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How will Canada remember Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip?

'I think they will be immortalized as one of Canada's greatest bands,' says U of T music historian Kenneth McLeod
Photo of Gord Downie

Tributes to the Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie poured out from all corners of the country on Wednesday after the iconic singer died at age 53.

In May 2016, the band revealed Downie had been diagnosed with brain cancer and announced a cross-Canada farewell tour to go with the release of their 14th studio album, Man Machine Poem.

Kenneth McLeod

That summer, writer Don Campbell spoke to music historian Kenneth McLeod (left) of the University of Toronto Scarborough about the Hip鈥檚 appeal and its legacy.

This week, McLeod said Downie will go down in history as 鈥渙ne of our greatest voices of the Canadian experience 鈥 as a selfless, hardworking, passionate Canadian.鈥 
 
He will also be remembered for raising awareness of issues surrounding First Nations reconciliation and brain cancer research funding, he added. 
 
鈥淚n the end I think (his legacy) will be about touching people with his music and art, about his music resonating with people into the future, and recognizing that his passion on stage and in performance was authentic and reflected the passion with which he led his life.鈥

 


Many bands have had final tours but the circumstances here are different. Do you think this will this affect the mood of the tour at all?
 
It will be a little different, but I think overall it will just heighten the mood in the sense that it will perhaps be more of a celebration. I think this tour is meant to be a gift, both as a band because it鈥檚 what they love to do 鈥 and what Gord Downie loves to do 鈥 but also as a gift to their fans. I don鈥檛 think it will be a morose experience. It鈥檚 an unfortunate set of circumstances that led to this tour, but it鈥檚 not going to be a wake. Other bands have gone out on supposed final tours. The Rolling Stones and The Who have done this over and over again, claiming to be on their final tour only to go back out again. There鈥檚 always an increase in hype and interest because it may be the last time you get to see a band play live. The circumstances here are certainly very different, but Tragically Hip fans would want to see the band play live regardless because they are still wonderful performers.  
 
How would you describe a Tragically Hip show? 
 
They are hugely energetic performers. Lead singer Gord Downie especially can tell a story with his dance moves and body language as well as he can with his lyrics. They鈥檙e the kind of band that draws you in. It鈥檚 a bit of a clich茅 but they have a sense of intimacy even at a large show because their roots are in the Kingston bar band scene. The first time I saw them play in Vancouver was with 54-40 in a smallish venue of maybe 500 people. I鈥檝e also seen them play a big venue and they are the same band. So they are authentic and I think that鈥檚 why they appeal to both the hard rock and alternative music crowd. Whether they鈥檙e playing in a 200, 500 or 10,000 seat venue it鈥檚 the kind of performance that draws you in because they can create an intimate vibe even at a big venue. 
 
Why do you think this band has resonated with so many Canadians on not only on a personal level but a cultural one as well?  
 
It鈥檚 a band so tied to Canadian identity across a few generations now that they鈥檝e become iconic. They sing about Canadian places and themes like in 鈥50 Mission Cap鈥, 鈥淎t the Hundredth Meridian鈥 or 鈥淏obcaygeon,鈥 which has elevated them into our national psyche. In some sense I think we claim them much more than any other band because they are so unabashedly Canadian in many respects. Ironically that may have also almost stymied their success south of the border. It seems we have this unique taste for the band because they represent some of the quirky things about Canada that Americans and people around the world can鈥檛 relate to as easily.  
 
The reason they appeal to both the hard rock and alternative music crowd is that they combine hard rock elements with Downie鈥檚 very poetic, introspective lyrics. He has a gift for writing lyrics that draw you into a song. They are poetic and meaningful but sound good as well. I also think the Tragically Hip are a bit of a metaphor for Canada itself and that鈥檚 why so many of us identify with them so strongly. They鈥檙e this hardworking, unpretentious band but with an existential and artistic soul. I think Canadians can relate to that on many levels. 
 
In 1995 the band played on Saturday Night Live and many Canadians felt they were on the cusp of an international breakthrough. Why do you think it didn鈥檛 happen for the band?  
 
I think one of the main reasons they are so appealing to us is that they鈥檙e known as a Canadian band. Recent commercial successes like Justin Bieber or Drake are also identified as being Canadian, but the Tragically Hip style is so particular to Canadian tastes. They are not an overtly commercial band even by Canadian standards. Musically they are very interesting and very good, but the lyrics are not mainstream at all. They don鈥檛 have a lot of sing-a-long choruses that easily lend themselves to radio play. Their sound is also somewhat quirky and hard to pin point. So they don鈥檛 have a homogeneous commercial sound that was going to conquer an American market. They are big and successful here nationally, but that success has been bred in Canada, and there鈥檚 absolutely nothing wrong with that at all. 
 
One criticism of the band is that maybe they鈥檙e undeserving of their popularity in Canada because they haven鈥檛 broken through internationally or that they鈥檝e benefited from Canadian content rules. 
 
We can never really know if their success had anything to do with Canadian content laws. I think it鈥檚 ridiculous to believe that just because they haven鈥檛 been as popular in the US or elsewhere that they aren鈥檛 good, or even great. That just plays into an old stereotype of Canada being second rate. I think certainly as a country we鈥檝e matured culturally and left those ideas in the past. Just because the Tragically Hip didn鈥檛 achieve massive commercial success internationally doesn鈥檛 mean they aren鈥檛 a great band. Even the Sex Pistols or the Ramones didn鈥檛 achieve that level of commercial success. International commercial success is just one marker of success and certainly not a definitive marker of greatness. After all, how many paintings did Van Gogh sell in his lifetime? 
 
How would you sum up their influence on Canadian culture and music?
 
I think they will be immortalized as one of Canada鈥檚 greatest bands. I also think they鈥檝e had a huge musical influence in Canada. You can hear traces of their sound in Matthew Good, 54-40, Sloan, Sam Roberts and more recently Sarah Harmer and Tegan and Sara. It鈥檚 not necessarily overt, but I think there are traces of the Tragically Hip sound and style that will remain. 
 
Ultimately, I think it will be about their music. Some of their songs will be timeless because they don鈥檛 pander to a commercial formula, so they won鈥檛 sound as dated as some other pop bands. If you listen to 鈥淏obcaygeon鈥 you will probably still find it a moving song 30 years from now. If anything I think their legacy will only grow. 
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