Gord Downie

[Parrothead]

The frontman for the Tragically Hip has passed away, from brain cancer. The band went on a Canada wide tour after he announced that he had inoperable brain cancer. Some of their hits include: "New Orleans is Sinking", "Blow At High Dough", "Little Bones", "Ahead By A Century", "Fifty Mission Cap".

Perhaps best known here in Canada, where the band hails from. That final tour ended in their hometown of Kingston, Ontario and was telecast live on CBC.

[Rommie]

Yeah, one of the biggest things I've learned about Canadian cultures is the fact that this band exists. They really didn't make it outside the country but are so HUGE here.

RIP

[SciFiFisher]

Whew! for a minute I thought I was really getting old and had missed out on a really popular band from the U.S.

[Thumper]

I knew Parrot would beat me to it. There was a great story on All Things Considered yesterday afternoon about it. They interviewed Talia Schlanger, the new host of The World Cafe. She was at that final show, as was your Prime Minister. She recounted that just before the show kicked off, the crowd spontaneously broke into Oh Canada. He seemed like a great musician, a great performer, and a great person, who championed good causes. I was literally in tears during the entire story and had trouble driving.

The band got exposure here on our independent alternative station.

Rest in Peace.

[Thumper]

Nice article with a heartfelt statement from his family.

[Swift]

I can't say I was their biggest fan, but I certainly heard their music in the US on progressive radio stations in 90s and always liked them (and thought it a clever band name). And no one should die younger than me, particularly from brain cancer.

[SciFiFisher]

I can't say I was their biggest fan, but I certainly heard their music in the US on progressive radio stations in 90s and always liked them (and thought it a clever band name). And no one should die younger than me, particularly from brain cancer.

Which makes their band name rather poetic/sad/prophetic.

[Rommie]

I can't say I was their biggest fan, but I certainly heard their music in the US on progressive radio stations in 90s and always liked them (and thought it a clever band name). And no one should die younger than me, particularly from brain cancer.

My grandfather (dad's dad) died from this kind of brain cancer as well in his 50s (and I never met him as a result). It's kind of insane how that was in the 60s, yet it's one of the few diseases that even today there isn't that much more that can be done.

So this article has an interesting detail about the band- nine of their albums reached number 1 in Canada, but they never broke even the Top 100 in the USA. Crazy.

[Parrothead]

I only have copies of Road Apples, Fully Completely, Day for Night and the compilation Yer Favourites. According to their wiki page, only four singles charted in the US.

They did headline a recurring Summer festival up here, three times in the 90's, called Another Roadside Attraction. The name taken from the Tom Robbins novel.