The Tragically Hip , often referred to simply as The Hip , is a Canadian rock band from Kingston, Ontario, consisting of Gordon Downie (lead vocals and guitar), Paul Langlois (guitar), Rob Baker (guitar), Gord Sinclair (bass) and Johnny Fay (drums).

Their 2000 album Music at Work won Best Rock Album at the 2001 Juno Awards, as did their 1998 album Phantom Power at the 1999 Junos.

In 2005 they were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. They also hold the record for most number one albums on the Canadian Albums Chart with a total of eight reaching the pole position.

History

The Tragically Hip formed in 1983. They took their name from a skit in the Michael Nesmith movie "Elephant Parts"

In 1987, the band signed a long-term record deal with MCA. Later that year they released the self-titled EP The Tragically Hip . In 1993, they created the Another Roadside Attraction festival, which tours Canada to promote Canadian bands.

The band has had three of their songs—"New Orleans Is Sinking", "Courage" and "Poets"—chart on Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and one ("Courage") on the Modern Rock Tracks chart . On March 25, 1995, they appeared on Saturday Night Live (performing "Grace, Too" and "Nautical Disaster") with fellow Canadian and friend Dan Aykroyd guest starring, and with John Goodman hosting. In 1999, The Hip were also one of the featured bands at Woodstock '99 held in Rome, New York. The band permit audience recordings of their performances.

The Tragically Hip's live album, Live Between Us , was recorded at Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan in 1996 in support of the album Trouble at the Henhouse . Tracks from the album include "New Orleans Is Sinking" and a version of "Grace, Too". In 1998, the band released their seventh full-length album, Phantom Power , which contains such fan-favourite songs as "Poets", "Bobcaygeon", "Fireworks" and "Escape Is at Hand for the Travelin' Man".

In 1996, they contributed the song "Butts Wigglin" to the soundtrack of the Kids in The Hall movie Brain Candy . The song originally appeared on Trouble at the Henhouse .

In 2000, the band released their Juno award-winning rock album Music @ Work . The album featured back-up vocals from Julie Doiron on a number of tracks. The album was leaked via the music sharing site Napster, the album reaching #2 in Canada. On tour in 2000, the band was accompanied by Kate Fenner and Chris Brown on keyboards.

October 10, 2002, The Tragically Hip performed two songs, "It's a Good Life If You Don't Weaken", and "Poets", as part of a command performance for Queen Elizabeth II.

The 2002 concert the band toured in support of their album In Violet Light .

In 2003, The Tragically Hip performed a cover of "Black Day in July", a song about the 1967 12th Street Riot in Detroit, on Beautiful: A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot .

The Hip have a star on the Canadian Walk of Fame. On April 3, 2005 they were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the 2005 Juno Awards, and performed "Fully Completely" and "Grace, Too". They also performed a three-song set at the Live 8 concert in Barrie, Ontario with Dan Aykroyd joining them as a guest harmonica player.

Three full-length live shows recorded in 2004 in support of their album In Between Evolution were released as downloads for purchase at LiveDownloads.com, as part of The Hip Live Series. They were recorded at the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto, the John Labatt Centre in London, and the Civic Centre in Ottawa.

In October 2005, several radio stations temporarily stopped playing The Hip's song "New Orleans Is Sinking", out of sensitivity to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, which had devastated the city in early September of that year.

On November 1, 2005, the Hip released a double CD, double DVD box set, Hipeponymous , including all of their singles and music videos to date, a backstage documentary called "Macroscopic", an animated Hip-scored short film entitled "The Right Whale", two brand new songs ("No Threat" and "The New Maybe"), a full-length concert from November 2004 That Night in Toronto , and a 2-CD greatest hits collection Yer Favourites (selected on-line by 150,000 fans). On November 8, 2005, Yer Favourites and That Night In Toronto were released individually.

