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The Tragically Hip, Canada’s Band

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This course focuses on popular music in America. However, we live in Canada, and it should be noted that many Canadian artists were trendy but were never break out bands in America. These groups are essential to cover as they are apart of our history and helped Canada create a unique sound and style. One band that is genuinely Canadian is The Tragically Hip. Recently, they were listed as the 5th best Canadian band on CBC’s list of Top 100 Best Canadian Bands (CBC Staff, 2017). This band has a unique blend of rock, blues and folk sounds which help provide a platform for them to create uniques songs that appealed to many Canadians. Their songs also draw inspiration from unique historical events in Canada’s history, through their music they can help bring these stories into the spotlight and share them with younger generations. For my final blog post, I will discuss the band’s history, and up to the present day what they achieved, I will also consider the use of Canadian History in some of their songs.

The Tragically Hip or commonly referred to as The Hip is a Canadian rock band which was started in 1983 in Kingston, Ontario. The group was formed by five members, Bobby Baker (guitar), Gordon Downie (vocals), Johnny Fay (drums), Paul Langlois (guitar) and Gord Sinclair (bass) (Bateman, 2012).The Hip got the name for the band from a segment on a children’s show. They started their career making mini albums and touring around Canada, in 1988 they signed with Records Canada where they recorded their first full album. The tile of the band’s first album was “Up to Here” (Bateman, 2012),

Left to Right: Johnny Fray, Rob Baker, Gordon Downie, Paul Langlois and Gord Sinclair

it features many notable songs such as Boots or Hearts and New Orleans is Sinking (Wilson, n.d.). Besides these songs the album also features a song titled 38 Years Old. One of my personal favorites it covers prison break that occurred in 1973. The song was changed slightly to help the flow and rhythm When Gord Downie sings about the 12 men who broke loose; this was adapted from the actual number which was 14. Gord also sings about a fictional rape and murder by one of the escapees, again this never happened but help makes the song darker, and draw the audience in.

With the release of The Hip’s first album, they quickly rose to popularity among Canadian audiences. They continued to produce more collections such as Road Apples, which also featured many hit songs such as Little Bones (Tragically Hip.com, n.d.). In 1992 the band released what would later be known as their most successful album, Fully Completely. With this album, the group quickly sky-rocketed to fame, and in 2007 the album was even certified diamond (CBC Staff, 2016).

Fully Completely Album Cover

Again, the album features many notable songs such as Courage and The Hundredth Meridian. Fully Completely features two other trendy songs related to Canadian history, they are Wheat Kings and Fifty Mission Cap.

The song Wheat Kings is a folk and blues style song which uses an acoustic style to help tell a story. The song centers around 16-year old  David Milgaard, who was wrongly convicted of murder. David was on a road trip with his friends when he stopped in Saskatoon to pick up another one. The same January morning in 1969 a woman was raped and murdered. A month later David was the primary suspect, and by May of the same year, he was convicted of murder. His mother believed from the start that he was innocent and would protest this for the next 22 years he spends in prison. Eventually, new evidence was discovered, and the case was reopened, by 1991 David was released from jail. The Hip, inspired by this story wrote a song about his story, they even invited him to one of their concerts where they performed the song (Hip Museum, n.d.).

The second song from Fully Completely that is written about unique Canadian history is Fifty Mission Cap. The song centers around the disappearance of Toronto Maple Leafs hockey player Bill Bariko, who scored the game-winning goal in the 1951 Stanley Cup game. The summer after the season ended, Bill went on a fishing trip in northern Ontario, he was never seen again. 11 years after his mysterious disappearance his body was discovered by a pilot flying over the same route that he went on the trip. Ironically the same year the body was found was also the same amount of time it took for the Toronto Maple Leafs to win the Stanley Cup again (Hip Museum, n.d.). This song is more styled in the genre of rock as it has heavy riffs, along with the commanding voice of Gord Downie, the band and Gord can tell the story of this hockey player. The inspiration for this song comes from a hockey card that Gord had, the back of the card shows the story of how he went missing after more research into Bill’s death The Hip wrote this song.

