aspiration beyond just having fun. You're just blown away by the fact you're actually doing this. You're putting another load of gas in the tank to take you further away from home on a mission that is totally undefined and potentially endless, perhaps resulting in death or disfigurement -- emotionally speaking, spiritually speaking and philosophically speaking," he says.

"Heading onto the stage then, we were grateful for every friend we had."

* * *

On Saturday, April 2, 2005, The Tragically Hip was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the Winnipeg Convention Centre during Juno Weekend celebrations.

As an acceptance speech, Downie read an impassioned poem, We Are the Next Us, with his bandmates standing beside him. In it, he described the preparations for an imaginary gig, invoking visions of the disparate community that comes together to create a show by The Tragically Hip. Accepting the Hall of Fame induction, he said, was a way of honouring the Hip's families, friends, co-workers and their fans.

This band is still grateful to every friend it's ever had.

Hipeponymous, The Tragically Hip's 37-song, two-CD-and-two-DVD, limited edition boxed set is another thank you, a gift to the band's fans. It includes two new tracks, No Threat and The New Maybe, 35 of the group's most popular songs, a full-length concert DVD, That Night in Toronto, and a bonus DVD featuring all 23 of the band's videos, a 50-minute backstage film entitled Macromedia, and The Right Whale, a collection of 11 visual vignettes featuring scores from the group.

The two audio discs are pointedly titled Yer Favourites because Hip fans, via an on-line poll, selected the songs. It thus enabled the group to organize and put together a boxed set without the albatross of `definitive collection' hanging over it. It also enables The Hip to keep moving forward, as they are in the midst of a productive period which should yield a new studio album, the bands 11th, in 2006.

"It really is a gift to the fans because they chose the songs," Downie says. "It's an abdication on our part which some may say is contravening the laws of art because you're supposed to give the people what you want, not what they want -- at least according to Bono.

"To do a real career retrospective you really need a lot of time, energy and psychic currency and you need to have a knock-down, drag-'em-out to decide how to tell the story. We're not avoiding it; that's an essential thing and ultimately it will be very good for us when we go to do it -- and good for the people that are interested because there is a literal mountain of tapes."

Downie says the band had an intimate hand in the making of That Night in Toronto and the bonus DVD because it wanted the package to be as representative of the band's present and future as the Yer Favourites discs are representative of the band's past. "Why is that? I think the reasons are obvious. It's art and in making art you want to be of the future, of the now."

If anything, that is the message of Hipeponymous. The collection gives fans pause to reflect and revel in the band's 18 -year recording while it gives Baker, Downie, Fay, Langlois and Sinclair a boost as they continue the uncharted journey they began almost 20 years ago. For Downie, much of that journey has been an exploration of his views on what it means to be Canadian.

"I definitely wasn't aware of it until recently -- which may just be selective memory -- but I've just sort of watched it evolve in terms of the lyrics. As a young writer from small-town, middle-class Canada I think I started writing about, in my limited scope, Canada, and in a weird way, I guess what I'm thinking about is how it all unfolded and how a lot of people might attribute the band's popularity to a blatant nationalism. "I think what I was trying to do (was) I didn't have a `rah-rah,' patriotic view of Canada," he says. "In a weird way I actually started to question that a bit... and if I've failed in that regard it's because I didn't commit enough.

" It would be my goal to really go further and I've never even come close to achieving it. We're still on that road that isn't even on the map and it's difficult to go down and it's at night and there's no lights." But they'll still be making friends along the way.

John Kendle
Winnipeg,
October 2005

Posted by: Dennis Dec 15 2006, 03:30 AM

Some more lyrics from later in their career:

The Darkest One

Come in, come in, come in, come in
from under these darling skies come in
it's warm and it's safe here and almost harkening
off to a time and place now lost in our imagination

where you don't complain- but you still do
and you don't explain-but you still want to-explain
where you believe what you say without shame, 'I just do'
to say what you mean you don't mean what you say
-or you do

where the wild are strong
and the strong are the darkest ones
and you're the darkest one

Come in, come in, come in, come in
from thin and wicked prarie winds, come in
it's warm and it's safe here and almost heartening
here in a time and place not lost in our imagination

where you don't explain-but you still do
and you can complain-if you want to-complain
where you're real instrumental or supple
or sexy as hell
where you say "I believe" or say without shame
'I can't tell'

where the wild are strong
and the strong are the darkest ones
and you're the darkest one
O' and you're the darkest one
and if that's what you want
O' then you're the darkest one


Wheat Kings

Sundown in the Paris of the prairies
Wheat kings have all their treasures buried
And all you hear are the rusty breezes
Pushing around the weather vane Jesus

In his Zippo lighter, he sees the killer's face
Maybe it's someone standing in a killer's place
Twenty years for nothing, well that's nothing new,
besides, No one's interested in something you didn't do
Wheat kings and pretty things,
let's just see what the morning brings.