In mid-2006 The Hip completed a tour, in addition to recording a studio album produced by Bob Rock. The album, entitled World Container , was released in Canada on October 17, 2006 and in the US on March 6, 2007. The album's third track, "In View", was released as both a radio single and as a music video, and reached the #1 spot on the Canadian rock music charts. The track "The Lonely End of the Rink" (the second Canadian single) was played on Hockey Night in Canada the week of the album's release. In support of the album, the band played concert dates in major Canadian cities, then as an opening act for The Who on several US dates. A tour of Eastern Canada, Europe, and select cities in the United States occurred late in the year.

On February 23, 2008, The Tragically Hip returned to their hometown of Kingston, Ontario, where they were the first live act to perform at the new K-Rock Centre.

The Hip recorded more than fifteen songs at The Bath House Recording Studio in Bath, Ontario, for their 2009 album We Are the Same . The album was produced by Bob Rock and was released in North America on April 7, 2009. The first single, "Love Is a First", debuted on radio and iTunes on February 27..

To promote We Are the Same and the Bath House Studio—where much of the new album was recorded—the band invited The Hour's George Stroumboulopoulos for a live interview, where the band played seven new songs as well as unique versions of five other songs. The interview and performance were broadcast live in more than eighty theatres across Canada.

The 2009 We Are the Same North American and European tour includes Jim Bryson on keyboards.

On January 22, 2010, the band performed "Fiddler's Green" at the "Canada for Haiti" telethon to aid earthquake vicitms in that country. This was broadcast nationally on all three of Canada's main networks (CBC, Global and CTV).

Members

Current

  • Rob Baker – lead guitar
  • Gordon Downie – vocals, acoustic guitar
  • Johnny Fay – drum kit
  • Gord Sinclair – bass, background vocals
  • Paul Langlois – rhythm guitar, background vocals

Former

  • Davis Manning (1983–1986) – alto saxophone

Honours and awards

Canada's Walk of Fame

  • 2002: Inducted in Toronto, Ontario

Canadian Music Hall of Fame

  • 2005: Inducted at the Juno Awards in Winnipeg, Manitoba

Royal Conservatory of Music

  • 2006: Presented with an Honourary Fellowship May 24 at the Windsor Arms Hotel in Toronto, Ontario

Governor General's Performing Arts Awards

  • 2008: Presented the National Arts Centre Award

Juno Awards

  • 1990: Most Promising Group of the Year
  • 1991: Canadian Entertainer of the Year
  • 1993: Canadian Entertainer of the Year
  • 1995: Entertainer of the Year
  • 1995: Group of the Year
  • 1997: Group of the Year
  • 1997: Album of the Year ( Trouble at the Henhouse ),
  • 1997: North Star Rock Album of the Year ( Trouble at the Henhouse )
  • 1999: Best Rock Album ( Phantom Power )
  • 1999: Best Album Design ( Phantom Power )
  • 2000: Best Single ("Bobcaygeon")
  • 2001: Best Rock Album ( Music at Work )
  • 2006: CD/DVD Artwork Design of the Year ( Hipeponymous )
  • 2006: Music DVD of the Year ( Hipeponymous )

Discography

Main article: The Tragically Hip discography

Studio albums

  • The Tragically Hip EP (MCA, 1987)
  • Up to Here (MCA, 1989)
  • Road Apples (MCA, 1991)
  • Fully Completely (MCA, 1992)
  • Day for Night (MCA, 1994)
  • Trouble at the Henhouse (MCA, 1996)
  • Phantom Power (Universal, 1998)
  • Music @ Work (Universal, 2000)
  • In Violet Light (Universal, 2002)
  • In Between Evolution (Universal, 2004)
  • World Container (Universal, 2006)
  • We Are the Same (Universal, 2009)

See also

  • Canadian rock
  • Music of Canada
  • List of Saturday Night Live hosts and musical guests
  • List of diamond-certified albums in Canada
  • List of Canadian musicians
  • List of bands from Canada

References

  1. ^ http://www.bullfrogpower.com/powered/downieinterview.cfm
  2. ^ CANOE - JAM! Music - Pop Encyclopedia - Tragically Hip
  3. ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=5891&model.vnuAlbumId=811458
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