The three songs I discussed above are some of the fantastic songs the that The Hip has made over the years. The songs helped inspire a generation, and they were able to create a unique sound that is truly Canadian. The Tragically Hip have made 14 albums have won numerous Emmy’s, multiple golds and platinum record and in 2005 the band was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame (Lombardo, n.d.). The Tragically Hip seemed to be at the peak of stardom in Canada and nothing would be able to slow their success, but that changed in 2016.

In 2016 The Hip released what would be their last album “Man Machine Poem.” The album came just weeks after tragic news broke that lead singer Gord Downie came for word and publicly disclosed that he was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a severe form of brain cancer (Harris, 2018). Gord was diagnosed with one of the more severe types of this cancer. The band announced that they would be disbanding as they would not be able to continue with Gord’s condition, they published one final tour to celebrate their legacy. The Tragically Hip performed their last concert on August 20, 2016, in their hometown of Kingston, Ontario (Barclay, 2017). After the tour had ended the band’s publicity was less, and there was not much information about the fate of Gord and the rest of the group. Finally, on October 17, 2017, It was announced that Gord Downie had passed away at the age of 53. All of Canada felt the loss of this great musician, his talents and his ability to tell stories through the songs he sang. Although it has been a year, Gord’s passing can still be felt he will always be remembered through the songs and the impact on Canadian music Gord and the Tragically Hip had. This is just one of the fantastic Canadian musical groups that had such a significant effect on Canada’s music industry.

The Hip after their final show

Refrences

38 Years Old. (n.d.). Retrieved August 6, 2018, from http://www.hipmuseum.com/38.html

Albums. (n.d.). Retrieved August 8, 2018, from http://www.thehip.com/albums/

Barclay, M. (2017, August 14). Ahead by a year: Remembering the Hip’s last show. Retrieved September 7, 2018, from https://www.macleans.ca/culture/arts/ahead-by-a-year-remembering-the-hips-last-show/

Bateman, J. (2012, March 10). The Tragically Hip. Retrieved August 5, 2018, from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/tragically-hip-the/

E. (2016, June 14). The Tragically Hip’s 12 albums ranked. Retrieved August 6, 2018, from https://www.cbcmusic.ca/posts/11469/the-tragically-hip-s-12-albums-ranked

E. (2017, June 29). 100 best Canadian bands. Retrieved August 5, 2018, from https://www.cbcmusic.ca/posts/18779/galler-100-best-canadian-bands-ever

Harris, A. (2018, May 16). What we know about Gord Downie’s diagnosis, treatment and next steps. Retrieved August 8, 2018, from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/things-about-gord-downies-diagnosis/article30127365/

Lombardo, G. (n.d.). The Tragically Hip. Retrieved August 6, 2018, from http://canadianmusichalloffame.ca/inductee/the-tragically-hip/

Rudnick, N. (2016, August 19). The Tragically Hip: 10 Essential Songs. Retrieved August 7, 2018, from https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/the-tragically-hip-10-essential-songs-97420/fifty-mission-cap-1992-98073/

Wilson, M. (n.d.). Up to Here – The Tragically Hip | Songs, Reviews, Credits. Retrieved August 6, 2018, from https://www.allmusic.com/album/up-to-here-mw0000654156

The Sound of Money, The Payola Scandal

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The end of World War Two marked a turning point for the music industry in America. With the growing popularity of Rock and Roll, increased use of 45 rpm single and the increasing amount of music labels. Allowed for new opportunities in the industry. However, with the prosperity, also came one of the most massive music scandals. This scandal would later be known as Payola. Beginning in the early 1950s the sharp increase in record production meant more job opportunities for Disc Jockey’s (DJ’s) and more radio station being established. By 1957 there were roughly 5000 DJ’s across America.

