Tragically Hip

Music group

Gordon Downie

• Born: February 6, 1964
• Place of Birth: Amherstview, Ontario

Rob Baker

• Born: April 12, 1962
• Place of Birth: Kingston, Ontario

Johnny Fay

• Born: July 7, 1966
• Place of Birth: Kingston, Ontario

Gord Sinclair

Paul Langlois

• Born: August 23, 1964
• Place of Birth: Ottawa, Ontario

• Gord Sinclair
• Bassist

• Gordon Downie
• Singer and guitarist

• Johnny Fay
• Percussionist

• Paul Langlois
• Guitarist

• Rob Baker
• Guitarist

Gordon Downie

Occupation: Singer and guitarist

Paul Langlois

Occupation: Guitarist

Rob Baker

Occupation: Guitarist

Gord Sinclair

Occupation: Bassist

Johnny Fay

Occupation: Percussionist

Contribution: The Tragically Hip, a Canadian rock band, was founded in 1983 in Kingston, Ontario. Its members included vocalist Gordon Downie, lead guitarist Bobby Baker, rhythm guitarist Paul Langlois, bassist Gord Sinclair, and drummer Johnny Fay. Taking its name from a skit in the cult film Elephant Parts (1981), the band was referred to by many of its fans as “The Hip.” The Tragically Hip had recorded more than a dozen albums and was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2002 and into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2005. After Downie died of brain cancer in 2017, the remaining band members decided to no longer perform under the same name and to pursue other musical projects.

Early History

The Tragically Hip was discovered by MCA Records president Bruce Dickinson while performing at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto in 1986. Dickinson gave the band a contract, and its first EP, The Tragically Hip, was released in 1987. Up to Here, released in 1989, went triple platinum and helped the Hip win the Juno Award for Most Promising Group of 1990. Road Apples came next in 1990, followed two years later by Fully Completely (1992)—the band’s first release in the United States—which won six Juno Awards and two MuchMusic Video Awards.

In 1994, the Hip recorded Day for Night for Atlantic Records. The band toured widely to promote their 1996 album Trouble at the Henhouse, which won two Juno Awards for Album of the Year and North Star Rock Album of the Year. During a performance in Detroit, the Hip recorded its first live disc, Live Between Us (1997). The band’s record Phantom Power won the Juno for Best Rock Album in 1999, as did Music@Work in 2001. In Violet Light, released in 2001, sold more than 100,000 copies.

Adam Kasper, who has worked with Pearl Jam, produced the Hip’s 2004 In Between Evolution, which went platinum. The following year, the band released Yer Favourites, a two-disc set of thirty-seven songs selected by fans. Hipeponymous, a CD-DVD set containing all the Hip’s music videos, some short films, and a documentary, won a 2006 Juno for Music DVD of the Year. World Container, released in 2006, was recorded in Maui, Vancouver, and Toronto. WeAre The Same was released in April 2009, went platinum and earned another Juno nomination in 2010. All together, the group has won fourteen Juno awards and more than thirty of its singles have climbed to the Top Ten on Canadian radio.

Although the group toured internationally, the Tragically Hip was very much a Canadian band whose songs resonated with Canadians for their references to national sports, politics, and history. The band members gathered to write their songs in a lakeside cottage near Bath, Ontario.

Performances and Touring

The Hip maintained a full club and concert itinerary and toured with bands such as Midnight Oil, World Party, Hothouse Flowers, Spirit of the West, Los Lobos, and Wilco as well as with Ron Sexsmith and Ziggy Marley. The group was involved in a series of benefit concert tours, Another Roadside Attraction, which raised funds for various charities in 1993, 1995, and 1997.

The Tragically Hip appeared on Saturday Night Live in 1995, played at the 1999 Woodstock festival, and composed the soundtrack for the 2002 movie Men with Brooms. The band also performed in Salt Lake City during the 2002 Winter Olympics. In July 2013, the Canada Post issued a stamp featuring the members of the band. The band released their thirteenth studio album, Now for Plan A, in 2012.

Downie was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2015. After this, the band troubled Canada in support of their thirteenth album, Man Machine Poem. Their final concert was held at the Rogers K-Rock Centre in Kingston in 2016. Downie died in 2017, and the remaining band members decided to pursue other interests. In 2024, the documentary The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal began streaming on Amazon Prime.

Bibliography

“About The Tragically Hip.” MTV. Viacom, 2012. Web. 13 Aug. 2013.

Bandyke, Martin. “5 Questions with Rob Baker: Tragically Hip guitarist.” Detroit Free Press. Gannett Company, 22 Nov. 2012. Web. 13 Aug. 2013.

Kaplan, Ben. “Tragically Hip Week: Borderline success.” National Post (Toronto). Postmedia Network Inc., 27 June 2012. Web. 13 Aug. 2013.

Sullivan, Jerry. “Despite Rain, Tragically Hip Delivers War, Energetic Performance.” Buffalo News. Berkshire Hathaway, 20 July 2013. Web. 13 Aug. 2013.

“Tragically Hip Headlining Canada Day Festival With BSS, Weezer.” Chart Attack. Channel Zero, 28 Feb. 2011. Web. 13 Aug. 2013.

Woodward, Garret K. "Tragically Hip Doc Shows Why They Should’ve Been More Than Canada’s Favorite Band." Rolling Stone, 20 Sept. 2024, www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/tragically-hip-no-dress-rehearsal-documentary-1235106767/. Accessed 24 Sept. 2024.