There's a dream he dreams where the high school is dead and stark
It's a museum and we're all locked up in it after dark
Where the walls are lined all yellow, grey and sinister
Hung with pictures of our parents' prime ministers
Wheat Kings and pretty things,
wait and see what tomorrow brings.

Late-breaking story on the CBC,
A nation whispers, "we always knew that he'd go free""
They add, "you can't be fond of living in the past,
cause if you are then there's no way that you're gonna last".
Wheat Kings and pretty things
let's just see what tomorrow brings
Wheat kings and pretty things,
that's what tomorrow brings.



Bobcaygeon

I left your house this morning about a quarter after nine
Coulda been the Willie Nelson, coulda been the wine
When I left your house this morning
It was a little after nine
It was in Bobcaygeon I saw the constellations
Reveal themselves one star at a time

Drove back to town this morning with working on my mind
I thought of maybe quitting
Thought of leaving it behind
Went back to bed this morning
And as I’m pulling down the blind
The sky was dull and hypothetical
And falling one cloud at a time

That night in Toronto with its checkerboard floors
Riding on horseback and keeping order restored
Til the men they couldn’t hang
Stepped to the mic and sang
And their voices rang with that Aryan twang

I got to your house this morning just a little after nine
In the middle of that riot
Couldn’t get you off my mind
So I’m at your house this morning
Just a little after nine
Cause it was in Bobcaygeon where I saw the constellations
Reveal themselves one star at a time.


The Dark Canuck

This one is for you
and it goes on and on and on
when nothing seems to do
for when the doubtless and the wrong
ask; 'can I help you?'
in that way that says, 'I can't'
or claim we're all the same
just inconsistant
or pretend all understanding
turned out to be pretense
then pretend the pretense of understanding
How long does it take depends

You can cast your doubts
Turn em inside-out
Hang em upside-down
Til their art falls out - the short answer's; forty-eight hours
Let your heart all out - the short answer's; forty-eight hours
Til your art falls out - the short answer's; forty-eight hours
Let your heart all out
Summon up your power

If you need a good connection for drugs
or a strong tolerance for alcohol
Too little religious education
Some pain threshold
If from the outside
There's no demand for what you do
And inside there's an army waiting
For their marching orders for you
Come sit on my swing-seat
Come sit on my porch
After Ten at night, smoke your cigarettes if you like, of course

You can cast your doubts
Turn em inside-out
Hang em upside-down
Til their art falls out - the short answer's; forty-eight hours
let your heart all out - the short answer's; forty-eight hours
Til their art falls out - the short answer's; forty-eight hours
Let your heart all out
Summon up all your power

And it does on and on and on

If we ever get home
let's don't compare
let's relinquish all our holidays
and Drive-In Premieres

if we ever get home
gonna have me three children
Apple, Zippo, and Metronome
that's what I'm gonna name them

and get celebrity skin
the illusion of tough
I'm gonna talk about nothing
til nothing's enough

if we ever get home
and the subject comes up
this War isn't for children
War is nothing's enough

O' in the clouds of blood at the end of JAWS
in the misted cars honking their applause
at the Drive-In Double Feature
at the heart of dark enough
O' it's JAWS and The Dark Canuck
should we stay for The Dark Canuck?
yea. Everyone, hands up!?
Who's for 'The Dark Canuck'?

I think we relinquished enough
and it's still dark enough
and it goes on and on and on

Posted by: freebird Dec 16 2006, 01:44 PM

Never heard of them Dennis but they've got good lyrics and seem like fun sorts

Posted by: Dennis Dec 20 2006, 01:14 AM

there's a cd in your next package...should be mailing it soon - probably tomorrow