With limit airtime availability and the number of songs that were produced it was hard to hear many of these songs on the radio. DJ’s realized that this limited airplay could be beneficial to them, soon DJ”s started charging flat fees to play certain songs for certain amounts of time. Other DJ’s, however, would also ask for percentages of sales from certain concerts or even lavish vacations. This practice did not last long, accusations began to spread about DJ’s taking payments, but nothing could ever really be proven.The act of payola continued until a contestant named Charles Van Doren on the TV show Twenty One confessed to having been given the musical answers ahead of time by the host.

Charles Van Doren (Left)

After the public’s outrage of his confession, the government stepped in and launched an investigation regarding payola. In 1959 before the U.S. House Oversight Committee, 335 disc jockeys from around the country admitted to having received over $263,000 in “consulting fees”. Although it seemed as if the payola scandal finished, the case was beginning for two specific DJ’s.

 

The first DJ at the center of the payola scandal was Alan Freed, know by his nickname Moondog he was famous for playing less popular Rhythm and Blues (R&B) songs on the radio, these songs, however, would later be known as Rock and Roll. Freed began in the radio industry after being convinced by the store owner of a record shop he worked at that he would be a good fit for radio. 

Alan Freed

Soon after his popularity grew, he was offered a DJ spot on one of the radio stations in New York, which its success helped launch a career for him in television. When the government began their investigation Freed was one of the likely targets. Although Freed claimed to never took payments from any record companies he would not sign any documents from his radio station saying this was true. He eventually was dropped by the radio station, and after odd radio jobs in Los Angeles and Miami, he found himself back in New York facing multiple counts of bribery. He was found guilty and was facing many legal bills along with income tax evasion eventually died at the age of 46.

The second DJ found at the center of this controversy was Dick Clark. Much like Alan Freed, Clark was a popular radio host, known for his show American Bandstand with which he was able to help advance the careers of numerous artists. Eventually, in 1960 just like Freed, Clark found himself at the center of the Payola scandals. Clark had investments in some record companies, song publishing groups and artist management groups. He told Congress that he was unaware of disproportionate airtime for a specific artist, he eventually sold his shares of these companies.

Dick Clark

Clark emerged from these trial practically unscathed and continued his career in the industry. After Freed went down in 1960, Congress amended the Federal Communications Act to outlaw “under-the-table payments and required broadcasters to disclose if airplay for a song is purchased.” Payola became a misdemeanor, with a penalty of up to $10,000 in fines and one year in prison.

After the government investigation and law changes, it seemed as if this practice would no longer occur and that all songs would be played equally on the radio. The sad truth of this that the practice of payola continues to this day. George Howard, former president of Rykodisc, wrote an article discussing how large labels to this day again practice the act of payola. He states that music labels will hire independent promoters that receive million dollar payments to align themselves with radio stations by promising promotional payments in the six-figure range. ALong with the increase of music streaming websites such as Spotify and Apple music have record labels paying large amounts of money to have their songs featured on these sites.

Although this practice is still used today it can never completely disappear people will always find away to pay to have their songs promoted or heard by more people. Personally, if an artist or record label is willing to pay the increasing amounts of money to have their songs heard they should be allowed to. Although this may be unfair to some smaller artists it is a business and no matter what industry you are in there will always be larger and smaller people.

References

Doyle, J. (2014, February 28). “Moondog Alan Freed”. Retrieved July 09, 2018, from http://www.pophistorydig.com/topics/tag/alan-freed-payola/

Hutchinson, L. (2015, August 20). Alan Freed and the Radio Payola Scandal. Retrieved July 08, 2018, from http://performingsongwriter.com/alan-freed-payola-scandal/

Kelly, K. (2016, February 14). A Brief History of American Payola. Retrieved July 08, 2018, from https://noisey.vice.com/da/article/64y8y9/a-brief-history-of-american-payola

Messitte, N. (2014, November 30). How Payola Laws Keep Independent Artists Off Mainstream Radio. Retrieved July 10, 2018, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/nickmessitte/2014/11/30/how-payola-laws-keep-independent-artists-off-mainstream-radio/#340fcdaa519f

Sherwin, A. (2015, August 20). Payola: One of music’s oldest arrangements back with a bang on streaming playlists. Retrieved July 12, 2018, from https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/payola-one-of-musics-oldest-arrangements-back-with-a-bang-on-streaming-playlists-10464513.html

T. (2017, April 27). Dick Clark Biography. Retrieved July 10, 2018, from https://www.biography.com/people/dick-clark-9249296

Photo References

Dick Clark. (n.d.). Retrieved July 15, 2018, from https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163863/

History of Boston Rock and Roll. (n.d.). Retrieved July 13, 2018, from http://motherlode.tv/bostonrock/chapter3.html

Levine, D. S. (2016, October 20). Charles Van Doren: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know. Retrieved July 13, 2018, from https://heavy.com/news/2016/10/who-is-charles-van-doren-twenty-one-donald-trump-rigged-debate-hillary-clinton-rush-limbaugh-still-alive-quiz-show/

 

 

Jelly Roll Morton, the So-Called Inventor of Jazz

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Hello my name is Jordan, I’m a second year commerce student. My first post is about Jelly Roll Morton.

Jelly Roll Morton (1890-1941)

A picture of Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton

Jelly Roll Morton was born Ferdinand Joseph Lamothe on October 20, 1890, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ferdinand’s parents were Creole; he was a mix of African, French and Spanish heritage. Morton began learning music at the age of 10, soon after he started to perform in Storyville a red light district in  New Orleans. It was here that he earned the nickname “Jelly Roll”. Morton’s playing style was a mix of ragtime, minstrels and dance rhythms. Hi eventually be called jazz. Morton, his musical talents, and popularity found their way finally to Chicago where he formed the musical group called Red Hot Peppers. Morton and the Red Hot Peppers recorded many jazz style songs together until Morton left again for New York, where he created a band similar to the Red Hot Peppers. However, like many artists of this time, Morton’s musical success fell on hard times with the coming of the Great Depression, as Hot Jazz was out of style and the public preferred the sound of Bigger Band music. During Morton’s Later years a man by the name of Alan Lomax recorded multiple interviews with Morton for the Library of Congress. These interviews were initially short musical examples but soon expanded into more than 8 hours of Morton talking and playing piano.

Jelly Roll and his Red Hot Peppers

Morton also claimed to be the inventor of jazz, although he was never able to prove that he did invent this style of music. Morton ended his career playing piano in a dive bar. Morton died in 1941 at the age of 51 and blamed his declining health on a voodoo spell.

 

Jelly Roll Morton’s most famous song is Original Jelly Blues. It is an early Jazz era songs, which was initially recorded by Jelly Roll Morton himself. Then re-recorded when he formed the Red Hot Peppers in Chicago.

This second song features the full talents of Morton and the Red Hot Peppers. It is titled The Pearls and highlights the early jazz style similar to his other songs.

Lastly, to highlight the ability that made Morton famous, I have selected the song King Porter Stomp. This song displays his remarkable piano abilities

References

Jelly Roll Morton Biography. (2014, April 02). Retrieved July 13, 2018, from https://www.biography.com/people/jelly-roll-morton-9415945

Jelly Roll Morton. (2018, May 2). New World Encyclopedia, . Retrieved 03:02, July 18, 2018 from http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Jelly_Roll_Morton&oldid=1011244

Ferdinande “Jelly Roll” Morton. (n.d.). Retrieved July 09, 2018, from http://www.redhotjazz.com/jellyroll.html

Photo References

Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved July 10, 2018, from http://www.redhotjazz.com/jellyroll.html

Jelly Roll Morton and His Red Hot Peppers [Digital image]. (2004). Retrieved July 10, 2018, from http://www.doctorjazz.co.uk/jelly24.html